Doing some repairs and find that the trim ring colors are not thread. They are painted on! Very thin red and gold bands off the end of black thread wraps. I know I could scrape the paint away and recreate the trims with thread maybe in NCP red and a dull met. gold. But I wonder if anyone here has ever tried to paint the rings on either for a repair or on a custom rod? Seems to me that a fine brush dipped in testors paint and held steady to the rod as the foot control is used to quickly give the blank a spin would work OK. Anybody here tried it? Results?

James,
I use nail knot trim bands; I don't think I can paint a band as good as thread.

"It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble.It's what you know for sure that just ain't so." Mark Twain
John in Wethersfield, CT

Tried it; it worked ok - but I didn't like the "cheap" look & took them off to wrap with thread.

i have done it with a paint pen, but you can tell that it's not thread.. I didn't like it and ended up using thread.

David Dosser
Coshocton, OH

Jim, You will find this when it comes time to repair all of the Ugly Stix. Painted bands of red and yellow at the end of each wrap.Testors model paints in those colors are an exact match. I had a hard time finding a way to get a clean stripe without a smudge or a wiggle. I first tried a small brush which I gave a haircut to a fine point but, it still was too thick so I went to a single strand of thread, but that was too wimpy and didn't hold enough paint. I now use a short piece of a guitar string (E or B). I take an old string and cut it about 6" from the end that fastens to the bridge/tailpiece keeping the little retainer attached. With the rod turning in the lathe and a steady rest to support your hand, holding the string by its retainer (you may have to shorten the length to suit you) dip the cut end in the paint and carefully but quickly apply it to the area where you want it. Your gonna have to practice this awhile on scrap before you master it and ever after you haven't done it in awhile. Mix the paint , and don't thin it out. Wipe the strings with alcohol before use, they'll hold more paint.When you get the right amount of paint on the string it will form a ball or bulb at the end. This is what you want to transfer to the rod with a steady hand by coming in at right angle and slowly touching the rod with that little ball of paint. If the paint is mixed properly , the spinning rod will pull off as much as you have loaded onto the wire. THIS IS WHAT YOU HAVE TO PRACTICE, how much to load the wire! The more paint you load, the thicker the stripe or possibly a blob. Once you get the hang of this you will be able to match the other guide wraps in seconds. When your doing repair work, it should look as good as new or better when it goes back to the owner and this is an exact match for Ugly Stix.

Dennis J. Danku
(Sayreville,NJ)

Craft stores are your friend!!!

I repair a lot of Ugly Sticks and others with painted trim. The best I've found is a small brush with bristles about 1/64" diameter and about 3/8" long. Fully load the brush by twisting against the edge of the paint container and make sure there are no large globs of paint on the brush. Touch lightly on the rod while spinning at 50-100 RPM or so using just the tip with the brush angled toward the bristles.

I also find Testors acrylic enamel to be a perfect match most of the time, dries fast, and isn't dissolved by epoxy like the regular enamel is. Keep in mind that the metallics don't look too nice until dry and covered with epoxy.

Hope this helps.

NCP thread looks like they are painted on

Bill - willierods.com