Thread: coloring braid

Originally Posted by colayn

I like to use Hi Vis braided line but it turns white over time and I cant see it. Anybody have any success recoloring it ?

Have you tried taking it off & turning it around ??

I've done that with my PowerPro 10/2 hi-vis ... and got another season of the bright yellow out of it. Though I can still see it very well on the faded end, I switched it around just to be using the "unused" end & not have to cut off the frayed sections.

... cp

I have used a black magic marker for this purpose and it seems to work pretty good. Also have have used the marker on this line for some places that have trout in them in my area since the trout get a little line shy and could tell a difference instantly......

Originally Posted by CrappiePappy

Have you tried taking it off & turning it around ??

I've done that with my PowerPro 10/2 hi-vis ... and got another season of the bright yellow out of it. Though I can still see it very well on the faded end, I switched it around just to be using the "unused" end & not have to cut off the frayed sections.

... cp

Yep, I have turned it around. Also have colored is with Spike It Garlic but it doesn't last long.

Originally Posted by colayn

Yep, I have turned it around. Also have colored is with Spike It Garlic but it doesn't last long.

Did a little research .... and it seems as though the fibers of most braids are not going to absorb dyes very well. The fix most often recommended is to use a Marks-a-Lot permanent ink marking pen, in the color you want the line to be, and split the felt tip ... then run your braid through that split a few times. Even that seems to only "color" the outer surface of the braid, and has to be re-applied on a regular basis.

... cp

I use HiLighter on fireline.

Thanks fellows,,,, all good info.

I had flipped my sufix 832 a couple times. Line was still good just whitish pink/green/grey color that blended in very well and was impossible to see 90% of the time. My wife does a lot of fabric dying and said I needed a levelling acid dye and proceeded to ask color, I said it was olive now is mostly a shade of white and I would like it to be yellow or olive. She said I have yellow, pink, lime, purple, blue I chose yellow. She said she would tell me how but first you gotta wash the line... and not in the washing machine, I unspooled into a mason jar, added some tide, bleach and hot water. Gave it a good shake for about 10 minutes. got kinda yucky BTW. dumped the soap solution out thru a screened lid from sprouting seeds. set the whole thing under the LR faucet and turned on hot water soft flow into the jar. after a few minutes it ran clear, gave it a good shake and more crud. repeated 4-5 more times until water stayed clear.

She gave me something (syntrapol) to pre condition, 1 tsp/quart of hot water and let it set while setting up everything else.

Her dye pot is an old crock pot, glazed earthenware pot 1 quart water, 6 tbsp urea turn crock pot on med till it gets warm 180 degrees min. Mix powdered dye 1 TBSP slowly into mater mix, I used an aquarium airstone to keep water moving rather than stirring then after dye dissolved added a heaping tsp of ammonium sulfate and let it dissolve. Temp was now ~210 and she said it was ready for the line, drained off the water, put the line in the die bath with the airstone running. line was slowly moving so she said thats good. leave it alone for about an hour. Actually was around 75 minutes.

Pulled the line out back into my wash/rinse jar and she gave me some special detergent to use ...COLD WATER. washed and rinsed several times. Pulled out a yellow bunch of line and wrapped it around a pool noodle to finish drying.

After drying it was Yellow... respooled and fished it over a year. Color still very yellow maybe some fading but not noticeable. I think it will got at least another year before I flip it.

It is a time consuming process and since she had everything on hand inexpensive. She said probably 50 cents or less in materials. So I say yes it can be dyed. dying is a time consuming process but at $40 a spool, worthwhile to dye

Good info Thanks for taking the time to write it all out. Have you noticed any loss in strength ?
Forgot to mention I emailed Sufix and asked them if there was anyway to recolor the line and they said no

Originally Posted by BuckeyeKdog

I had flipped my sufix 832 a couple times. Line was still good just whitish pink/green/grey color that blended in very well and was impossible to see 90% of the time. My wife does a lot of fabric dying and said I needed a levelling acid dye and proceeded to ask color, I said it was olive now is mostly a shade of white and I would like it to be yellow or olive. She said I have yellow, pink, lime, purple, blue I chose yellow. She said she would tell me how but first you gotta wash the line... and not in the washing machine, I unspooled into a mason jar, added some tide, bleach and hot water. Gave it a good shake for about 10 minutes. got kinda yucky BTW. dumped the soap solution out thru a screened lid from sprouting seeds. set the whole thing under the LR faucet and turned on hot water soft flow into the jar. after a few minutes it ran clear, gave it a good shake and more crud. repeated 4-5 more times until water stayed clear.

She gave me something (syntrapol) to pre condition, 1 tsp/quart of hot water and let it set while setting up everything else.

Her dye pot is an old crock pot, glazed earthenware pot 1 quart water, 6 tbsp urea turn crock pot on med till it gets warm 180 degrees min. Mix powdered dye 1 TBSP slowly into mater mix, I used an aquarium airstone to keep water moving rather than stirring then after dye dissolved added a heaping tsp of ammonium sulfate and let it dissolve. Temp was now ~210 and she said it was ready for the line, drained off the water, put the line in the die bath with the airstone running. line was slowly moving so she said thats good. leave it alone for about an hour. Actually was around 75 minutes.

Pulled the line out back into my wash/rinse jar and she gave me some special detergent to use ...COLD WATER. washed and rinsed several times. Pulled out a yellow bunch of line and wrapped it around a pool noodle to finish drying.

After drying it was Yellow... respooled and fished it over a year. Color still very yellow maybe some fading but not noticeable. I think it will got at least another year before I flip it.

It is a time consuming process and since she had everything on hand inexpensive. She said probably 50 cents or less in materials. So I say yes it can be dyed. dying is a time consuming process but at $40 a spool, worthwhile to dye