I've built a lot of rainshadows for guys on the board, including rob's. If you want hypalon you'll need a wrapping motor to shape it. Even shaped hypalon will need to be rounded off and tapered to match the reel seat right, and for weight. Without a high speed motor you're mostly limited to cork or cork tape. Cork can be a hassle if you don't have a reamer, and make sure you bring the blank to a shop and buy the cork while you have the blank there. Don't order online and guess diameter sizes, that will be a real big pain if your diameter is too small. Be sure to seal it after it's installed.

Also, make sure you spine the blank correctly before you do anything else. This is one of the biggest benefits of custom rods.

If you decide to give it a try, I'd suggest starting with a cheaper blank to get the hang of wrapping. Once you learn how to wrap it's not the hardest thing in the world, but you can never reach perfection. Getting tight wraps, perfect guide spacing, clean grip shapes, crystal clear finish with no bubbles, perfectly straight guides, etc is what takes some practice. I can say I've never built a perfect rod (sorry guys :P ) and few rod builders have, but you want it to be close enough that you're the only one who would notice the imperfection(s).

If you're serious about getting into wrapping, you should invest in a machine. Mine has definitely paid for itself, even before I started wrapping rods for other people, just on the money I saved over retail factory wrapped rods. With all the extra stuff you'll need, not counting the machine, you won't save much money on just one rod. Send me an email if you have any Q's or if you wanna say screw it and order one :+
-Brian