[mufcglen]

Haha the wife said Black Death too😂😂
Like I say it’s only a month or 2 old at most and I leave clamp quite loose, they’ve always given abit of carbon within a few weeks of use from new, I’m not concerned about that it’s just i can’t get this off my hand like I normally would have and it drys my skin out something rotten😲

[P @ F]

Well just cut yer hand off and forget about it then 

[Alex Gardiner]

Thanks for replying Alex, I wouldn’t be able to send back as it’s my every day pole, I sell my old poles and renew every year and done fancy using my slx39 while I’m waiting!
Just to be clear though it’s not actually splintering by looks of it but it’s giving something prickly on my skin, the black I’ve always had and just consider it part of owning a carbon pole and usually just washes off but this pole it’s really stubborn and won’t come off my hand😂
Think I might have to look at using gloves maybe but here’s a photo of my hand after scrubbing with fairy and a rough sponge then solvent remover and nothing is touching it, about a month or 2 old this pole

It really does not seem correct or normal 

Please get the pole back to us for us to look at the issue and sort it for you.

[mufcglen]

cheers Alex but im gonna live with it or try the gloves or maybe giving the pole a coating of what was mentioned earlier see if that remedies it or covers the problem.
i'd send it but i need it everyday and i dont like using the 39 stripped down it feels too wonky as the sections are longer than a 22!!
bought myself some gloves,not happy about it but i'll see how i get on, i didnt mind getting the dreaded black hand when i could wash it off but this is a permanent blotch lol.

[Alex Gardiner]

cheers Alex but im gonna live with it or try the gloves or maybe giving the pole a coating of what was mentioned earlier see if that remedies it or covers the problem.
i'd send it but i need it everyday and i dont like using the 39 stripped down it feels too wonky as the sections are longer than a 22!!
bought myself some gloves,not happy about it but i'll see how i get on, i didnt mind getting the dreaded black hand when i could wash it off but this is a permanent blotch lol.

Really sounds wrong - sooner we can look at it the better.

Why not just work with 4 sections of the 39 for a few days whilst the other is back with us?

[P @ F]

Now that is customer service for you 
Hey Alex , can i send my SLX 18 back , i've only had it since March 2016 and its not as shiny as it used to be !   

[Plankton]

Now that is customer service for you 
Hey Alex , can i send my SLX 18 back , i've only had it since March 2016 and its not as shiny as it used to be !   

My SLX22 from March 2013 has lost it's shine as well and that's with the upgrade on the clamps.....

[Nick Day]

When carbon poles are made, you lay up the material, wrap them around a mandrel, wrap them in shrink tape then bake them. The pressure of the shrink tape is hugely important. Too loose and you get the prickly effect. This can happen because if the operative has a batch of slightly weaker tape which keeps breaking, he lessens the pressure of the taping machine, They then sand the pole for effect. We use a fabric which gives a shiny finish and does not need sanding and we do not need clamps . I think that for a "professional" finish, and for the clamps to be more effective, the poles are being sanded, which Is giving them a slightly duller finish but also opens the grain and is allowing the black stains to be released.  I said before that if you seal them with a satin polyurethane it will should stop the stain release. We also found that the clamps were just as effective with a polyurethane finish.

[Plankton]

So what's the benefit using a polyurethane spray over Halfords Clear Lacquer Spray?

[Alex Gardiner]

When carbon poles are made, you lay up the material, wrap them around a mandrel, wrap them in shrink tape then bake them. The pressure of the shrink tape is hugely important. Too loose and you get the prickly effect. This can happen because if the operative has a batch of slightly weaker tape which keeps breaking, he lessens the pressure of the taping machine, They then sand the pole for effect. We use a fabric which gives a shiny finish and does not need sanding and we do not need clamps . I think that for a "professional" finish, and for the clamps to be more effective, the poles are being sanded, which Is giving them a slightly duller finish but also opens the grain and is allowing the black stains to be released.  I said before that if you seal them with a satin polyurethane it will should stop the stain release. We also found that the clamps were just as effective with a polyurethane finish.

All interesting stuff Nick & may apply to other brands of pole, but not relevant to the SLX poles and their composition as they do not have a sanded finish. The matt finish on these poles is not achieved by sanding.

Whatever the issue with this pole it is very strange and not something we have had occur in the last 10 years of SLX production.

Ideally I need to see it before much more wear happens.

[P @ F]

When carbon poles are made, you lay up the material, wrap them around a mandrel, wrap them in shrink tape then bake them. The pressure of the shrink tape is hugely important. Too loose and you get the prickly effect. This can happen because if the operative has a batch of slightly weaker tape which keeps breaking, he lessens the pressure of the taping machine, They then sand the pole for effect. We use a fabric which gives a shiny finish and does not need sanding and we do not need clamps . I think that for a "professional" finish, and for the clamps to be more effective, the poles are being sanded, which Is giving them a slightly duller finish but also opens the grain and is allowing the black stains to be released.  I said before that if you seal them with a satin polyurethane it will should stop the stain release. We also found that the clamps were just as effective with a polyurethane finish.

All interesting stuff Nick & may apply to other brands of pole, but not relevant to the SLX poles and their composition as they do not have a sanded finish. The matt finish on these poles is not achieved by sanding.

Whatever the issue with this pole it is very strange and not something we have had occur in the last 10 years of SLX production.

Ideally I need to see it before much more wear happens.

