My friend wants me to build him a trolling rod with bright colors and he's insisting on neon yellow. I've searched through previous posts and I'm concerned about color fade. I've never worked with neon thread before. Question: Have any of you noticed any difference in fade resistance between NCP/colorfast or non-NCP? Any particular brand more fade resistant? Anything I can do in he way of coatings to prolong the color? The blank is slate gray- should I paint portions of the blank white (or other color) to brighten the yellow? Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/23/2021 12:02PM by Daniel Grundvig.

Yellow by its nature is going to fade - look at yellow cars after a couple years or so. Neon Orange could be a better option if he'd like that.

Pigment or powder paint can be added to the thread finish to make the neon wraps much brighter.

I haven't used their neon yellow, but Mudhole's neon green in plain or NCP is NOT EVEN CLOSE to the bright color shown in the catalog or on their site, so Fuji or another brand may be better.

I paint three guides worth of my rod "tip watched" rods international orange, seems to hold up better then the neons do, then put on the guides.

Daniel,
Whether NCP or regular nylon, any light colored thread will “muddy-out” over a dark base, obviously more so with regular nylon. Especially if your trolling is for off-shore, under-wrapping with the same light color will help considerably to retain the color of the over-wraps. While there will always be a continual debate on the pros and cons of under-wraps, they certainly will not harm anything on a heavy powered trolling rod.
Most, if not all, brands of thread finish contain UV additives to HELP retain the color of the underlying thread. However, ultimately in the end, UV will win; you can’t fool Mother Nature!

Mark Talmo
FISHING IS NOT AN ESCAPE FROM LIFE BUT RATHER A DEEPER IMMERSION INTO IT!!! BUILDING YOUR OWN SIMPLY ENHANCES THE EXPERIENCE.

I have rods that I used Neon Yellow in regular nylon on and with two coats of Flex Coat color preserver they still look stunning even after heavy use.

Thanks everyone for your advice. I'm going to incorporate some of these suggestions and since this rod will be used fresh water only with infrequent/light use, the color may just outlast the old fart (this old fart too)...lol

I made a surf rod three years ago with neon Green Fuji NOCP and it hasn't faded a bit. Passer bys always comment on that rod, and i always have three or four rods out and they zero in on that one. People love bright colors. So do I. I wrapped it over a black rod and it would have even been brighter had I put an under wrap under it, but it still looks good.