What do you guys use for the heads on wet flies, classic streamers. Im talking about the nice black glossy finish. Ive been tying some classic streamers to fish this season like the Ballou, Mickey’s, Gray Ghosts, and Joes Smelt. I know the fish wont care but the fisherman does.
Thanks,
Seege
sally hanson’s hard as nails
I use SH black or red and clear for shine. BILL
per don bastian, wet fly guru
nice shiny heads start with a good thread foundation. spin your bobbin the opposite way you wrap thread to untwist the thread into a flat ribbon and whip finish. this should give you a nice flat wraps of thread. then…
1 coat of grifs thin
2 coats of a clear laquer (e.hille if you can find it)
1 coat of black prolac
nice shiny black head
but i cheat a little
1 coat of grifs thin
2 coats of blackduck traditional head cement
1 coat of black laquer
nice shiny black head
for fishing flies i dont go through that much effort but if youre tying presentation flies take the time and do it right.
just use clear…thead is used for color of head…be a shame to ruin a fly by getting colored nail polish on that collar or throat hackle since they are for the fisherman eye as stated.
Based on Don’s recommendation I also use this process:
[ul]2 coats of Griffs Thin[/ul]
[ul]1-2 coats of a thick head cement; I use E. Hille[/ul]
[ul]1 coat of black Prolac[/ul]
They come out like glass!
I get good results using 2-3 coats of Loon Hard Head (black). It will require several coats, works best if the prvious coat dries overnight.
It’s hard to know exactly what all the different brands of head cement goops really are as noone is required to list their ingredients. I think that traditionally nitrocellulose lacquer was used to make the old style glossy heads. I really liked using a product called cellaire for making traditional heads. It was just the right consistency where the first coat was absorbed nicely into the thread wraps and the second coat finished the fly with a beautiful smooth glossy head. I am of the opinion that a head of clear finish over thread looks alot better than a head finished with tinted product but there are alot of ways to skin a cat. I haven’t been able to find cellaire in the US lately so, thinking it is nitrocellulose lacquer, I went to the hardware store and bought the smallest can of brushing lacquer I could get. This works nicely for glossy vintage style heads but it is a bit thin and three coats are needed. A single pint can contains multiple fly tying lifetimes supply. Unfortunately, in my experiance, lacquer loses its capacity to properly harden after two or three years on the shelf. I think nail polish is also some kind of lacquer (nitrocellulose or acrylic).
Just plain old clear gloss Lacquer.
You can get it at any hardware or paint store.
Build a nice thread base. Coat with the lacquer a couple of times. Paint the eyes, add a couple of more coats of the lacquer. Glass smooth, nice depth of finish, little weight.
Takes multiple coats, but it dries fast and you don’t have to play with using different chemicals. If you want to, you can put on a coat every ten minutes or so. Only takes a second with a bodkin to put on a coat of this stuff.
That’s how it was done for years. I try to aviod using a ‘color’ in this instance, as was pointed out, it can run up your materials, and the thead itself does the color part nicely.
Sometimes I think we are trying to speed things up and end up actually working harder to get to the same result. Two coats of this, one of that, another couple of which, finish with whatever. Like there is some secret recipe. It’s just the head of a fly.
Really, if you want a nice shiny head and don’t want to spend the time with multiple coats, use just one coat of epoxy and be done with it. Harder, clearer, only have to do it once. Bit messy, though, as you have to mix the stuff, but if you do a dozen or so at a time, it’s probably faster. Still looks great though and fills any gaps in the thread well.
Good Luck!
Buddy
I used to use Angler’s Corner head cement. It produced nice glossy heads, usually in one coat. It did thicken up rather quickly though. Now I use several coats of Sally’s.
Another tip for smooth heads is to burnish them after tying. Rub them something hard and smooth. The ball on the end of a whip finisher works. This works best for larger streamer heads.
thanks for the replies.
Bill did you get your pm?
Try Testor’s Pla model paint from a hobby shop. It comes in tiny bottles and dries quickly. I apply this over the original Sally Hansen’s. It has the advantage of hiding irregularities in the actual thread wraps.
Ray I stopped using color paint on heads 50 or so years ago. In the earlier years all we had was black thread so we would use color paints for red yellow ,white and other fly heads. Ford in his early years also had trouble with color – you could buy any color Ford as long as it was BLACK
Fireman Yes I recieved the PM–I’ll get the letter off tomorow for sure. I had our library order the book “Making Strip-Built Fly Rods from wood” and I picked up the first copy today. I have the wood shop so I should try to build one. BILL
Try a Bead in the color you want I prefer Glass bead’s, cheeper and more colors.
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I wanted to try Don Bastian’s technique but was never able to locate any Prolac. I’ve been using clear Cellire varnish or Hard as Nails over thread that is the desired color of the head.
I have been using Loons Knot sense u-v glue for tarpon fly heads. its thick enough to stay put til you shine the light on it —when you have the shape and size you like---- wrap a layer of thread for the finish color— put on the stick on eyes, then put one coat over the eyes and cure that—wipe it with alcohol and coat with hard as nail for the final gloss
the whole process goes really fast compared to the thread built heads
plus its a great aid for materials that dont behave—a dot of glue and 10 sec of light and you’re good to go
Give Chris Helm @ Whitetail Fly Tieing a call: 800-579-5549
RW here,
Sally Hansons…nothing better.
rw
Thanks! I guess I was spelling it wrong. Pro Lak ???