I have found some rod wrapping thread from years ago. The thread is fine, but the labels have all dried up and fallen off. I cannot tell which is Color Fast, and which needs a Color Preservative. Is there a simple way to test without wasting a mix of epoxy? Thanks!

Easyest thing to do is just put cp on any of it you use Heck I put CP on NCP thread just to be sure

Bill - willierods.com

X-2 with Bill.

If you really want to know, just do atest wrap on a pencil or scrap and epoxy it without cp. I'm not sure doing anything short of epoxy will be reliable.

I would think that just wetting the thread with alcohol would let you see if it changes color.

X10 on Gary's comment.

Put sme denatured alcohol on the thread. If it darkens and changes color, it is non NCP thread.

If the thread color does not change, then it is NCP thread.

I very much dislike using any CP, unless a client specifies the use of CP on a rod.

I much prefer the semi translucent thread appearance and the ability to effectively have the thread color disappear into the color of the blank.

Each builder and client uses the threads of his choice.
Be safe

In that case it is easy to tell
Like said if you want to keep the color and am not sure what thread you have - put CP on

But
If you are looking for that transparent look then you will have to lay the thread on scrap and try the alcohole thing as Roger said

If you want to play

Bill - willierods.com



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/21/2015 04:21PM by bill boettcher.

Thank you all for the advise!

First of all, no thread needs color preserver. That's just a label to differentiate the properties between two kinds of thread.

Take a look at the photos about half way down this page, these pretty clearly show the difference between regular and NCP nylon threads of the same color.
[www.bdoutdoors.com]

If you have a number of spools to compare you'll probably notice that some have a higher level of sparkle or faceting than other that look flatter in color having an almost flat paint appearance.

The spools with little to no sparkle that look like flat paint are NCP thread.
The spools with a sparkle to them are regular thread.

You can either use color preserver or choose not to use color preserver on either thread. NCP thread is opaque so colors beneath a thread will not show through it. However, underlying colors might show through between adjacent threads that are not packed tightly together. Regular thread without color preserver will tend to more readily include a blend of the underlying color than if you use color preserver with it. Just as with NCP thread, spaces between threads that are not packed tightly will influence just how much underlying color will show in the final wrap.

The color of thread itself is another factor. Underlying dark colors will show through light regular thread to some extent even with color preserver and tight packing of threads to minimize space between individual threads, it's just the nature of the beast.

Finally, you can also mix and match regular and NCP threads together to creatively blend the bleeding effect of regular thread with the opaqueness of NCP thread highlights. An excellent example of this concept is making old-school tartan or plaid decorative wraps. You can do a search and find some good pictures of these online. Basically, a white or silver underlying base is laid down with thread or paint, then light to medium regular threads are added over the base. Where one layer of thread covers the light base the threads look lighter in color, for example a red thread might look more like pink. However where the pattern threads cross the two layers of red threads look more like the original red thread color as almost no underlying white shows through both top layers. at some point in the wrap, usually near the end, a few NCP threads are added to either divide or form a frame of color that doesn't allow the underlying color to bleed through. These threads for the highlights in the pattern, much like a metallic thread might be used as a guide trim band.

Here's a nice example of a tartan mixing both regular and NCP threads with no color preserver:
[utahwildlife.net]
Notice how the red cross and black box around the red cross (in the white fill area) look uniform in color no matter the underlying color as they spiral around the blank? Those are NCP threads. The single white thread that crosses at the center of the dark pattern is also a NCP thread. The red/black pattern (and white fill threads between the darker patterns) are all regular threads and where the red and white cross the result is pink, the black and white shows as gray, and the red and black show as dark red, black and black are black, red and red are red and white and white are white. So with just three colors of regular thread (red, black and white), you get six colors in your wrap (red, black, white, pink, gray and dark red).

Here's another one that illustrate the same concept:
[www.rodbuilding.org]

There's an official registry of tartan patterns and plaids representing families and clans, but I couldn't quickly locate the link to it. If I recall correctly, you can get actual thread counts of each color and from these you can scale patterns up or down to better fit to your blank. Some patterns are too detailed to show up well on blanks, with these you can simplify complex patterns by using just part(s) of the full patterns. This is the result of a quick search I found to illustrate just some of the possibilities of creative use of mixing regular and NCP threads with no CP added:
[www.google.com]

Hope this helps.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/24/2015 01:33PM by John E Powell.