Quick Finessa

[Alto Mare]

Got this reel today


It didn't look bad, but from turning the handle it was very stiff
I couldn't complain too much, I paid $15 for it and the seller paid over $8 to send it to me, I actually felt bad for the guy.

The reel had some dried up grease and lots of rust.
Here is a look of the inside of the reel



The spool sleeve gave me a hard time, but it finally came out

The bearing loaded with rust, I must say nice design on this reel it has a shield that comes off so you could get to the bearing.

I also like the plate screws, not as the 330 having the long screws that go through the body, these have a set on both sides
The handle pin gave me a hard time as well, looks as this reel was never opened

Even with my press I had a hard time, but it finally came off

I did not want to deal with that pin again, so I drilled and tapped the arm, I also made a ss screw with threads at both ends

much better now

cleaned the parts really good, I even buffed the inner side of the pinion

and the parts back in the reel

the bail was also weak, I do not have parts for these, so I tried one of the spring for Penn reels and it worked out nicely


I'm showing the Finessa with a 331 and have a question for Fred, or anyone else that would know.

Is that handle on the Finessa the correct handle?
Also, I wasn't crazy about the spool so decided to try the one from the 331. I take it the 330/331 is the same reel as the Finesse, even though there isn't the word Finess etched on those?
The reel is now working smoother than the others, I spent a lot of time getting the shaft to glide as smooth as possible.
These are nice reels, I really like them. Would it cause any problems using the spool on the Finesse from the 330/331?
I'm not seeing it, but wanted to ask.
the spool on the left is for the 330/331.

And the assembled reel

I don't mind spending an hour or two on these...labor of love
And my Quick collection growing just a bit.


Best,

Sal

[foakes]

Nice job, as expected, Sal --

Yes, that is the original crank and knob.

It is one of the earlier versions.

The spools from a Finessa or 330/331 can be switched with no issues.

Anglers in the know will use a Finessa spool in place of the 330/331 spools -- since the Finessa spools are metal, and the 330/331 are plastic.

Best,

Fred

[festus]

Good looking Finessa.  Yes, looks to be the same model as mine with the handle.  Mine has the metal spool. I'm fairly sure mine was made in 1964.

Also had a guy on Facebook send me a PM a couple days ago, said he had a Finessa for $15 shipped, but not nearly as good a condition as Sal's.  Been thinking about taking him up on it but I really don't need it.

[Alto Mare]

Nice job, as expected, Sal --

Yes, that is the original crank and knob.

It is one of the earlier versions.

The spools from a Finessa or 330/331 can be switched with no issues.

Anglers in the know will use a Finessa spool in place of the 330/331 spools -- since the Finessa spools are metal, and the 330/331 are plastic.

Best,

Fred

Thanks for the information Fred, I knew you would get back to me as quickly as you did, I appreciate it.
Wow! nice stash of parts you got there, do you ever fish with any of these reels? just wondering how they feel.
I am a little surprised about the spool though, the metal is a two piece spool and with only one washer, on the 330 you could fit up to 5 washers... if you get creative.
I also noticed, that dropping the plastic spool twice as I was removing line didn't do a thing to it. When I did the same with one of the Penn spools, it broke in many pieces. I'm not sure what this means, but I know the Quick spools are much tougher.

On another note, on my Super, I had one with lots of paint off the spool, I kept it  soaking in Simple Green for 2 days and the rest of the black paint came all off, this left the gray base coat unmarked.
I even tried steel wool  and didn't do a thing to it.
I do not have any documentation on these, could you let me know what they used for the base coat if possible ? It appears to be moly coated, but I'm not sure.  I could say this though, if 2 days of Simple Green didn't do much to it, I don't believe there is a need to paint the spool, might be just cosmetic.
Thanks Fred!

Good looking Finessa.  Yes, looks to be the same model as mine with the handle.  Mine has the metal spool. I'm fairly sure mine was made in 1964.

Also had a guy on Facebook send me a PM a couple days ago, said he had a Finessa for $15 shipped, but not nearly as good a condition as Sal's.  Been thinking about taking him up on it but I really don't need it.

