I have just finished the last of 5- SC5's (olive green) using desert camo thread. All look great except the thread on the last one. The thread turned very dark where the thread wraps over the guide feet on three of the wraps ! All rods were done with the same type and color thread, three coats of color preserver from the same bottle, Threadmaster lite, no coloring on the guide feet, just ground down a bit. What happened here ? Thanks for any help you can give.

David,
I think that you just have to chalk it up to the fact that you are an exceptional person.

Sometimes special things happen to exceptional folks.

Actually, I don't think that there is a good explanation for your problem, unelss you had some contamination on the guide feet. Did you have the guide feet very clean before starting to wrap?

Roger

The guide feet were right out of the package. They are black. I ground the tips on a bench grinder and polished with 400 grit sandpaper. This has never happened before, so I don't understand why. Since this is a spinning rod, the darkening cannot be seen from the top.

Dave, I had a very similar situation happen. The only thing that was different is that I did not have color preserver on my thread. Same thing happened, thread over a couple of guide feet did turn very dark compared to the rest of the guides, it looked like the thread was "stained" on 2 of the guides right over the feet while the rest of the guide wraps looked fine. My thread was Gudebrod Olive, Gloss Olive Blank and Threadmaster Lite finish. I figured that it was some sort of residue that I did not clean off the guide feet even after I had prepped and polished them. I just removed the two guides that were affected and wrapped them again, after a good cleaning with ISO Alcohol. Second time around, no issue, and they looked exactly the same as the other wraps on the rod.

I wouldn't blame anything on what you did nor the products that you used, something had to be hanging around on those guide feet to cause the dark spots. Now, before I wrap any guides I clean them with ISO Alcohol.

Thanks for the info. I've never cleaned the guide feet after preping, but I'll begin doing this as a precaution.

Another possibility is if the CP did not dry long enough. I have had it happen with some brands more than others, and it doesn't always look identical from wrap to wrap. For some brands overnight drying is required between coats, and yes, some brands require more coats. Another reason that I don't use CP unless I really cannot get a color I want without it.

HI David
I had the same thing happen to me, now I clean all my guides as well as the rod, I wash my hands before I start to wrap any rod, this seamed to fixed the problem. Be sure to let all dry then wipe with clean dry rag ( I use a old T _shirt) , no lint to mess you up. Oh yea ,use Iso Alcohol, let day then wipe with dry rag.. good wraps

What is life without fishing ?