Stubborn rod tip on old fiberglass

Because I suffer from low IQ, my favorite old boat pole with chrome style eyelets needs a new tip and a rewrapping with new guides. Spooled up one of my old Penn 85 Seaboys with braid in the middle of last year, had fun with it, and by early this year there were serious grooves in the eyelets and tip. Noticed it when snagged one day. Pulled and the line broke right at the rod tip, rather than the sacrificial leader breaking, which was odd. The groove cut it. Checked it out and found the problem. 30-lb mono is holding up even with the grooves, but the rod needs love. The action and length and handle are perfect and this rod is the Pacific to me.  I got the guides and, after drinks one night, tried to start the job by heating the tip with a lighter. Unlike the more modern rods I’ve fixed up, the heat doesn’t seem to want to loosen the tip.

So who has tips for removing a stubborn rod tip? The rod came to me when I was a kid, sat with my dad’s stuff for maybe 20+ years, made the move to Cali with me, and is the absolute favorite of my old fiberglass boat poles that are older than almost everyone on NCKA. The black paint has mostly come off, leaving semi clear old fiberglass. As the original wrappings have come loose, some eyelets were rewrapped with waxed dental floss, which holds nicely, and maybe an ill-informed dab of crazy glue due to a lack of confidence in the job. Trying to figure out if I can get the old stick back to gloriousness. The action, the bend, the handle are as perfect for rockfish, lings, and Cali halis as a stick can be.

I use a small butane torch lighter.  Heat applied in moderation, can’t get it too too hot.  If that doesn’t work, you can use a dremel with a small drum sander to grind through the metal, go slowly.