I wrapped the guides on a crankbait rod last night using Fishhawk regular nylon orange. I've used other Fishhawk thread colors with excellent results, but first time using orange. I did a test wrap on a scrap blank with 2 coats of CP and achieved the look I wanted, so I did the same on the crankbait rod. Wraps looked good dry and I thought I had them packed good enough (and lightly burnished), so on goes first coat of CP - dried 1 hr per mfg instructions - applied second coat CP and let dry over night. Maybe it was late night and early morning but I didn't notice semi-translucent appearance after CP, however first coat of TM Lite on threads made it very noticeable. Translucent orange is not the look I hoped to achieve on this one, opaque or solid orange is desired. Any comments on the mistake(s) are welcome but I'd like some ideas on how to fix. I'd prefer not to start over and was thinking about adding some Testors orange paint/pigment to second coat of TM Lite... please help.

Thanks,
Chris

Chris,

Orange is really tough unless you use an underwrap of silver or white OR Paint under each wrap with silver or white. I've built two Univ. TN rods and painting the rod blank under each wrap got me what I wanted. Either way, I can't stress the importance of good packing - orange is just quirky IMO. Even using the NCP Orange on a dark rod can sometimes not be enough if you're looking for a solid orange. Pac Pay NCP Orange works well for me. I'm not an expert, but "fixing" it may not be the best answer unless it involves stripping it all off and starting over.

Cheers

Walt

Chris,
In addition to Walt's comments, you can use a double orange wrap on the guides to achieve the look you want.

Take care
REW

White testors model paint under the orange will give you a great, bright, solid orange look. I had the same frustration the first (and last) time I tried it without the undercoating. Even an underwrap of white or grey thread didn't look as good (IMHO)

With orange or yellow thread I measure and mask the wrapping areas and spray on a couple of very light coats of white paint before winding on the guides. The orange (or yellow) wraps really "jump out at you."

Thanks guys.... looks like this is going to be a "re-do".

Chris,

Use the rod.
Translucent is a very pretty finish.
Perhaps not what you want, but nevertheless very nice.

I actually very much prefer the translucent look.

Unless there is an absolute requirement that it not be translucent - I would certainly leave it alone.

Take care
Roger

I had some orange bleed through on a blue wrap.
It was for a UVA colo wrap.
I have had good results mixing up white pigment with a
pre-coat of epoxy.Then just wrap and finish.
mikeb

Home Town,Gretna VA