Fishing Rods

I've got some very shallow scratches in some of my rods... like from hooks scratching them or whatever... just in the epoxy or whatever coats the blank. I don't think they are deep enough to reach the blank. Are these a big deal? Do they weaken a rod? Or is it just a cosmetic thing? If it is just cosmetic I don't care. They are very shallow. In certain light you cannot even see them. You can feel them with your finger nail. And they are closer to the handle than the tip. They are not really in the part of the rod that flexes much. Can you put a little extra epoxy over them to fill them in?

N pygmy,
I have the same deal going on with the scratches on the rods near the handle, and some of mine are very obvious. My crankin rods and topwater rods have the most due to hook drags. I've had no problem with the rods losing there strength and breaking, it's just a cosmetic thing. I would be more concerned if my sinkers from say a Carolina rig or a Texas rig was banging against the rod then I would be concerned. I use ArmorAll on my rods when I want to clean them up and make them shine "not on the cork though". Hope this helps
God Bless
Mike

Thanks!