The rod has a green/teal colored twist thread for the wraps so I was trying to get close with the Gudebrod classic twist green/black thread. I don't know if the original wraps are silk or not. I don't think I can go with a lighter thread and let it darken with the varnish.

I did check the thread with the CP already dry. However I noticed the cap had cracked and possibly air got into it. It seems fairly thick; thicker than I remember when I first bought it which was the reason I asked about adding water.

I'm going to play around with some test wraps with different silk threads I have. If I find something I like (I'm sure I will) I'll probably just cut off the original thread and re-wrap with silk. The rod is an old, cheap, production rod so there's no danger in losing any value by removing the original wraps - in fact I think the rod will look much better once re-wrapped.

All of this was/is/continues to be a learning experience.