Wrap Finish/Color Preserver Compatibility

[Ralph Tomaccio]

I'm about ready to order my first rod building kit which comes with FlexCoat finish/adhesives. I would like to use a color preserver (which is not included) for the wraps but cannot find one made by FlexCoat available from where I am ordering, but they do offer both Trondak and Gudebrod CP.

Can anyone tell me if there is any problem with using a color preserver made by either of those two companies with the FlexCoat Rod Wrapping Lite Finish? Or, any other combination of companies product with others for that matter?

Or, is it better to stick with one company's whole finish/adhesive product line for all rod building?

Thank you!

[splinter]

you won't have any trouble mixing brands as you describe but FleCoat does make a good preserver
splinter

[white43]

Before you commit to using a color preserver, do a practice wrap to take yourself through all the steps before you do your actual rod. I used a color preserver with the idea that it would be a WOW rod, but the wraps didn't blend well with the rod itself and when I cast it looked like I had about ten ribbons tied to the thing. I ended up accidently breaking the rod one of the first few times I used it when the boat drifted over my line while trying to disengage a snag and I was almost relieved when it happened. I used the same thread without the preserver and am much happier with the results. Each to his or her own, though, but this would give you a chance to see the "final" result before commmitting to your dream rod. JGW

[Plain Old Jim]

I bought some cheap arrows from Wal Mart to practice wrapping, colors and using the glues on. $1.96 ea I think. But nealsfishingtackle.com I think if you go to his website and get his phone number he has some blanks for 99 cents. These would be good to practice on and fool around with...then give away to some youngster or donate to a group of kids. But it might be a good idea to practice on a piece of dowl, or an arrow or something....rather than your first efforts to be on the rod blank itself. I chose the arrow because it is black and shiny and should be similar to trying to wrap on a guide on a black rod blank.

Gem

Gem

[Ralph Tomaccio]

Good suggestions!

I plan on making this whole first rod my "practice rod"! But, I'll make some practice wraps before starting anyway, with and without CP.

I then would like to build a Sage TXL 3 weight. Cast one this past summer for a few days and loved it, except for the short grip, which is what got me started with this whole rod building thing.

[flyfisherjoe]

The easiest and most accurate way to test the wraps is on the end of the butt section where the reel seat will go. You'll get an exact look and it will be covered up when you put the reel seat on.

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Joe

Ralph;
Bob at Hook&Hackle is very good about changing out parts in his kits. I've swaped out grips and guides for almost no additional cost. He's got some good sales on right now too.

White 43
Good tip. My next rod has black reel seat fitings and black single foot guides. I planned to use gold thread. I better take your and flysisher joes advice and try some with and without wraps on the butt

[David Parker]

I feel that test wraps are always a good thing to do, so you get to see what your finished wraps will end up like. I have made what I call colour sticks. These are rod blank pieces which have 1/2" long wraps of every thread colour available by Gudebrod. One is finished using colour preserver and one without. Due to the fact that I repair large numbers of rods each year, I found these colour sticks were a great reference tool to use to ensure that the repaired wraps match the entire rod. Never missed the match using these refernce tools and they are very helpful in determining what colour combo I will use on a new custom build. I would highly recommend the above suggestions for doing a test wrap in the reel seat area before you start a new rod. Nothing worse than spending all the time building that WOW rod only to be disappointed once the epoxy touches the thread.

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[ET custom flyrods]

I recommend not using color preservative at all. my reason for saying this is that CP will fade with time. A better alternative is to use NCP(no color preserver needed) thread.
The NCP thread will retain its color.

I might also mention that if you plan to build more than one rod that you make a color wand. This is basically a piece of broken rod with all the colored thread you may wish to use wraped on it. Each color is duplicated. On one no preserver, on the other use preserver. If u want you can add a wrap of NCP also. when finished coat them all with epoxy. You will be suprised how many different shaded you wind up with using just one color.It is very beneficial to know what your wraps will look like before you start. It's a shame to apply all the work in color selection , wrapping, and finishing , only to be dissapointed with the end result.