Restoring a G.Loomis MBR 783C (IMX)

A friend purchased this 2nd hand rod at a very poor condition.

Previous owner didn't take good care of it's delicate cork handle causing it to rot and disintegrate at many areas.
To make things worse, he even attempted to savage it by applying very thick and uneven coat of gloss paint lacquer on the handle itself!

Luckily there's no visible nicks on the rod blank itself.
Guide frames showed some scratches but the alconite rings are still good.

Friend of mine who bought over this rod sought my help to restore it to it's former glory.

I agreed to help him in exchange for a $30 Imakatsu Trairao lure.   lol

Thick uneven coat of lacquer.
Pathetic attempt by previous owner to savage this rod.

Very badly rotted cork right below the trigger grip.

Even the foregrip is not spared.

Within hours, I cleaned up the lacquer and stained areas.

Patched up hundreds of holes big and small.

Repeated the process a couple of times to make sure the fillings got into every rotted spots.

Scraped away the excess fillings and sanded it to a smooth finish.

Below are the before/after photos:

A job well done?

My friend was elated...