Do people cover the rod while drying? The reason I ask a friend built a rod and while on the dryer, ambient dust settled onto the wet varnish which didn't leave a nice smooth glass like finish. What do you do to prevent this?
many thanks.

Yes (the first question)

If your working in the home just shut all the doors and windows.
Ok if you doing this for a living it would be better to have the rod in a heated sealed unit. But no reason you cannot get a first class finish on the kitchen table if you take a little care. And make sure the brush is clean.

Try bug-bond it dries in seconds and produces a good finish, expensive but good stuff.

Alberto

Game Angling Scotland