By the sounds of it Alex you may have a long wait !
Which in itself is a shame , i know what i would be doing in Glens shoes , but you did try and  not many others would , all the same it must be frustrating for you to at this point not to know why its happening , dont worry though , i will still buy an SLX every 4 years or so 

[mufcglen]

Leave it with me and I’ll see what I can do about sending it back, I only asked the question about construction as I know there’s something different about this pole than the last 2-3 slx’s I’ve had over the last few years with this permanent staining on my hand, like I said usually black staining I just wash off but this is seriously stained into my hand lol.
It won’t put me off buying Gardiner again it’s still the best pole around😉

[nathankaye]

Leave it with me and I’ll see what I can do about sending it back, I only asked the question about construction as I know there’s something different about this pole than the last 2-3 slx’s I’ve had over the last few years with this permanent staining on my hand, like I said usually black staining I just wash off but this is seriously stained into my hand lol.
It won’t put me off buying Gardiner again it’s still the best pole around😉

Whats the reluctance on sending it back??
Its not often the case where a company has this type of direct interaction with its customers never mind publically asking you to send it back for investigation. Im sure your wife wouldnt want those black fingers anywhere near her........well you know where ........😉   
Is it really too much faff to downsize the other pole for a couple of days?? What wohld happen if your pole snapped or something......im sure you would down size the bigger pole rather than sacrifice a couple of days work with no pole!! Same difference if you stop n think about it

[mufcglen]

Leave it with me and I’ll see what I can do about sending it back, I only asked the question about construction as I know there’s something different about this pole than the last 2-3 slx’s I’ve had over the last few years with this permanent staining on my hand, like I said usually black staining I just wash off but this is seriously stained into my hand lol.
It won’t put me off buying Gardiner again it’s still the best pole around😉

Whats the reluctance on sending it back??
Its not often the case where a company has this type of direct interaction with its customers never mind publically asking you to send it back for investigation. Im sure your wife wouldnt want those black fingers anywhere near her........well you know where ........😉   
Is it really too much faff to downsize the other pole for a couple of days?? What wohld happen if your pole snapped or something......im sure you would down size the bigger pole rather than sacrifice a couple of days work with no pole!! Same difference if you stop n think about it

laziness pal, i cant be arsed faffing about trying to find a box then sending it next day delivery and stripping my own pole down, i'll only use the pole for a year or so before i buy a new one anyway!
ive stripped it down and cleaned and retaped it and ive got a theory that it could just be the initial coating wearing off thats a different colour black to what they look like when theyve worn down abit.
there was a fair bit of cruddy carbon on the bottom of the sections where theyre taped so ive flushed it all out now.
Alex could you confirm whether they are finished with a different coat or something as they look matt black to start with and then become a light grey as they wear down?
wore the gloves today too, caught them in the pole clamps a few times but overall i enjoyed it!

[Alex Gardiner]

Leave it with me and I’ll see what I can do about sending it back, I only asked the question about construction as I know there’s something different about this pole than the last 2-3 slx’s I’ve had over the last few years with this permanent staining on my hand, like I said usually black staining I just wash off but this is seriously stained into my hand lol.
It won’t put me off buying Gardiner again it’s still the best pole around😉

Whats the reluctance on sending it back??
Its not often the case where a company has this type of direct interaction with its customers never mind publically asking you to send it back for investigation. Im sure your wife wouldnt want those black fingers anywhere near her........well you know where ........😉   
Is it really too much faff to downsize the other pole for a couple of days?? What wohld happen if your pole snapped or something......im sure you would down size the bigger pole rather than sacrifice a couple of days work with no pole!! Same difference if you stop n think about it

laziness pal, i cant be arsed faffing about trying to find a box then sending it next day delivery and stripping my own pole down, i'll only use the pole for a year or so before i buy a new one anyway!
ive stripped it down and cleaned and retaped it and ive got a theory that it could just be the initial coating wearing off thats a different colour black to what they look like when theyve worn down abit.
there was a fair bit of cruddy carbon on the bottom of the sections where theyre taped so ive flushed it all out now.
Alex could you confirm whether they are finished with a different coat or something as they look matt black to start with and then become a light grey as they wear down?
wore the gloves today too, caught them in the pole clamps a few times but overall i enjoyed it!

The initial coating is carbon fibre - whilst this outer layer will wear off, it usually takes many months to do so before wearing down to different directional layers of carbon fibre. When worn these inner layers may appear greyer than initially but this is more to do with the direction of the carbon fibres than any change in material.

The initial layer of carbon should really not wear off this fast unless in the presence of some unusual abrasive material - such as trapped sand and grit in unusual amounts.

[Dave66]

Used to get black from my last slx but not with the new one?

Feels like it's got a nice shiny coat on :-)

[Plankton]

So what's the benefit using a polyurethane spray over Halfords Clear Lacquer Spray?

?

[duncan h]

Thanks for replying Alex, I wouldn’t be able to send back as it’s my every day pole, I sell my old poles and renew every year and done fancy using my slx39 while I’m waiting!
Just to be clear though it’s not actually splintering by looks of it but it’s giving something prickly on my skin, the black I’ve always had and just consider it part of owning a carbon pole and usually just washes off but this pole it’s really stubborn and won’t come off my hand😂
Think I might have to look at using gloves maybe but here’s a photo of my hand after scrubbing with fairy and a rough sponge then solvent remover and nothing is touching it, about a month or 2 old this pole

That's a really dark black.
My slx 25 is 3 year sols and always gives me black hands in seconds.
Had 2 slx 18 and they arnt half as bad. Got an old exceed pole that I don't use anymore and get nothing off it.
My new slx 35 comes tomorrow. See how that goes.


Got psoriasis on my hands. Hospital said wear gloves. Hate it. I use them in winter but its a pain taking them on and off all the time

[Susan Dean (1stclean)]

i bet you lot are soft southerners  real men just get on with it and dont moan about a few marks on there hands 

[P @ F]

i bet you lot are soft southerners  real men just get on with it and dont moan about a few marks on there hands 

Yeh , I would much rather walk around with black hands safe in the knowledge that i was WELL HARD