With respect to the 'fuzzies', a word of caution about the cigarette lighter, use the base of the flame; not the tip! It is the tip of the flame that produces soot, and blackens the thread. The side of the flame at the base is the hottest part of the flame, and you can put it to within about 1/8 inch of the wraps without leaving soot on the wraps. If you have thread ends sticking out after you apply the first coat of finish to the wraps, put a piece of a double-edge razor blade in an X-Acto knife handle, hold the blade parallel to the wraps and adjacent to the now-rigid piece of thread and make a very rapid swipe of the blade across the thread and the pesky little thing is gone; leaving no evidence of it's existence behind.

A combo photo of the blue toenails and the pink fingernails should make for an interesting thread here.

Cheers!