I couldn’t find Hitena natural silk for invisible wraps. So looking for alternative,

212 Natural White - YLI 100wt Silk Thread,

Has anyone tried this, I use YLI 100wt and Kimono silk on rods and like both products

I would give Clover brand #401 a try. Personally, it’s a better quality thread than YLI. On a couple of recent builds I’ve done on CTS Quartz Glass, Pure and Shoot colored blanks, the Clover 401 went totally clear.

I’ve also used the Clover 401 on “clear” Livingston Glass with the same results.

I used Gen 4 as a finish.

Just do some test wraps, may not work depending on the base color of your blank.

YLI Natural does work, in my opinion, it has too many “fuzzies” in the strands.

Thanks Bill, will try it.

Bill Hickey Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I would give Clover brand #401 a try. Personally,
> it’s a better quality thread than YLI. On a
> couple of recent builds I’ve done on CTS Quartz
> Glass, Pure and Shoot colored blanks, the Clover
> 401 went totally clear.
>
> I’ve also used the Clover 401 on “clear”
> Livingston Glass with the same results.
>
> I used Gen 4 as a finish.
>
> Just do some test wraps, may not work depending on
> the base color of your blank.
>
> YLI Natural does work, in my opinion, it has too
> many “fuzzies” in the strands.


Bill so you are actually using a larger diameter 50 wt clover than the YLI 100 wt?

Yes, the 50wt.

Mike

The YLI 100 weight color 212 is all I have used for years.

Do not over pack nor too tightly wrap. Practice is a good idea to get the feel of things.

The only time I use acetone is when making clear wraps. I use 1 part hardener, one part resin, and one part acetone. DO NOT get this witch's brew on your skin and be certain your work area is well ventilated.

Thanks Donald,

I have YSI 100wt natural white coming Monday, Kimono white and I found a spool of Hitena 4a white silk. So will do a test wrap and epoxy with crystal coat. I’m going to wrap 3 Backbone painted, brook trout, brown trout, not sure of the third yet. Turned the reel seats inserts out of imitation tortoiseshell and anodized the titanium reel seat (CTS) a bronze. Have struble agate guides that are Amber with brown spots. So, I’d better get the wraps right..

Bill, I have not tried the CTS glass blank, building on NFC Iconoglass for this project. I use both the Affinity X and M and love these blanks. How would you rate the CTS against other glass Flyrod blanks?

Like the CTS carbon blanks, the Quartz Glass are great blanks. Compared to other glass on the market, I'd label them as just a bit faster than medium in flex, with a very even loading feel to them. It gets kinda personal to say they are better than other brands, that depends on what you like in a taper. The quality of the blanks is top shelf, just like their carbon offerings.

I do find that they are lighter in the hand than other comparable blanks when they are the same length and line weight.

If you take a look at my Instagram page, wjudeflyrodco, you'll see some pictures of CTS Quartz blanks with the Clear Wraps.

Thanks Bill I was looking at getting a 4wt..

Mike

I've built, cast and fished the 764-4, 804-4, and 864-4. The 764 is a great small stream rod, since it is short, it will feel pretty quick, snappy for glass. The 804 is in the middle, very smooth. The 864 is very nice for small dries and fine tippets. I'd base your choice on what type of water you want to fish it in.

Hitena is the stuff. Call Gabe and ask.

Thanks I agree and found 2 spools of 4A, I had stashed away????

I did test wraps with the Hitena 4A, clover,YLI and Kimono white rice (Kimono is my silk standard thread). I probably wrap with more tension than I should.

I use CTS crystal coat epoxy finish and in this process I diluted with 20% isopropyl alcohol 91%. I applied the fish coat which was soaked up immediately a very thin first coat. Second coat was just standard crystal coat, no dilution and again a very thin coat. After 2 coat I made any corrections with stickups and again a very this coat of crystal coat. I allowed for a 24hr dry time between coats.

I have tried to take pictures, but without a macro lens no luck in photo quality.

My conclusion is all we’re very successful and only difference I could see were thread wrapping errors, and fuzzies. So, I’m going to use the Kimono white rice, not sure the first coat dilution is necessary, but I was very pleased with the results, so will continue.

Maybe my bias to 100wt thread and thread quality from Kimono.

The CTS Crystal Coat is the thinnest modern finish I’ve ever used. I doubt very much that you need to thin it.
Norm

I agree Norm, just with 100wt thread and tightly packed, didn’t think it would hurt.????

Be careful with excessive thread tension and packing else you're at risk of creating the "shimmers" which is a fog like appearance caused by tiny, tiny trapped air bubbles. It's a counter-intuitive thing where you would think more tension and packing than your usual would be just the right thing - but it is not.

Thinning doesn’t appear to hurt, but it’s probably not necessary. Crystal Coat is very thin and very slow curing, so it should penetrate the very thin 100 wgt silk with no problems.
Norm

Donald,

The micro bubbles were my main concern. But I agree with Norm and I contacted CTS, they said unnecessary to dilute. But, just out of caution, I did dilute and I’m sure my tension was more than I needed, but Crystal Coat is great against bubbles. So, I though as a precaution, thin Crystal Coat slightly, super thin coat that exposed the top of all threads would be the way to go. As with all rod building, under my room, temperature, the tools I use, my thread, it worked beautifully for me.

Thanks for everyone’s suggestions and help.

Mike

There is absolutely no need to thin Crystal Coat for clear silk wraps! I have done many without thinning, no bubbles, clear as glass !