Garcia Mitchell 300 Refurb

I didn't get a chance to go fishing this month due to the weather and being busy. One of those things was refurbishing a Garcia Mitchell 300 reel I bought for £3 at an antique fair over the summer.

The reel had a lot of paint loss, and once I'd taken it apart, I sanded it to remove all the paint. Then I washed all the parts in soapy water before cleaning and leaving them to soak in degreaser.

After washing, degreasing and washing again, I painted on two coats of metal primer. After some research, I decided to paint the reel rather than spraying, as spray paint can chip easily, according to people who refurbish old reels. I applied two coats of black satin Hammerite as recommended, although I've since found out Hammerite is available in a spray can.

I didn't want the reel to be too shiny; I wanted a tough finish that would stand up to being used. Experienced reel restorers say it's very difficult to get a factory finish on an old Mitchell reel in black, but especially in blue.

I was happy with the paint finish, and then it was time to put the reel back together. I've repaired Mitchell reels before, including spools, bail arms and anti-reverse switches, but I've never taken one completely apart and put it back together again. I took photos and made notes at each stage of dismantling the reel, but when I came to put it back together, my notes didn't make much sense! Luckily I was able to refer to my pictures.

Most of the larger parts are easy enough to put back in order. Some of the smaller parts can be fiddly, and I found that getting the brass washers in the correct order can be trial and error. The round plate inside the spool was temperamental and took some tweaking before the bail arm would engage.