We all pretty much know that there is a shift in color from thread on the spool, to thread on the rod when you put finish on, without using CP or NCP thread. Personally, I like the looks of regular nylon thread with just finish on it, versus with CP, and finish on it. I just think it has a different luster.

Myself and others have said how we plan on that color shift and translucency that straight finish causes when we select thread colors to use. We have mentioned how we have discovered some beautiful colors that way. I just thought I'd start a thread with some pictures of what various thread colors look like on a bare blank, to help others that may be wondering what certain colors would look like with just finish, without having to go out and buy a spool of thread they may end up never using, because they didn't like the change in color.

I've changed up the way the threads are displayed in the pictures. They are now on side by side wraps of the same color. One wrap left bare, the other with only finish on it. While applying CP changes the color of the thread, it doesn't change it to the degree that just finish over a wrap does. So I personally won't be posting pictures of thread with CP on. At least not for the time being.

Because it doesn't seem to dull the thread as much as some other color preservers, I may pick up some of the new Gen 4 Vivid color preserver to try. If it doesn't dull the sheen of the thread that much, I may incorporate it into some of the future pictures I post. Just have to see how it looks.

I borrowed something from some thread pictures that a forum member Ken Delbridge sent me, and added text to the pictures that list the brand, the thread size, and the thread number and its' color name

While it would be easier if all the different pictures were linked on the same page, I think a better idea is to have other members that want to contribute pictures, to just post them in the thread themselves. That way they can add a description of any little tips or tricks they might have. Plus ..... I don't really check my e mail that often, and if someone sends me pictures, it may be some time before they get posted to the thread.

Anyhow ..... you'll find links to pictures myself and others have contributed, scattered throughout the thread. Feel free to contribute if you'd like. It's a more the merrier kind of thing in my book.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 01/28/2024 09:52AM by David Baylor.

Thanks David. I found them helpful. What I'm not sure about is how to post a picture on the page. I'll try and read up on it. I just completed test wraps w/o CP on the ten greens I have.

David, thanks for looking, and glad you found it helpful. And like you, I can't figure out how to put a picture directly to the page. And if I could I'm not sure how large they would be, so not wanting to take up a lot of page space, I opted for the links. Also I made some changes. It wasn't very cool of me to say that if people wanted to see what color the thread is prior to putting finish on it, that they would have to go to the Mud Hole web site, I added pictures I took of the spools of thread and posted them in front of the pictures with finish on them.

I think it will give a much better idea of the amount of color shift occurs. Of course the color of the blank plays a huge role in that. The Rattan and the Forged Steel are two colors I've had for a while, but hadn't done a test wrap with until today. I've been looking for a nice rich lighter brown as I think it's a color that goes really well with cork grips. I think I've found it with the 701 Rattan. The picture doesn't really do it justice. The 836 Forged Steel, I think is an absolutely beautiful color. The picture definitely doesn't do it justice. I'm going to be building a MB 725 C6O2 blank once I receive it. I'll be using the Forged Steel on that rod for sure.

Anyhow ....... in the future I'm going to try taking a picture of the spool right next to the wrap, and see how that works

Excellent post David.

Thanks David, this was really interesting, insightful, and appreciated. The lighter NCP colors look great based on your images, would you say the same holds for most of the lighter shades as well? Understanding a database/catalog of this would be best, just curious so I can more carefully spend some money on thread this week...

I have some epoxy work coming up and can likely provide images from the Fuji NCP colors I have.

Lynn, thanks for the reply brother, I really appreciate it.

Ken, thank you for the reply as well. Much appreciated. And the thread isn't NPC, it's just regular Pro Wrap nylon. As I said in the opening post, I like the color shift and translucency that finish over regular nylon gives to wraps.

As to your question concerning the lighter shades and their color shift. I don't know that I could assign a specific value as to how much they darken. The lighter colored ones definitely have the greatest color shift, and to me, look more lustrous than the darker colors.

I would love to see images of the Fuji NCP colors you have. And would definitely appreciate your contributions to get this thing filling up. I'm curious to see if the NCP threads look like the test wraps I've done with CP on the regular nylon thread. I'll be posting some more links to pictures as we go. I've got a couple of colors that I've already used on rods, but I don't have test wraps of them. I've also got some 316 Raspberry, and some 325 Fire Red coming in a Mud Hole order I'm expecting on Thursday. And some 407 Cool Mint, and some 519 Rainforest, coming on an order I just placed today. Rethinking a guide train for one of my builds, and needed to pick a few different sized guides.

Anyhow .... appreciate the response and any additions you add to build this base.

David, et al,

I too have created test blank examples of how the untreated thread changes with the application of epoxy. My process was slightly different:

- I select scrap pieces of blank in various colors (yellow, dark red, and polished black)
- I wrap six snake guides on each piece of blank with different thread colors (Light green, light blue, black, white, light yellow and medium brown)
- I apply epoxy to only one foot on each guide.

This not only highlights how the color changes and how translucent it becomes, it also shows how much it changes with the color of the blank. I use these test pieces when I teach rod-building classes so the students can get exactly the color they want.

I also created a CP display on a piece of scrap blank to demonstrate the effects of the number of coats of color preserver. I make a wrap (1/2" - 1") of the various thread colors and make three marks equidistant around a larger diameter piece of scrap blank (0, 1 & 2) I then proceed to add one coat of CP to the thread on the 1 axis and the 2 axis, leaving the 0 axis untreated. After it is dry, I then treat the 2 axis a 2nd time, and when dry, I epoxy the wraps. It is remarkable how much variation there is between each section. Invariably, after showing the effects to my students, they generally elect to use 3 or more coats of CP, or use treated thread, if they don't want the thread to change color.


