Red has been traditionally and still is the floatant used for silk lines.
Why would you use a treatment on modern lines?

 

I had always believed that the green stuff contained silicon and was destructive to fly-lines....maybe they have changed the product recently.I couldnt really say because I still use the red stuff that Ive had for ages,and one tub will probably last me a lifetime.
I have found that even the best floaters will require a wee wipe of grease occasionaly in order to keep the last few feet floating high.

I would stick to the red stuff fossil untill you are sure that the green tub is now flyline friendly.

 

Thanks for that Jim. Do the dash board/ plastic car parts type cleaners that people often suggest as lline cleaners not contain silicone?

 

Looks like it's been discussed recently:-

http://www.flyforums.co.uk/showthread.php?t=33913

 

Yes, hence my confusion.

 

I use Dilly Wax to keep the end of my floating line floating. Works a treat.

 

I've read some pvc lines are prone to tip sink - SA in particular. I had a Wulff Bermuda TT which was like that, it was almost an intermediate because of the sinking tip.
Some people superglue or aquasure to prevent water entering via the tip to sink it. Not sure if this is urban legend or not.

 

Some people superglue or aquasure to prevent water entering via the tip to sink it. Not sure if this is urban legend or not.

No legend for me,I think it makes sense to prevent water wicking up the core of the fly-line.I still find it necessary to grease up the line tip at some point during a days fishing though.

 

If silicone were to do anything nasty to PVC there would be an awful lot of red faced plumbers around, silicone bonds nicely to and prevents water ingress or egress with PVC plumbing fittings, it's unlikely to cause you any problems with a PVC fly line.

Is it possible that the companies which produce fly lines and expensive fly line cleaners don't want you to know about the vastly cheaper products available in the automotive aftercare market?

Of course, it may be that the coatings on fly lines are not only PVC, it's possible, therefore, that other chemicals in the 'mix' somehow react with silicone. As silicone is a relatively inert material I think it's unlikely, but I'm quite happy to be proved wrong

 

I've been using the Red Mucilin for several years to stop the line lip sinking. I apply it to the end of of my flyline (Shakespeare Worcestershire DT) and to the braided loop and have never found any problems.

Have never used the green tub of mucilin though, so I can't comment on it.

 

The problem seems to be that red is generally recommended with advice to avoid the green. The shop in question only had green and the box they came in, not the individual tubs, clearly stated they were for plastic fly lines. The shop owner was under the impression that the red was for old fashioned silk lines. I have also heard this account reversed.

I am really going to hate asking this.................but, does anyone think that it just might be possible that what is inside the red and green tubs is exactly the same?

 

It's the same mate, apart from the fact that the green contains silicon.

I personally use the red one but thats just because am used to buying that one.

The Pirate.

 

Just use Armorall Dashboard wipes you can buy them in Halfords,
Work a treat and last for ages.

 

Either can be used on PVC lines but only use the Red on Silk lines.
Both can also be used on Dry Flies.

B.R.

 

The red stuff totally destroyed the tip of my Cortland Dyna Tip line last season!
M

 

My Dyna Tips went the same way. I am not convinced it was the Mucilin, i use it on all my fly lines and the Dyna was the only one to suffer.

 

On every floating line I purchase before attaching the loop I just dip the end in some Aquasure, take off any excess and leave over night. After attaching the braided loop I smooth the sleeve joint again with a little aquasure. I've found that this stops any wicking and tip sink. I treat my lines with Armoural dashboard wipes then for that little extra, Rain off.

 

I have just used Gink. Any reason I should change?

 

gink is expensive.... your looking at 4-5 quid a bottle. mucilin is about 1.50 and im convinced it lasts longer. gink is, at room temp a gel (half solid half liquid) and mucilin is solid.... therefore mucilin will not wear off as quickly as gink, therefore atleast for retreating flies you shouldnt have to do it as often.

and given enough friction in the fingers and applied carefully it shouldnt cake the fly, and is less likely to give off a slick.

convinced?

