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I blued some NS in some fixer I have. Now what is the best, hardest and longest lasting lacquer to put over it. I know there is some super tough stuff developed for aerospace anyone have the name or source?  (Adam Vigil)

I like and use a product called "Nyalic."  It's a clear coat designed for show-car engines.  Tough as nails, extremely heat resistant.  Resist solvents.  Easy to use.  Comes in a spray can that'll do all the ferrules in the world.  Just spray it on, and clean up any drips with a Q-tip.  (Harry Boyd)

I use a product called Sta-Brite. It is made for coating brass lamps, etc. It's the best stuff I've tried.  It also has UV protection, which you will need, if you don't want the color to fade.  (Dave LeClair)

Go to your local Hobby shop and back in the airplane department  there is some clear lacquer called Aero Gloss.  Hal bacon turned me on to this and it is tuff as nails. You can also just type in Aero Gloss on your search engine and find info on it...  Thanks   (Dave Henney)

I used my new dip tank to varnish a rod recently, and I love the way it smoothes out the wraps and gives an even finish. I taped the the cork around the front of the grip and above the ferrule wrap on the ferrule. When I removed the ferrule tape (after drying), there was an ugly ridge where the tape and the varnish met that I can't get rid of. I don't want to sand it down, because that might muck up the polish/bluing on the ferrule.

How do others handle this?  (Bill Hoy)

Use Scotch brand clear tape to mask off the ferrules, and the ridge will be much less noticeable.  As soon as the varnish is tack-free, while it's still sort of "green" remove the tape.   A little work with a thumbnail will get rid of all traces of varnish on the ferrule.

For what it's worth, I dip two coats with the ferrule masked off.  On the final coat (or coats if I'm unlucky) I only plug the opening of the female and mask off the slide of the male.  A coat of varnish on the ferrules provides a little extra protection for them and eliminates any worries about a bump.  (Harry Boyd)

Auto body shops sell this great, (painfully thin) tape for this type of masking, leaves little or no paint/varnish line.  I used miles of it when I repainted the oakum lines on my Chris Craft.  Great stuff.  (David Smith)

My solution is in reference to the Super Swiss ferrules I use. I mask my ferrules pretty far down for the 1st 2 coats. I then remove the tape and using paint stripper and a steady paintbrush, clean off all the varnish back up to my ferrule wrap. Most strippers are neutralized with water, so I wipe off any residue with a damp cloth, re mask just into the slide on the males, and mid barrel on the female.  After the 3rd and final coat is set, I again with the stripper clean back, but this time stop at the top of the shoulder/slide on the male, and at the shoulder on the femme. That final coat smoothes out the ridge off the wrap, and the shoulder make a nice line of demarkation (if that's a word). I then lacquer the barrel on the female if the ferrule is blued.  Hope that gives you some ideas to work with....(Rob Hoffhines)

I pull the tape off before 24 hours, usually less than 12 but more than 8. The varnish is still tacky at the tape while but it is dry enough on the bamboo to avoid major problems in handling the rod. I use alcohol on a rag to smooth out the ridges you described.  (Rex Tutor)

I forgot to plug my ferrule before dipping in varnish, so it’s full of varnish. What do I do?  How do I clean out the inside of the female ferrule?  (Kris Fox)

Q-Tip not an imitation, but one with the cardboard / paper stem, paint remover just be very careful not to get any on the rest of the rod.

Easiest way to avoid that is to hang it by the butt so everything runs out. Take your time and work at it.  (Pete Van Schaack)

There's a good chance that the ferrule isn't full of varnish. The air in the ferrule should keep most of the varnish out.

To scrape out what's in there try an off cut from one of the planed up butt strips.

The three sharp edges make excellent small scrapers but aren't hard enough to damage the metal of the ferrule  (Luke Bannister)