[Mike1790]

See picture. These nasty looking globs are making this old Goodwin Granger (1938 on the reel seat)

look contaminated and diseased!
What is it?
How do I remove it without stripping all the original varnish?

 

[Flyguy65]

Those nasty bumps are the old varnish. It’s known as “alligatoring” old age spots......either Citrus strip or scrape it off.

 

[Mike1790]

It seems like a coating put on over th original varnish. The extra tip does not have it. I can pick some of the bumps off with my finger nail and it seems there is varnish underneath the bumps i pick off.

 

[Flyguy65]

That could be the problem.....crappy varnish over old varnish. Or maybe even shellac over old varnish. I’d still remove all to bare cane if it was mine. Here’s an antique cabinet that has similar varnish problems.

 

[Mike1790]

Denatured alcohol turned out to do the trick. Rubbing it with a clean cloth and changing the cloth frequently took off the bumps and did nto appear to damage the original finish. I think its a Goodwin Granger Champion.

 

[Tom Bowden]

Good solution - try to polish the flaws out before doing a complete refinish.

Sometimes people would use women’s fingernail polish on bamboo rods - bad idea!