Hi All,

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

I purchased an MHX blank recently to build a spinning rod. I picked one of the colour blanks - Metallic Red. The colour of the blank is much darker than I anticipated. More like a Burnt Red. It's hard to match a thread to in. I do think the white thread I have looks pretty good on it. It has a bit of a silver touch to it. I tried a test wrap and wetted it with alcohol and it darkened it way to much for my liking. I tried using colour preserver and it was much better. I have a couple questions.

1. Does anyone have any tips to help the wraps stay white? How about adding a bit of white tint to the finish expoxy?
2. Anyone that has done white wraps can you comment on them yellowing over time? Did it look real bad?

I am going to make white grips also and I have a few questions there. But I will put this in a separate post.

Thank You,

Chris Tulk

You need to use NCP white, with CP, if you want it to stay white.

Otherwise, you can tint the epoxy white for a perfectly white look.

.............

All white rod with white grips, sounds sweet. I think I'd just add white pigment to the flex.

Chris,
I will only say that a white rod with a white grip will be beautiful as long as it is not used.

But, if it is the average user using the rod to catch fish - it won't take very long before the grip is going to turn much darker or even black from the use of a lot of hands and fish being caught.

Simply put - average fishing is not an occupation where whites stay white for very long.

That is one of the reasons why the Snycork black grips on a black blank are so popular with fishermen who fish 20 hours a day, for days on end. The dirt and grime that comes with hard days on the water does not show up on a black rod with a black grip.

Take care

Hi Roger,

The rod is actually a burnt red colour. I am doing white grips and white wraps. My buddy who I am making this for might get out fishing 3-4 times a year. So the rod won't see to much action. I figure if it can look good for a coupe years thats good enough. He will break by then! lol
I am more concerned about the grips really turning yellow. But I am going to tint the epoxy white so I hope this will help a bit.

Thank You,

Chris Tulk

If the grips are EVA, they won't turn yellow.

.......

Tom that is true but they will get dirty real quick. Besides I really like the look of the white grips from Riely's website.

Thank You,

Chris Tulk

As Tom mentioned NCP White will stay bright white. If you're like me and don't care for the bland look of NCP, Fuji regular nylon White with CP stays whiter than the other brands I've tested but will still show a hint of the underlying color. Of course I always test on a scrap blank including CP and finish to see for sure what the final look is. If I think of it tonight, I could take a pic of my test wraps for you.

John Shear
Chippewa Falls, WI

Hi John

That would be very much appreciated. I believe my email is posted on my profile.

Thank You,

Chris Tulk

I've used Gudebrod A-size with CP and it didn't remain very white. The rod blank color still shown through, so I ended up doing a second wrap on top of it to get a solid white.

Another suggestion from other builders was that I could use white out or white paint to paint the wrap area before wrapping on white thread, which would eliminate the rod blank color from showing through. I have yet to try this, because white thread isn't used often, but I think it's a good solution.

Chris

I made several test wraps last year looking for the "whitest white I could get. I chose size A Fuji nocp white with 2 coats of chromaseal over the other threads I had on hand!

Rog

Hi Roger

Do yo happen to have a picture of what the wraps looked like? I assume they were not smooth like when you use epoxy? But then again they won't yellow? I am still thinking about what to do for my white E-glass grip I am doing.

Thank You,

Chris Tulk

Here's a picture but you really should wrap some Fuji samples yourself and see what you think.
[www.rodbuilding.org]

John Shear
Chippewa Falls, WI

I fish with all white rods. They do not yellow at all. Threadmaster after 5 years on the ocean and they do not show any signs of yellowing.So that theory is thrown out. LOL.

Now the grips, yes they are white also. All you have to do is spray them with scotch guard and they will repel any dirt and grime. Spray scotch guard, without cleaners is what I used. I spray them about every 2 years and they are new as the day I put them on. So that one is debunked also. LOL

Correct that NCP white should be used, but to keep the wrap bright, go to staples and buy a white sharpie and color the wrap sections white on the blank. That will make the wrap bright after finish is applied.

Kevin Knox
ANGLER'S ENVY CUSTOM RODS
QUEEN ANNE, MD 21657
#_#_#_#_#
www.anglersenvy.com

Hi Kevin

Thanks for the reply. Couple things.

Are the wraps on your rods white?
Are they covered with Threadmaster?
Your grips what material are they made from? Sounds like foam to me?

I know the blank won't go white. It's not finished with epoxy. I am concerned that the epoxy will yellow.

Thanks for your input.

John thanks for the pics! I will do a couple tests wraps. I am going to try the colouring under the wraps white.

Thank You,

Chris Tulk