Thread epoxy has been the thing for quite a while now, there was a time when varnish was the thing, you'd put a couple of coats on on the guide threads then from the tip to the butt! rod looked really nice when done and over the course of two or three seasons its time to redo it, thing about the "old school" way is its sooo much easier to tear the rod down and clean it up for the rebuild, epoxy works and looks great, its just a pain during the tear-down. If your wanting to learn the basics, go on U-tube and look at rod wrapping etc. I'm sure ya "young" Dudes can do that better than an old-guy like me,,,I can tell ya that there's nothing like nailing "A" personal best on a rod you did your self!