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[Spudcote]

Hey all,
First of all, as my first topic post for this year, Happy New year to everyone, and well done to Rod for the site updates.

Last year, I was fortunate enough to find an old windex fishing reel in a used gear shop, I have been on the look out for one of these for a buddy for quite some time now, and when I found it, I really liked it, and bought a second one for myself (they had 3, all between $13-20, I picked up the 2 that looked to be in the best condition). For those of you out there that mooch or troll on the chuck, the reel's sound is like a Daiwa 175 combined with a Hardy Longstone. I'm yet to use the reel, because I havn't been out on the ocean for a few months now. Although, I hope to use it quite extensively during this coming summer in my quest for a rather large species of salmon.

So far so good, the clicker and internal workings of the reel are all in good order, the only thing that's not so great about it right now, is that it's an old reel, and the outside paint job is starting to show. I have attached (hopefully they turn out...) a few pictures of the reel as it sits right now.

Another buddy of mine (Steelhead King knows him...it's Goon) has had a few of his reels "powdered coated" (I think that's the right term) in a different colour, for example, he has a Hardy Longstone that is half blood-red in colour (quite a nice looking reel actually). I was hoping to do the same with this reel, I wanted to try to paint the reel back to it's original colours. The only problem at the moment is the amount of crap on the face of the reel, I wanted to get rid of all that first. The insides apear to be fine and in good working order.







Thanks for any help

Also...has anyone here used a Windex reel before ?

[Fish Assassin]

The Windex was the mainstay of salmon sportfishing on the West Coast for years before the Daiwa mooching reels came on the scene.

[Randog]

OOOHHHHH she looks like she was ridden hard and hung up wet, but I bet she purs like a kitten with a fish on her. Two years ago I traded my fishing buddy a pair of wading boots for a Windex, she spins better that some of my centerpin reels. So I took her off to the Vedder for a little Pink Salmon action and she performed like Ferrari. I also used her last summer pulling cutplug herring for Coho at the mouth of the Capilano and she didn't disappoint me there either.

  All in all they are a good solid reel, I would just clean her up real nice and fish her. BTW don't tighten the drag nut too tight as the plastic gets brittle with age and may crack, and once it's broken, good luck finding another.

  Looks like you found a deal

[Chrome Mykiss]

Yo Spud,

I'm not an expert in metal finishing, but from what I can tell the original finish on that Windex is a baked on enamel finish. If you intend to re-finish the reel in any manner, such as powder coating, anodizing, blueing or even painting, you must start by having a clean metal surface. This can be a tough process because all the parts must be taken off of the spool/ cage of the reel, then the old finish, corrosion and rust must be removed There are a number of methods used to remove the finish and corrosion, such as sandblasting or chemical baths, which are available at a metal workshop. These services can be very expensive
IMHO, I would just fish with it the way it is.

[Sam Salmon]

Just went and got my out-almost identical! 
Anyway there's some good advice above-it'll cost you hundreds to take all the old paint off and doll it up.
Then what will you have?
A reel that's tough to find parts for.
I put 200 yds of 20 # Dacron on mine as backing before I spooled it up-it holds a ton of line as it is.

[Spudcote]

I just thought that the loss of the paint may have an effect on the metal of the reel. In the 3rd picture, you can see some sort of "bubbling" that I guess isn't great for the metal in the reel, it is in a few other places too, this is what I mostly wanted to get rid of.

I would like to get it re-painted regardless just t cover up some of the exposed areas from any further corrosion. The guy who had a bunch of his reels re-painted told me that I can get it done for about $15, but I wasn't sure what to do about the old paint underneath.

Any thoughts ?

[hardyguy]

Spudcote, Your Windex might not be made in England, There were very good examples that look similar, that were made in Japan. If you or anyone else need any parts for these Reels I have several  including a seldom seen 5 1/2" example that can used.
I would not go to the expense of the repaint, just go out and fish it the way it is, they make great Coho Mooching Reels.

Cheers from hardyguy

[Randog]

You've just got the word from the "Gande Puba" of antique fishing gear, Hardy Guy.

[Spudcote]

The Great one has spoken...

Thanks for the responze Hardyguy. I was just thinking that, considering how much I paid for the reel (~$12), I might as well try to fix it up as best I can. But still, I may just leave it as it is.

I made a post on Mike's Reel Repair site in the hope that someone there could help me out. It was reccomended that if i really want to go to the effort of fixing it, to go to a tomb-stone maker person, and they may be able to help take the old paint off. I'm thinking of just phoning around to see who has what for what price.

Any final thoughts ?

Also, could I just repaint over the old paint ?

[reeler]

your reel is showing the effects of saltwater/dissimilar metal corrosion and plain old rust. The previous owner didn't hose it off when he came in from the chuck. The cancer can be removed and the metal reconditioned and repainted. I use a matte finish non-smudge polyurethane aluminum finish. You may still see some pitting but it won't get worse. If you leave it like it is , it will slowly corrode further unless you move to Phoenix. On the other hand, the reel could be 40 years old and it still works, so it's not going to disintegrate tomorrow.

[Spudcote]

Hey Reeler,

Do you mean to put the "matte finish non-smudge polyurethane aluminum finish" on over the old paint ? or remove the old paint first ?

[reeler]

To do it properly, take it apart. (mask off the spindle and anything else that won't come off) and remove the finish with chemical paint stripper.Be careful of any plastic parts, the stripper may eat them. The furniture type may not work so get an automotive one. Then you bead blast or wire brush the corroded areas and treat the metal with an etch and follow with a conversion coating to stop the corrosion and help paint adhesion. Dry with an air nozzle and give it a light coat of epoxy metal primer ASAP. don't let it sit around without primer. Then you paint the spool face matte aluminum and the cage flat or semi-gloss black. It is one of those projects that is interesting to do yourself but too expensive to get done commercially. If you paint over it the way it is, it is the same as painting over a rusty fender on an Ontario car.