In an early post of mine I mentioned that I had some fuzz from the threads that weren't burned off completely cause peaks in the epoxy finish. This rod had no color preservative on it.

I watched a video by Doc Ski and he says he uses a minimum of 5 coats of color preservative on his wraps, but doesn't say why. He says he uses it on both plain and NPC thread.

Could these preservative coats provide that super slick fuzz free surface we need before applying the epoxy? Those pesky fuzzies always show up even after close inspection before applying the epoxy. Is the color preservative the trick to solve this problem?

Thanks

Bob

Color Preserver builds no real depth, even unthinned, unless you wish to put on a huge number of coats and 5 isn't going to be even close. You could do the same thing with epoxy, if you just want to keep putting on more and more until you cover your thread fuzzies. But that's not a good way to do the job.

You should already have a "super slick fuzz free surface" before applying either CP or epoxy. If you don't, you're at fault somewhere. Your thread tensioner is bad and is fuzzing the thread, or perhaps you have dry skin and are fuzzing the thread by handling it. Either way, you need to find out what is causing your "fuzzies" and eliminate that instead of trying to mask a problem that shouldn't be occurring to start with.

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Good advice Tom, but it's not the body of the thread that I have the problems. It's where I trim the tuck after I pull the tag end under with the loop.

The procedure that I've been using goes: Burnish the threads, then trim the tag end flush with a sharp razor and finish up with a quick pass of the alcohol lamp. My old eyes even with a 10x head piece misses a few of these and I get the little points in the finish.

Thanks

Bob

We covered this in a short article in the magazine. It's easier to show in photos than in text.

After you pull your tag end through, pull the tag end back towards the end of the wrap which will create a small opening when the tag end was pulled through. Set your razor blade flat on the thread wrap and pull that tag end back against it. If the blade is sharp, the tag end will cleanly cut and drop back into that opening. A slight burnish with a thumbnail is all that's required to close the gap leaving no trace of your pull through thread.

Here's another method you may like - put your tie-of loop in earlier than usual, perhaps twice as soon as normal so that it will be under 15 or so winds of the wrapping thread. Now cut you tag end short enough so that when its pulled through it won't come all the way out of the wrap with the tie-off loop. leaving its end buried under the standing wrap.

Again, the trick is to prevent a "nub" instead of trying to get rid of one after the fact. With a little practice, one of these methods will work for you.

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Thanks Tom, I will definitely try these methods, especially the latter.

Bob

Ty a fly tying lamp. Magnifier lamp. they help make a thread look like rope.

Bill - willierods.com

In any case, burnish after, not before cutting the thread. Better definition makes things easier, in this case we are NOT talking about "Fuzzies", but instead "nubs."

I find there is a key element to Tom's second suggestion, where you put your tie-off loop in earlier than usual so the tag end won't reach the tie-in point. After your last thread turn, pull the loop and tag end up against the last wrap, maybe even under the last thread turn - trim the tag close to the loop.

The key element is placing your left thumbnail on the last wrap very close to where the loop is going under the last wrap. Using pressure from your thumbnail at this point will limit the amount of thread that gets pulled under the wrap when you tug on the loop. If you don't place pressure on the last wrap, quite a bit of thread can be pulled under the wrap and may pull through the wrap opening despite cutting the tag end very short.

Works nearly every time.

Jeff

I use really sharp nail clippers to trim the tag end. I pull on the tag end 90 degrees from the blank, in a way that the tag end stretches a bit. Then I place the nail clippers directly on the wrap and trim the tag end. The applied stretch will help to pull the trimmed tag end to pull underneath the wrap. A bit of burnishing and you're done.

Key is to have sharp nail clippers. I am using a dremel with a rubber-sanding disc to keep my clippers sharp.

Bruno

Still there are those times like when making trim bands with a nail knot that you will have those nubs come through. Especially if using metallic thread. I use a low build finish like LS (cuz I never figured out how to get the hi-build on in one satisfactory coat) and after the first coat has set for 24 hours, I come back with a razor and gingerly slice those nubs off even with the finish. It's gonna take a magnifying lens to really see what you're doing. Make sure to wait at least overnight, if you do this too soon that finish is gonna roll up on your razor blade and you'll have it hamburgered in no time. Then I follow with a second coat of finish to cover the slice and most importantly to level the threads.