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(vintagerods.com) Finishing Natural Conolon® Blanks
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Most of the fiberglass blanks that we obtained from the Santa Ana Conolon plant are deep brown and sanded but without a finish coat. We found that simply wiping them with a good quality marine spar varnish made a huge difference in appearance. Two or three wiped-on coats with buffing in between and they look great.This is how we now ship them.
Bundles of finished blanks and a natural blank. Note the variation in the color of the blanks. They can be used as is or finished further. For example, one custom rod builder has developed a translucent deep red finish where the pattern of the fiberglass shows through creating the appearance of a very attractive, highly polished cherrywood. We use Minwax Helmsman spar urethane (available at Lowes) and rub down with 0000 steel wool between coats. The steel wool leaves a residue. Wipe the blank clean before wiping-on the next coat of varnish. If you use Flexcoat to cover your wraps, coat the wraps and the entire blank all in one step. It's easy and produces great results. 
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