Reel Repair by Alan Tani

Dear All
Way back in April some friends and I sailed my boat across the Sulu Sea and fished the 3rd Annual Siargao Gamefishing Tournament. While I was there I received an offer for my boat that was too good to turn down and so ended up leaving the boat in Siargao.
My skipper was briefed to clean down all the gear, dry it in the sun and then pack it away.
Work commitments and a typhoon kept me from getting back to Siargao as soon as I would of liked so it was another 3 months before I was able to get back to my gear. Everything was fine except the Penns and this was the sorry sight when I took them out


So after spending an hour or two spewing expletives and death threats to the ex-captain I sat down and went at them with a toothbrush and dental pick to clean away the corrosion. So I am now the proud owner of a set of deeply pitted Penn 30 vsx reels as can be seen below

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I nervously took them apart wondering what the insides would be like and fortunately the insides are fine with no corrosion. It appears that the ex-capt decided to put wet reel covers on the reels before putting them away.
So I am wondering what can be done with these - I would like to try and keep them going and as the pitting is only on the outside I was wondering if there was some way of sealing the bare metal and either painting over the scars or filling with epoxy or something.
Any advice gratefully received.
Regards
Oz
PS for those readers concerned about the sometimes drastic actions that happen here in the Philippines the Ex-capt is only unemployed not 6 feet under.

G'day Oz,
Jeez, that's heartbreaking!
On the upside, despite looking like the end of the world, it appears to be essentially cosmetic.
As long as none of the screw bores have been compromised by the corrosion, I'd just tidy up the edges so there's no potential for line abrasion.
While the corrosion scars are permanent, you've done a cracker job cleaning these beauties up and a little more work will likely see 'em right.
I've had some success with alloy infused epoxy, but generally find it's a lot of hassle for 'looks' alone.
Keen to hear more about the Siargo comp - and see some photos 
All the best and welcome aboard, Justin

heartbreaking.....   

I would replace the corroded parts with new ones.

replacing parts are as much as a new reel. im sure you can get by it is just ugly. the frame looks the worst. frame $205.00 left plate $104.75 right plate $151.80.  that's a lot in parts for a reel that sells between 4 and 5 hundred dollars

It certainly looks like the worst is on the frames. I believe the Tiburon 30 frame will fit these. Much cheaper than a factory frame.
My condolences.

Ron

Boy am I glad that I live by an ocean with only 0.7 percent salinity.

I hope the ex-capt got a nice wupping on his tushie.

/Karl

Ouch !   

That's the main reason reel covers can be your worst enemy!  Never use em!.... Been there, done that, lesson learned a long time ago.
Toss the covers boys....especially if you live on an island.

Bro, I'm sorry for your loss.

Yikes, that is just sickening and dissapointing.  

Some might say...clean it the best you can and at least you don't have to worry about banging it around.

For me, I would at least change the frame.  Just to visually see that would always bother me.  

Wow, just shocking.    

Oz,

Sorry about your reels.  I agree with bradduah kamuela about buying new frames and side plates, that's too much.   If you sold your boat for a good price, buy yourself another set of reels.   

If you throw away the old ones, just mail 'um to me.

It's only money!

M8  This a common problem I have found with Penn.   I have found that if you use lanolin spray on them it will stop this problem.  Lanolin can be sprayed on braid , mono, fluorocarbon with no effect on fishing.
It is a reel shame to see these reels in that condition.

Ken

Quote from: redsetta on September 18, 2013, 12:19:33 PM
G'day Oz,
Jeez, that's heartbreaking!
On the upside, despite looking like the end of the world, it appears to be essentially cosmetic.
As long as none of the screw bores have been compromised by the corrosion, I'd just tidy up the edges so there's no potential for line abrasion.
While the corrosion scars are permanent, you've done a cracker job cleaning these beauties up and a little more work will likely see 'em right.
I've had some success with alloy infused epoxy, but generally find it's a lot of hassle for 'looks' alone.
Keen to hear more about the Siargo comp - and see some photos 
All the best and welcome aboard, Justin

I agree you did a great job cleaning these up. I'm a cheapskate at heart.    If they were mine I'd be tempted to play around with the frames. I'd probably try turning or milling a step in the corroded cross bar until I had good metal. Then I would try a baked on finish or powdercoat. To turn that one bar on a lathe I'd probably shim one side in the chuck. Similar to turning a cam. That's me though. Good luck.   Bob

I would try and build it back up then blend it in. I would like to get ahold of the captain with one of my solid glass rods that have a nice big gimbal

Any updates on if the pitting was covered up/repaired?