Chester, if anyone offers you one of those in the future for that kind of money, please let me know about it.
Thanks!

Sal

[Midway Tommy]

Sal,

The best thing I have found to repaint old painted spools is spray can Appliance Epoxy. It dries to a very hard finish and wears really well, especially in fresh water. Never fish saltwater so I would have no glue how it would hold up there.

On another note, those drive pins usually come out a lot easier the next time around. 

Nice resto!

[foakes]

On the spool paint removal, Sal --

I used to use a very fine SS or brass 6" wheel on one of the big grinders.

It would take about 20 minutes -- but the paint would come off.  It is tough paint for sure.

But lately, the easy way for paint removal on the spools is either the powder coating shop's dip tank -- or a radiator shop's dip tank.

I take 20 or 30 at a time -- stick a 1/4" SS rod through all of them with a threaded nut and washer on each end.  Have the guy dip it while I watched and waited so it was not a damage issue by being in the tank too long.  

Rinse with fresh water, then either repaint or polish to bare aluminum.  Paint is just a high quality gloss spray paint like is used on car parts, or tractors.  One light coat, let dry for 24 hours.  Then another fill coat, also light -- then bake in an old toaster oven for about 8 minutes.  That's it.

I have had a few powder coated -- but that gets expensive pretty quick.

For the dip tank -- my guy does 30 of the super, 265, finessa, or juniors for (2) Andy Jacksons.  Take it in a half hour before the end of their day, and they are happy to get it dipped, done, and get a little beer $$$.

Best,

Fred

[Alto Mare]

Sal,

The best thing I have found to repaint old painted spools is spray can Appliance Epoxy. It dries to a very hard finish and wears really well, especially in fresh water. Never fish saltwater so I would have no glue how it would hold up there.

On another note, those drive pins usually come out a lot easier the next time around.  

Nice resto!

Thank you Tom! I hear you on the pin, but from the looks of it, I'm better off with the screw on tis one.
The pin I've removed on others was a roll pin, or spring pin and came out with very little effort, but I still used the press.
On this particular reel its a solid dowel pin with groves, I believe it would have been just as hard the second time around.
I will buy an assortment of spring pins of different size for future use, those will always come out.
Thanks for the tip on the paint sounds interesting.

On the spool paint removal, Sal --

I used to use a very fine SS or brass 6" wheel on one of the big grinders.

It would take about 20 minutes -- but the paint would come off.  It is tough paint for sure.

But lately, the easy way for paint removal on the spools is either the powder coating shop's dip tank -- or a radiator shop's dip tank.

I take 20 or 30 at a time -- stick a 1/4" SS rod through all of them with a threaded nut and washer on each end.  Have the guy dip it while I watched and waited so it was not a damage issue by being in the tank too long.  

Rinse with fresh water, then either repaint or polish to bare aluminum.  Paint is just a high quality gloss spray paint like is used on car parts, or tractors.  One light coat, let dry for 24 hours.  Then another fill coat, also light -- then bake in an old toaster oven for about 8 minutes.  That's it.

I have had a few powder coated -- but that gets expensive pretty quick.

For the dip tank -- my guy does 30 of the super, 265, finessa, or juniors for (2) Andy Jacksons.  Take it in a half hour before the end of their day, and they are happy to get it dipped, done, and get a little beer $$$.

Best,

Fred

Fred, I'm always impressed by you, no matter what we talk about, you always impress me. You are a wealth of information, thank you.

Sal

[Newell Nut]

Nice Job Sal bringing some good life back to an oldie.

[Alto Mare]

Hey buddy, I heard you guys got some snow down there , but it might have been a little north of you.

Yes, I recently discovered these.
I heard about them a while back, but never took the time to check one out. These don't have the fancy paint or finishes, but they are sure built like tanks.
I could see these lasting for a long time, even longer than another of my favorite, the Penn.

Stay warm down there, you guys are not used to it.

Best,

Sal

[thorhammer]

Nice work, Sal. My Finessa has the flat torpedo style knob. Great reels. Fred did mine. I'm terrible at bail assemblies.

