I looked at the Gudebrod site and see a light green and a dark green - can anyone tell me what the factory thread for the XP is? And I'm thinking of going with no CP, is there any other color thread that you have used on that olive colored blank that might look good?

I personally like 441 Charcoal with 9396 Metallic Copper trim. Very classy looking.

Gudebrod (251)Goldenrod is the original, without CP.

I've built two XP rods. Both the rod builder I got them from as well as Sage said they use Gudebrod 340 Old Gold without CP (do not use Rice, it's much different). The only issue I had was when I use to use a brush, the wraps were a tiny bit blotchy but I still liked it. Recently I used a spatula to apply finish over 340 and it soaked in much more evenly, although still a tiny bit of a mottled affect - but sharp looking. Next time I order thread I'll get a spool of Goldenrod to see what it looks like. You might call Sage and see if they've changed anything - www.sageflyfish.com.

So this would be regular nylon with no color preserver, not NCP thread?

If willing to make a classic rod look like no classic at all, try using 272 Blue Dun with Metallic Aqua/Metallic Green trim.
I´ll look for the pictures I can not seem to find right now.
Oh, NO color preserver!

Yes, regular nylon - no CP.

340 Gold without CP is what the XP has on it,according to Sage(at least that is what I was told by them).The SLT has 200 Sunburst,without CP as well.

If I were building either I would use something different than these,so your rod looks like a custom rod,not just another factory one.I built a SLT a while back and did it like the factory rod,and while I do like the colors used,I really wish I had done something different to set the rod apart.The black/orange Classic Twist without CP,and trimmed with either metallic gold or metallic copper looks fantastic on this blank.

The XP is a dark olive green blank,so any of the greens will look good,as will any of the shades of brown.A medium brown shade without CP would look nice.As I mentioned,one of my favorite thread colors(especially on earthy tone colored blanks) is black/orange Classic Twist without CP.It turns into a light brown/dark brown color that looks alot like wood grain.This would probably look as nice on the XP as it does on the SLT.




Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/02/2006 11:48PM by Tony Dowson.

Tony, I had thought about trying something "with a twist", but have never seen any pictures of how that might look. The wraps that I have seen pictures of on the xp all kind of look "muddy", so I might try something more exotic. Could you send me a pic of your twist wraps? Thanks, k.

I have struggled to find the perfect thread match for the XP finish.
My favorite is sold by Angler's Workshop. I know it was once made by Rice, but Rice has recently changed locations and experienced some upheaval with the move. So I've had a hard time getting this perfect stuff. I've substituted with a color from Madiera #40 that worked well but not so perfect as the Rice stuff. Sorry but I can't give you any model numbers right now.
I would call Angler's. I think they have recently gotten this stuff in stock.
Tell them you're looking for a thread color to best match the XP finish.

Josh Markvan
www.markvanheirloom.com

I did an XP and called Sage. They told me Gudebrod Goldenrod. I used it and it came out splotchy. User error I'm sure. On the next XP I used Anglers Workshop Olive. It is almost invisible. I like my threads to match the blank as close as possible with a little trim for accent so I really liked it.

Good luck.
Ron Greenbank