So I'll lead with my suggestion. And that is to make a checklist that you can check off tasks as you go. Organize it so that its in the order the tasks need to be accomplished. Also don't group two tasks together. For example one checklist item should be "apply first coat of cp" and then "apply second coat of cp.". Don't use "apply two coats of cp."

I used that example because I was applying cp as I added under wraps. I'd do a few and be done for a bit, so I added a coat to the new wraps before walking away. Well after I had added two coats of cp to the base of a tiger, I applied the first coat of epoxy. Well I had a lot left over and thought to myself "I can use this to coat the underwraps I have done." Well I never put that second coat of cp on the underwraps, and being Madeira thread, it looked terrible.

On the plus side, having a coat of cp on the wraps made it super easy to remove the underwraps, but I still had to redo like 7 of them. A lot of thread and time wasted because I forgot to put the second coat on. And I had every intention to. I was going to wait until all the underwraps were complete and do the second coat all at once. But once I realized I had extra epoxy, that plan was forgotten.

Kinda went on and on, but I hope I can help prevent someone else from making a similar preventable mistake.

I will put little notes on 2" tape and tape them to the rod

Also there is a way to not use CP on that thread Cut several pieces of the same thread and mix into the finish It is said to enable the use of finish with out CP Experiment and try it See if you like the way it works
You should be able to find posts of this using the search All Dates

Bill - willierods.com

Randy,
Or you could not use CP and not use multiple coats, and not use underwraps and life is simpler.

It is surprising how well rods come out by doing it this way. -- I do agree that if one is doing a heavy action blue water rod, then the extra layers and coats are of course necessary.

Be safe

The KISS method

Bill - willierods.com

Ha ha thanks! I sure could go without, but alas, I like the looks. As far as Bill's suggestion, I am doing a rod with my college colors and need them to remain bright. Otherwise I would try this. I have read of this technique before. In fact I will be trying this on a bass rod I'm building. Will go on a dowel first to test.

If you want nice colors you are better with Regular Nylon - AND CP
More drying time but a nicer look and better colors

Bill - willierods.com

The other way to go to get the color that you want without using Cp, or using NCP thread, is to go with a lighter color than the color you wish for a final color. The addition of the finish darkens the nylon thread. But, if you try lighter thread colors you can use finish without cp. The thread will darken to the color you wish for the final color.

Just do some testing to see what you get using different techniques.

Good luck

While getting a wrap starting to unravel, I scratched the blank with the blade. It is deep enough to catch a fingernail, but I want to say it probably didn't go into the fibers. How do you tell? My brain tells me its probably fine, but my worrying personality makes me wonder...

There are many colors you just cannot get without CP. And experimenting to try to get them could well take a LOT of time and thread . If you are satisfied with the limited palette, no need for CP. But if you like the color of a thread, the easiest way to get it is to use CP. It's like magic, costs almost nothing. Remember to mix the white ones.

Another thing I like about CP is using it to stabilize very narrow trim rings that might come loose during the wrapping of other guides, so when I'm concerned about this, and am using CP to get the color I want, I just put the CP on immediately after doing the narrow band.

Michael, my trim bands can't really come undone how I do them. When I want one, I'll insert a thread and a tie off loop before making the first cross to get the wrap started. Then after4 or 5 wraps, I'll wrap the trim as I make a few more turns of the blank. Pull then tag end through and voila, a trim that's tucked into the main wrap.

I do like cp to hold crosswraps down though... just in case I screw up a tie off!