I put my second coat of color preserver on and it dryed and my threads color is  orange you can see pic in my previous post new ro started and now there are black streaks and it is very dark. does it always darken the color? i thought it would just help to maintain the color not dyes it. i hope i dont have to redo all the wraps on my first rod :-/

ok i got to thinking when i went to janns the guy asked me if i had a method of turning the rod slowly for drying i said no so he reccomended u-40 urethane finisher and so did tom kirkman in his book. so was i supposed to apply this before the color preserver?

gosh i hope i dont have to redo all those wraps. :'(

well i havent got a response i was hoping id get a quick response so this would be off my shoulders. well im going fishing for a while to realx. i let you know how i do and i hope i come back to some responses.

well im back i caught a real nice 2 lb. smallie on a rebel crawfish and also a nice 4 lb. catfish on the rebel crawfish. 4 lb. cats are fun on ultra lite gear ;D

portageriverangler,

now there are black streaks and it is very dark. does it always darken the color?

Color Preserver is always applied first. As for your threads turning dark and streaks, you might not have packed the threads as tight as you needed (dark streaks are gaps) especially on a charcoal or black color blank. When you put the first coat on did it look the same as it does now? Also why two coats of CP, the only time I have ever needed two coats was when I had done and under wrap...Anyway it is really hard to tell what the problem is without a really sharp picture of the guide wrap....

sorry i kind of forgt about this post but when i put the u-4o on it it brightened it up. some of the wraps if you look close look really bad still  ;D epecially my trim wraps. those things are hard. well it turned out ok.

portageriverangler,

when i put the u-4o on it it brightened it up. some of the wraps if you look close look really bad still epecially my trim wraps. those things are hard.

When putting the CP on next time do a single coat, the majority of guide wraps only need one coat (unless you are using an under wrap).

The secret to a good looking wrap is to pack every 3 to 4 turns, while using the right amount of thread tension. This comes with practice. One thing that would help, would be to use an optivisor to help you see the small gaps between the thread turns when wrapping a guide.

Trims can be a pure pain in the butt. It isn't easy to make the 3 or 4 turn trim and pack it, then burnish it flat without it popping off on you. It use to frustrate the heck out of me for about the first couple of years building.

The thing I like to do now is single turn metallic inlays, I think they have a better look than the end trim, and to me are easier to do.

Check out the sticky post above on single color inlays..

Tight Wraps!  

reelmech,

don't want to hi-jack this thread, but, just a note/question on your comment about wrapping 3/4 turns then packing.

i bought an "electrication" kit that turns my hand wrapping unit into a power wrapper.   on long wraps, it is Fan Tas Tic ....however, it'll wrap 15/20 wraps in a heartbeat.  i noticed the rpm's on your unit was very fast as well.   how often do you stop & pack when you are using power wrapping?

ronnie

justtrying,

Greets again bud..

The max rpm on the machine is 4000rpm. but as you can imagine I don't use it at that speed. It has a variable speed control knob that allows me to preset the max speed. I keep is at about 40 rpm. for guide wraps. On long split grip wraps or wraps around 6" to 10" I will turn her up, cuts down on time.

The real key to power wrapping IMPO is the angle that you keep the thread at, and the tension. On my machine I set the carriage so that the thread comes off at an angle, that keeps it packed tight against the previous turn, so all I have to do is burnish it good and flat. I can't remember whether you can see the angle in the sticky post on the inlays or not because of the camera angle.

I can say however that my wrapping improved a bunch when I started using the optivisor when wrapping....

Tight Wraps All!!!