[foakes]

Yes, I recently discovered these.
I heard about them a while back, but never took the time to check one out. These don't have the fancy paint or finishes, but they are sure built like tanks.
I could see these lasting for a long time, even longer than another of my favorite, the Penn.

Best,

Sal

Though I have specialized in working on Quicks, Mitchells, Penns, and ABU's over the years -- the DAM Quicks from the 40's through the 80's never fail to impress me -- even after working on 1000's of them.

It is always heart-warming to me when a member discovers these hidden gems --

Just take an old 220 or 330 -- take it down all of the way -- clean all of the parts well -- reassemble using modern lubes -- and pair it up with an old glass Fenwick, Shakes Wonderod, or similar -- and fish it.

The attention to common sense engineering, components, materials, tolerances, over-built stress design, and the ability to handle a large fish in conditions the reel was not mean't to do -- is impressive if you know just a little about reels.

The more you handle other reels -- the more you will like the Quicks.

These were built by German engineers who were also avid anglers -- and started out as clockmakers.

Best,

Fred

[Alto Mare]

You have a point John, not so much these but some could be a pain.
You sent it the the right man, I'm sure he got everything else in top shape.
I wonder if Fred knows what type of finish that is on the paint. Would you believe, my 1 ton press has the same finish as the Super .
Stay warm.

Sal

[Alto Mare]

 Thanks for keeping adding information about this reels Fred, very much appreciated.

Sal


My phone has been acting up all morning, takes a while to send a message😕

[Midway Tommy]

Sal,

Was your press made in Germany? Some sort of crinkle paint, Fred has talked about what to use a few different times.

Fred,

Your tank dipping and powder coating scenario is always intriguing. I can't even get those guys to discuss a process like you describe after the initial "would you consider" and showing them the subject, whether it's reels, spools, parts, etc. Big town or small town suburb businesses around here only want the big jobs that produce profits. They could care less about a little beer money or pocket cash. Plus, you always have to go through the owner, who doesn't want his/her employees screwing around and non-productive.

I offered to pay a local auto body guy, whose daughter is one my daughter's best friends, to paint a couple of spools candy apple red with an added clear coat and he bluntly told me he "didn't have time to screw around with little projects like that, anytime". I tried a couple of other shops with the same response so I quit trying and just do them myself. I can do it, if the weather cooperates, in less time than I can drive to their shop.  

[foakes]

If one is only doing a couple of metal spools at a time -- I also do them myself, Tommy.  No big deal...

If, on the other hand -- one wants to do a few dozen at once -- which to me is efficient and a time saver -- I go to the small independent radiator shops or powder coating places.  They remove the paint quickly -- then I am on my way -- and I prefer to paint them or polish them myself.

Auto body shops are not the ones to do your work.  All of their radiator and powder-coating jobs are subbed out to small independent shops anyway -- and show up on an estimate as "sublet work".  These auto body  shops all work on flat-rate sytems like Chilton's, or other standard software trade programs.  

You are right, they do not have the time to do spools.  The way a flat-rate shop makes additional money is by beating the flat-rate time charged to the insurance company or client.  Both the shop and the employee can make up to 50% additional per labor hour -- if a skilled body shop guy has the experience to do a job quicker than billed out on the estimate.

If the labor estimate for a job at $100 per hour, is $3500 -- and a skilled and experienced craftsman can do it in 20 hours -- the shop gets an extra $750, and the employee also gets an extra $750.  Just the way it works -- so that is why they can't take the time to do a little piddle job on a few reel spools.

Radiator shops are generally a one or two man operation -- PC shops usually a 2 to 5 man operation.

Take them a reel, a couple of twenties, and the job will get done if brought in during the last hour of their day.  Not a check, not a credit card -- just green in their hand...immediate and everyone is smiling.

I guess it helps having been around the business for close to 50 years -- and knowing what motivates these fellows -- and who, how, and when to ask -- but it all boils down to either getting them to do it -- or doing it yourself.  

Each of us has a different style of getting things done -- and they are all good.

I just save up my spools until I have enough to make it worthwhile -- get them dipped and stripped -- then do a batch paint process myself.

Best,

Fred