Restoring silk line

Got in an old reel, and it was loaded up with silk line. The line is
definately silk, and in good condition. It is not tapered. It has a memory
from being tightly wound towards the spool, so part of it is a fairly curly.

I was thinking:

Soak the line for an hour in a mild TSP solution

Wipe down with a coarse cotton cloth

Hang from the shop ceiling joists to dry


Treat the line with a dilute tung / boiled linseed oil mixture


Question? - Should I stretch the line while drying? I have
plenty of room to stretch the whole line out.
How taught should it be?

Is there a modern alternative to mucilin? Something readily
available at the hardware store or found around the shop? Or easy to make,
like a mix of turpentine, beeswax, and parafin, for example.


I'm especially interested in trying this line out, to see how it compares to
the new Sylk lines. I have a WF6F Sylk on order that should be in this
week, and a 6 wt. ("D or HDH") 8'-6" rod with small guides that I really
like.

Any silk line reconditioning tips appreciated.

Timothy Juvenal

VibraJet wrote:
snip
Any silk line reconditioning tips appreciated.

http://www.overmywaders.com/articles/cleaningsilk.html

Don't know why you'd want to dress it with anything other than
red Mucilin and TSP sounds too harsh.

--
Ken Fortenberry

"Ken Fortenberry" wrote...

Don't know why you'd want to dress it with anything other than
red Mucilin

I just like to make stuff myself, but I see the Mucilin is inexpensive and
readily available. I'll check the local fly shop later today.

TSP sounds too harsh.

I mixed a very weak solution in a gallon of warm water. I'll go see now if
it's enough to remove the old finish.

This is probably a realatively cheap line - it was on a Precisionbilt reel,
it's a level line, so I don't want to waste too much time on it, but it
seems like a good chance to see what casting silk is about.

Timothy Juvenal

VibraJet wrote:

"Ken Fortenberry" wrote...

Don't know why you'd want to dress it with anything other than
red Mucilin

I just like to make stuff myself, but I see the Mucilin is inexpensive and
readily available. I'll check the local fly shop later today.

TSP sounds too harsh.

I mixed a very weak solution in a gallon of warm water. I'll go see now if
it's enough to remove the old finish.

This is probably a realatively cheap line - it was on a Precisionbilt reel,
it's a level line, so I don't want to waste too much time on it, but it
seems like a good chance to see what casting silk is about.

Timothy Juvenal

Well, if its a cheap line that hasnt been treated well in its past life, maybe

its not such a good indicator of silk line performance ??

(Have never cast one, so I have no clue).

On Thu, 24 Jun 2004 08:26:20 -0400, "VibraJet"
wrote:

Got in an old reel, and it was loaded up with silk line. The line is
definately silk, and in good condition. It is not tapered. It has a memory
from being tightly wound towards the spool, so part of it is a fairly curly.

I was thinking:

Soak the line for an hour in a mild TSP solution

You might try baking soda (like "Arm and Hammer" in the US) and water,
and a shorter soak time...YMMV.

Wipe down with a coarse cotton cloth

Hang from the shop ceiling joists to dry

Loosely coil away from heat or sunlight, don't hang it. A
copier/printer paper box (the 10-ream size) with a clean dish/tea towel
in the bottom makes a good "drying box."

Treat the line with a dilute tung / boiled linseed oil mixture


Question? - Should I stretch the line while drying?

No.

I have plenty of room to stretch the whole line out.
How taught should it be?

See above.

Is there a modern alternative to mucilin?

Designer mucilin?

Any silk line reconditioning tips appreciated.

Well, the other answers I saw seemed to provide good info, and the
comment about the line perhaps not providing the greatest of tests
should be considered. Silk lines aren't all THAT much trouble, IMO, but
"trouble" covers some pretty subjective areas. IMO, you've got it, are
apparently willing to put some effort into saving and using it (good for
you), and IMO, even if it ain't the greatest, it will be, at the
minimum, an enjoyable learning experience - good luck with it.

TC,
R

"VibraJet" wrote in message
...

Got in an old reel, and it was loaded up with silk line. The line is
definately silk, and in good condition. It is not tapered. It has a
memory
from being tightly wound towards the spool, so part of it is a fairly
curly.
. . .
Any silk line reconditioning tips appreciated.

Consult Reed Curry at
http://www.overmywaders.com/articles/cleaningsilk.html

--
Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs (Ottawa, Canada)