Sorry Tony , was filling my face with chinese, forgot i posted !
You got it right , i have done it on a Universal , an Extender , a Hybrid from varitech , I only did it to these as they were near the end of life and i didnt see the point of getting new collars for them .
Should sort you for a fair few months i reckon , like i say just dont take off too much as it will kill the collars strength to grip .
You could also get down Halfords and buy a small tin of clear spray on laquer , open the 2 sections fully and give them a light coat all over , just masking tape the collars to stop the overspray , leave the sections open to fully cure the paint before collapsing the pole again , i have been doing this on my clx for at least 2 years now , it works a beauty .
Rich