I've been told that a very thin coat of clear polyurethane is good to repair a finish chip on rods. I'm not sure about scratches on the finish?                 Does anyone have a recommendation on how to repair a small chip or scratches in the finish of graphite rods?

IMO chips and scratches add to the character of the rod and increase sensitivity.  😆

we talking bare blank or coated? 

1 minute ago, garroyo130 said:

we talking bare blank or coated? 

Coated, an older Shimano Clarus.

2 minutes ago, Tennessee Boy said:

IMO chips and scratches add to the character of the rod and increase sensitivity.  😆

Maybe so. Much like boat rash on reels?

I feel like a few yrs back I looked into patching an old Shimano as well. I may have tried Sally's 'hard as nails' but it won't look perfect. It will keep it from getting worse though. Someone might have a better option.

You need to evaluate the level of damage. It’s really easy to make a bad matter worse, aesthetically and structurally. It’s hard to patch spots and have them blend in. Permagloss is a urethane finish for rods. It’s hot and sometimes not kind to certain paints. 

If you're going to use permagloss try to do it when the humidity is low. Down here in the AR summer, that stuff sets up faster than superglue. I like cpxtra better. For my purposes, it's the same thing just a little slower to set up.