Rich

Richard, thank you for the reply. Much appreciated. And doing half a wrap with finish and half just the thread itself is an awesome idea !!!! Hope you don't mind if I copy that process for posting further pictures?

And different blanks colors make a big difference. It's like back in the day when I was a bit of a gear head. I had a friend that did custom paint jobs, I remember two particular cars that he painted. Both candy apple red lacquer, but one with a silver metal flake base coat, the other with a gold metal flake base coat. Both were beautiful cars, but the one with the gold metal flake base coat was such a gorgeous and lustrous color of red...... so yeah, base color makes a BIG difference.

I've got a piece of a rod that got broke a few years back. It was built on a Rainshadow Immortal blank. I'll be danged if I can find that piece right now, but it's here somewhere lol ..... when I find it I may post some pictures with the same thread colors, just to demonstrate what you're talking about.

Did a little more changing .... I figured it was pretty stupid not to list the thread color beside the links. I mean the idea is to be able to check out what certain thread colors look like with just finish on them. Who wants to click on a bunch of links just to see if one of them is a particular thread color they may be curious about.

So with that said, the links now have the thread's number and name listed beside the links.

Also got the two new colors to me today. Still have a couple more new ones on the way. Once I get those, I'll add some more links into the first post of the thread.

A thought on trying to match thread color on a repair job,
or just decide on a color for a new build.
Wrap the color you think you want, maybe just by itself,
or next to an existing guide on a repair job.
Then dab rubbing alcohol on the threads to mimic how it looks with finish on it.
Don't like it?
Just unwind and try a different color.

Best wishes,
Ron Schneider
Schneider's Rod Shop
Mountain Home, Arkansas
[www.schneidersrods.com]
mtnron40@yahoo.com
870-424-3381

Ron, while that definitely gets you the closest to what the thread will look like with just finish on it, I don't find it to add that bit of translucency to the thread like just finish does. Maybe that's just me .... but yeah, it definitely gets you real close.

Thank you for this post. It is great to be able to see the change in some of the colors. I am new to this so it is nice to have a reference point. If only this thread was here last week when I placed my order. Haha. That forged steel would be an excellent color for the rod I am about to start.

David, if you want to post the pics in the body of the reply, you'll need to use a hosting site like Postimage. You can choose a thumbnail that will appear in the body and can be enlarged with a click on the pic. Just copy and paste the address with your post.

Ryan, glad to see you found it useful. And the Forged Steel is really IMO a beautiful color. I have a build planned (just waiting on the blank and grip to get here) that I will be using the Forged Steel on. I'm thinking no trim band, but I may see what a 2 or 3 turn accent wrap using Alps 9011 metallic thread. in the middle of the wraps looks like . The Alps thread is like a dark titanium chrome color. I'll do a test wrap on a scrap blank I have, to see how it looks.

And Mark, thank you for the reply and that suggestion of using a hosting site. When I decided to do this thread I was wishing I could post thumbnails of the picture directly into the thread, so definitely going to check out that site you mentioned.

Thanks again !!!

I'm going to be doing some more test wraps with a few new colors I've gotten recently. Also, we actually had sunny skies for part of this past weekend, so I took the rod I have the test wraps on, out into the sun to see what the colors will really look like when you're out fishing. I normally don't use different thread colors all that much. The majority of my wraps are black, or a silver smoke color that ends up a deep charcoal grey, even when out in sunlight, or a chestnut brown that takes on a deep rich brown color, even in the sun.

The wraps I have already posted pictures of are colors I haven't actually used on a rod as of yet, Boy do they look different in sun than they do under the artificial light over my power wrapper. So, because you really need to see the color in direct sunlight before you can be positive it's a color you might want to try ..... I'm going to try taking pictures of the different colored wraps in direct sunlight.

I know taking the test wrap rod out into the sunlight changed my feeling about some of the colors I've posted pictures of. For instance, I really really liked the Forged Steel before I took the rod into the sunlight. It looks completely different in the sun. It's like a silver with a blue tint to it. Anyhow ..... I have some more tweaking with posting pictures so they will be truly representative of what the final product will look like.

David please send me an email and I will send the pics and product/color key your way. I have 12 or 13 different colors epoxied.

Wow, talk about timely. We were discussing this very issue in class last week. Now I have someplace to point my students to where they can see the color changes. I must admit knowing how the color will change without doing a sample is difficult for me. I'm not an artist so can't visualize this stuff too well. Now design a gear assembly in my head, no problem.

Ken, I went ahead and sent you an e mail. The subject matter will read, Rodbuilding.org member, and then my name.

And thank you for offering to send the pictures. I really appreciate it.

John, I'm glad you found the little bit posted so far, useful. I'll be redoing how the threads are being pictured, and should have a lot more to add by the end of the week. I'm in the process of wrapping a couple of rods right now, and I will be using the left over finish from them, to coat the test wraps. Should have quite a few more pictures to post later this weekend. Or next weekend at the very latest.

David,

I have read that a lot of rod builders develop a sensitivity to epoxy and have been forced into using alternative finishes like Spar Varnish. I know the older bamboo rods were done this way, and when I first started building that was all that was available. So I was wondering if you have tried using Varnish instead of epoxy.

I am going to experiment with using Satin Man-O-War varnish on some test wraps to see if I can get the finish I am looking for. I want a dull gloss finish for those rods that are matt finish not the high gloss finish rods that epoxy looks so good on.

Thanks.

Dave,

I thought that a side by side comparison might prove more beneficial for my students. So I merged the thread and wraps into one image and saved. I have the 5 comparisons available on my Google Drive if anyone is interested or someone can post them here. Not sure how to do that.