In my humble opinion the less you do to the feet of a guide, to a achieve the desired outcome the better.
I've had guides crack for no aparent reason, even after a minimum amount of interference. about 12 months back I lost a guide on it's first outing...as far as I was concerned it was a fault or defect in the metal or manufacture.
So I'm of the opinion that a certain percentage will break anyway, regardless.
I'm also of the opinion that a firmly bound guide will endure less stress due to less movement regardless of how small that may be.
As for resin, I've used Erskines for years, I have it on rods that were built well over ten years ago and it's still looking OK. BUT... you get what you pay for, having used flex coat, I would find it hard to change back.
It's a much user friendly product and gives very nice clear finish. I invest a lot of time and effort in my cross wraps, so you can imagine I would want to show them off in their best light, and I get that with flex coat. There are a few other products out there that could well be better, but I've yet to try them.
good luck
roz.
GO THE CRUISER UTES!
....OH WHAT A FEELING!
I've just spent a couple of days grinding/sanding guide feet down..and now I am looking for a good woman to do it for me....bloody hell....size 16 was a breeze...size 12 ok...size 10..little bit fiddly...but gezzzz louise... size 8 were a pain in the..... fingers!!!... I atually found sandpaper to work the best... tried the dremel which was fantastic on the larger guides... but size 10 down I found sandpaper worked a treat...and the skin from the tips of my fingers just wiped off the guides with a hanky...
I got mine from Bunnings last Xmas Dogs... I think I paid around $140.... there seems to be lots of models out now.... mine is just a standard 240 volt one... I think there is new lithium battery ones available now.... also bought a kit of attachements to go with it... it was around the $60 I think...they are a good bit of gear tho...I bought mine to use when servicing and upgrading my reels and it's the bee's knee's.