Hi everyone,

I've been building rods for a few years now and still have lots to learn!

I'm trying to 'sign' the rods and have purchased an old fasdhioned quill fountain pen. Can anyone recommend a type of ink to use with it. I have some model inks which I water down (to get them to write) but they're a bit see through when finished?

I've tried the gel jelly pens but the ink doesn't seem to dry and just smears when trying to add finish.

I tried buffing the area with super fine wet and dry but whn the finish is added it looks a tad grey under the writing.

Help! Can someone tell me how to write on these blanksm properly.

Many thanks in advance

First off, welcome to the RBF.
I bought these in gold and silver. I don't know how long it takes to completely dry, but I give it several hours, just to play it safe.
I just recently used the silver on this 2wt, and I wrote the inscription in gold over green thread on an UL that I just finished. (Photos to come tomorrow.)


Chris

Phil Testers will work fine for lettering just mix good. Also if you would cut about a 1/4" grove in a piece of wood and about 1/4' deep you can place your rod in that and have a surface to work on. Also there is an excellent tutorial on the flexcoat site.
Paul

I have had really good results with a "speedball" quil and Testor's ACRYLIC paint. The Acrylic is quick drying, wipes off with alcohol if you make a mistake and all you have to do is put finish on it without coating with anything.

Good luck.

Bart

Thanks so much guys i'll get these bits ordered and hopefully never look back!!! Thanks so much for your help - it's very appreciated.

I tried scuffing and also got a foggy background. I use a gold gel pen from Cabela's and write over a thin base coat of Threadmaster Lite. However......my handwriting is lousy and am considering spending a few shekels and working with one of the decal suppliers. I understand that they will do onesy-twosy orders.

I have a a few Speedball and Platignum pens/nibs and I tested white inks and a variety of paints. The best performer, I found, was white interior Latex house paint cut with quite a bit of distilled water. You want to choose a better grade of paint which will have more solids, the expensive part of paint. I scuff graphite very lightly with 1000 grit paper and then clean with alcohol. So far I have not found a graphite blank that showed the scuffing through the finish but I don't build a lot of graphite so my experience is limited. Trim wraps which border the scuff zone hide the transition, make for a crisp edge to the finish and I think frame the writing nicely.
AgMD

A few weeks ago I found the video that Paul mentioned on the FlexCoat website and tried it today. I found a quill pen at an office supply and used Testors Enamel in gold. My penmanship needs a little work but it seemed to flow okay right out of the bottle. I'll report back one it dries.

Gentlemen,

Writing on fishing rods should be left up to the fine folks who build bamboo rods - they are lucky enough to have a perfectly flat surface to write on and can get away with the old quill pen and black India ink. I did it for years when "round" blanks were "yellow" - remember the old Fenwicks - look great signed in black.

Now we do DECALS - the final professional touch!! - in gold, silver white and BLACK -- when we get a yellow blank!!!

I never close and we will do onesy-twosy orders. Go to the website and check out the stuff . . .THANKS for visiting

Get the best decals from a ROD BUILDER who knows what rod builders need!!

Charlie
tightlinerods.com

I hear ya, Charlie. I certainly love the look of decals. I'm determined to one-up those silly boo-builders, though. I'm learning to write on a round rod!
I've got my 'writing' on am ready to coat it and the buttwrap. I'll have some pics soon. Promise.

Placing the rod so that a bare light bulb is reflected in it, will provide you with a straight line to use as a guide.
AgMD

Big Problem! Wife is home and I messed-up the rod that I built her for Christmas. I gotta get to work!
As noted above, I did her name in thinned, gold Testors enamel with a quill and also used a Sharpie metallic paint pen for doing the Length, Line weight, etc. I waited two weeks to be sure it was all set.
I had planned to Flex Coat or Permagloss over it but got in a rush. I bought a spray can of Ace Tru-Value polyurethane and it 'melted' both paints. Wiped it down with DNA asap. Is there something that will not 'melt' my paint or, do I need another paint?

I use the Testors paint all the time with Flex Coat. There is no need to cover it with it anything. Just let it dry for a couple hours and apply your finish.

I use a gold or silver paint pen....make a mistake though and you'll wanna kill yourself....not that i know

I also use testers, Gold, Copper and Silver along with Flexcote and absolutely no problems.

Been there. Done that. You can coat the work with fixitif or some quick spray.

Do not put on a lot of Spray Poy-Urethane at one time. It will lift the paint underneath. I had a very nice rod paint job going, until I put on my third coat too thick. It raised the existing paint.

I think I am going to try the acrylic Testor's next time. I have had some luck with thinned white out.

Carl

RobertE, try Krylon Fix-A-Tif. It's a clear spray used for overcoating crafts, etc. It's hard to find as I have looked at all the big box stores, hardware stores, and Hobby Lobby....they don't carry it. Ace Hardware might order it for you. They ordered some epoxy for me a couple of months ago. You might get some and try it on a scrap of dowel or rod. Oh yes, I use a gold gel pen, might be different with paint.

RobertE just use CP after it frys and there should be no problrm
Paul

Thanks all for the input. I think I may have used too much spray at once as Carl mentioned. Anyway - it's all clean now for a restart.
Paul - your idea of CP sounds good. I may try that route. BTW, I know your neck of the woods! I spent some time in Tishomingo and had college friends all over the state. Nice website you've got!

Hi guys, imported the testor's to UK - very hard to find over here - as is most rod building equipment!!!!! About to quill it on to the first blank - i'll report back - fingers crossed. I've heard the Krylon is excellent - tried some UK similar products but they're all rubbish. If it was east i'd probably be trying something else!