I'm working on a rod I've wanted for many years. I'm re-purposing an old American Fork & Hoe Co. Oxford square steel casting rods for use as a spinning rod and using the handle from a True Temper Sport Troll. I plan to use it with a Shimano Syncopate 4000FB loaded with 30lb spiderwire stealth braided line.

I've cleaned the blank and induced a nice charcoal gray patina on the blank. Can anyone suggest a good flexible finish to seal and protect the steel blank?

You might consider a spray can of quality lacquer. Many light coats. Or, if you know someone with a body shop, you might get them to shoot it with clearcoat next time they are spraying it. This would be the most durable finish you can get and only a few thin coats would be needed so it is unlikely to affect the action of a steel rod. You can mask off the guides and allow the finish to coat the wraps. If it works well but looks too glossy, you can cut the gloss with a coat of wax or by buffing it down with one of the automotive buffing compounds.
AgMD

Your comment on clearcoat made me wonder again about the possibility of using a clearcoat scratch filler. I have another similar rod that's in bad shape. I'll sand it down, force a patina, then give it a few light coats of the fluoropolymer and test adhesion and cracking as the rod is flexed.

U-40 Permagloss, made by Trondak and available through most of the supplies vendors, will also work well for a topcoat - applied with a small foam brush, it will give you a clear, thin glossy coating which is quite durable (somewhat more so than most of the spray acrylics or lacquers). Can be recoated in about an hour, depending on humidity, is wet sandable in about 8 hours, and is fully useable after about 36-48 hours. I would do 2 coats on the rod before wrapping, coat the wraps separately (about 6 coats for full level), and then one or two overall to blend it . 1 oz. will do several rods this way, and is cheaper than a good auto lacquer spray.
The spray automotive acrylic lacquers are a good solution also, but require a little more prep to use (masking, etc.). Both methods do generate fairly nasty fumes from the solvents involved, however, so use good ventilation and possibly a respirator (especially for spraying).

I would like to see some pics of your rod during your progress, if you could.
What color wraps are you thinking of?
I have about a half dozen of these rods in various states of wear, including a few octagonal rods. Maybe someday I'll do something with them


Chris

I was wondering if the U-40 Permagloss might work. I have a couple options now. The reasons I was considering the fluoropolymer clearcoat scratch repair are the uv hardening and the fact that I have a 2 oz bottle. I'll give it a try and if it doesn't work I'll buy a bottle of the U-40 Permagloss.

At this point the rod is ready to seal and doesn't have any guides mounted. I plan to use titanium oxide guides with gunmetal gray frames and am still deciding on the colors for the wraps. I'm leaning toward green and ivory with a bit of metallic gold or copper.

I'll post a couple photos tomorrow.

I had a great stainless rod and freespool pflueger supreme baitcaster when I was younger. After a few months I got pretty good with it and could toss 1/4 to 1/2 oz 30 to 40 ft without a bird's nest. It was a great rod for the power plant where I fished but unfortunately one day I tripped over a cable next to the water outlet and wound up in the water and nearly drowned. I hauled myself up the cable but lost the rod. I liked the feel of the steel rod and since then I've wanted a steel spinning rod.

This interest in steel rods has led to me acquiring several interesting rods including a couple round stainless, the guideless Bristol, an unknown beryllium copper rod, and an airex alloy spinning rod.