 

convinced?

yep. Thanks a lot.

 

If silicone were to do anything nasty to PVC there would be an awful lot of red faced plumbers around, silicone bonds nicely to and prevents water ingress or egress with PVC plumbing fittings, it's unlikely to cause you any problems with a PVC fly line.

Sorry mate, silicon does NOT stick to pvc plumbing fitting!
It is used as a lubricant to ease tight fitting joints.

 

Eh?

Silicone sealant doesn't stick to PVC plumbing fittings? You sure?

made me giggle too

 

If silicone were to do anything nasty to PVC there would be an awful lot of red faced plumbers around, silicone bonds nicely to and prevents water ingress or egress with PVC plumbing fittings, it's unlikely to cause you any problems with a PVC fly line.

Sorry mate, silicon does NOT stick to pvc plumbing fitting!
It is used as a lubricant to ease tight fitting joints.

Eh?

Silicone sealant doesn't stick to PVC plumbing fittings? You sure?

 

Hi folks

To help modern fly lines shoot through the rings smoothly and with less friction, some manufacturers incorporate lubricants within the fly lines coating and these slowly leach out of the line to maintain a lubricated surface, others apply an additional thin outer coating over the main coating to produce the same result.

If a fly line has a lower specific gravity than water ( ie 1.0 ) it will float, if the fly line has a specific gravity greater than 1.0, as long as it breaks through the water's surface tension it will sink.

Good tips for keeping your fly line tip floating might include sealing the end with a light dab of superglue and attaching your leader with either a nail knot or a needle knot.

Nylon, copoly and fluro etc have a specific gravity greater than water and they can pull the fly line tip down, today's popular braided nylon leader loops do the same of course. It can help to coat your braided leader loop with a silicone paste fly floatant product, but make sure that you don't get these on your fly line, as some fly floatants are harmful to fly lines. Many insect repellants that get transfered from your hands to your line will damage it too.

A dirty fly line will not shoot or float well. Cleaning with mild hand soap is good and so are mild hair shampoos, but detergents and solvents can remove plasticizers and lubricants which will lead to the coating stiffening and cracking. You may find that your automotive lubricants make your line feel smooth and slick, but beware that many of these also have solvents in them which can remove the original fly line lubricants that you are trying to supplement, which can lead to hard lines and cracking again.

Most fly line cracking and hardening etc is caused by the line coming in to contact with other angling products on our hands, especially insect repellants and dry fly floatants. The fly line tip section and the area of line that an angler handles most for false casting are the two common areas for this problem, the false casting one depending on the amount of line that each individual angler carries when casting. Not as some may suggest, anything to do with the length of the fly line head

If you fish a venue that suffers from algae blooms - clean your line more frequently.

Best wishes
Mike

 

OOPS.....
Through my ignorance ive been using the green Mucilin on my floating lines. I generally use a snowbee and i can not see any visual signs of it deteriorating, makes the tip float wicked too. Can see my self getting the red type now. Just bought a Hardy double taper 2s weight don"t fancy bosting that.

 

I have 2 silicone plumbing products in my shed, one is a silicone "lubricant" for "O" ring type joints the other is a silicone "sealant" the type used for sealing double glazing units, 2 very different products.

Tony, don't worry I've used both green and red and suffered no problems with either, I've had one line crack which was a cheapish line which I used for practise casting and I'm sure I caused more damage than either the red or green Mucilin.

I now use the red because that's what I can buy locally, I only treat the last 3 or 4 ft of fly line.

Regs V.

 

This morning I spoke to an agent about these products, he had Thames Fishing Tackle product info.

Apparently the Red Mucilin is designed to be used with PVC and silk fly lines, also on flies etc. The Green is basically a mix of the Red mucilin and Silicone, the latter apparently makes this a better floatant (than the Red Mucilin) for PVC fly lines etc but it should not be used for silk lines (because of the silicone).

Therefore, unless a manufacturer says not to use these products, there appears to be no logical reason to avoid using them on PVC lines.