Ok, I have slowly but surely started my first rod. I understood going into this that this rod would be usable. Maybe not the prettiest, but usable. Got the handle and seat done. Looks fine, not great, but fine. Did a little bit of spinning in front of the seat, behind the grip and in front of the butt. The blank is dark blue and I was using dark blue thread and white thread. Got done and looked good. I was impressed with my first effort. I then decided to add the rod finish. I have basically been going off of tips from mudhole.com and others, and all say to "add rod finish" So I bought U-40?? rod finish and painted it on. this is where disappointment set in. First of all, the white soaked up the finish and you can see the blue blank through the thread. Now looks grayish. also, How do I get it to dry smooth and shiny. I have only added 2 coats so far so will it just turn out good after numerous coats, or do I need to do something different. It is really rough definitely looks "homemade".

Help appreciated.