Moss Green PowerPro Staining

[nikkunoniku]

Hello from a new member!

Firstly, I would like to say that while this is my first post, I've read almost all the threads in this beading section of the forum--thank you all for contributing such great information!

So here's what is going on:

I have some Australian opal rounds that I knotted on silk, but frankly, it was getting so frayed that it was looking raggedy and I couldn't handle it. I decided to venture into PowerPro after reading about it here in the forums and after some frustration (50lb was too small, 65 was too big--ended up going with 50lb and a double knot), quickly concluded that I LOVED the result.

The problem is that halfway through the strand I realized my fingers/fingernails had turned completely green. I'll admit that I like to tie a tight knot (um...I caused two beads to explode), so I may be gripping the line harder than most, BUT it got me thinking about color transfer. Being that pearls are porous and softer on the Mohs scale than opal--has anyone here had any issues with the moss green color transferring? I had only really heard warning about the red and yellow...

I know my post is a bit long, but thanks for your help!

 

[Caitlin]

I don't know about that. I haven't had color transfer from the moss green, although, over time, different spools of it I have ordered are different shades of green. Boy, oh boy, I hope it is not a problem!

Anyone else?

 

[Lulu]

I have had some color transfer with Moss Green Power Pro onto white pearls that I had used as accents -- very minimally around the drill hole and not noticeable once fully knotted and worn. I only saw once I took apart the piece after about a year. I love using PowerPro, so this hasn't stopped me from stringing with it, but I generally don't use very expensive materials. . . .

 

[nikkunoniku]

I just took a piece of tissue and slid it down the length of a new piece of PowerPro that I cut from the spool, and there were actually green lines left on the tissue afterwards. Perhaps you're right Caitlin, this may have just come from a bad batch. Time to reknot!

 

[nikkunoniku]

Thanks Lulu! It makes me feel a little better knowing it's not just me experiencing this. I too loved the results with PowePro, but I may redo this piece in white for my own peace of mind. Looks like I have a weekend project!

 

[Caitlin]

White power pro for white pearls, for sure and maybe all the others. I have to string up some hunky pearls dyed pearls from Pattye. I will use the green, but test it first. My power pro in a huge spool is a couple of years old. I hope they didn't make any changes, since! Of course, I too am a lowly beader and usually use low cost pearls. These ones from Pattye were more than low cost though, so we will see. Today maybe.

 

[Lulu]

ITA with Caitlin -- Now I only use white PowerPro for light-colored pearls. The moss green is reserved for my darker gemstones or darker dyed pearls. I ran into color transfer issues when knotting with moss green for a strand of dark green tourmaline which I had accented with white FWP. I can't help it, I just like the way the strands drape when I knot between each stone or pearl. To alleviate color transfer now, however, I flank each white pearl with a gold spacer, and knot on the other side of the gold spacer rather than on the pearl, so the knot is less likely to rub against the pearl, minimizing the risk of color transfer. (In other words: Tourmaline - knot - spacer - white pearl - spacer - knot - tourmaline - knot - tourmaline, etc.)

 

[Lulu]

Caitlin - for those huge spools of PowerPro, or strands that you knotted years ago, have you noticed any degradation in flexibility or brittleness? I'm wondering because it's still essentially a plastic fiber and the plasticizers could slowly leach out over time, resulting in increased brittleness and fragility. That said, it's so much easier to work with than silk, that I wouldn't care if I had to re-string every few (ten?) years. Also, Spectra is used in such a wide array of applications, it's probably a needless worry on my part:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultra_high_molecular_weight_polyethylene

 

[Caitlin]

Not yet. Everything is great. The worst effect on plastic is when it sits in the sun, which my necklaces never do. I still have some of my earliest power pro work. It must be about 5 or 6 years now.

 

[Lulu]

Thanks, Caitlin! That is good to know. I have to order some more PowerPro and have been waffling on whether it's cost-effective to just get the big spools rather than the little rolls. As I don't string *that* much, I was worried that the spools would have crumbled to dust by the time I get around to using the last of it.

 

[Caitlin]

I am going to use my old green ppro later today. I have to take a quick nap first, though I can hardly keep my eyes open!

 

[Katbran]

I'm going to try giving it a bit of a wash first and see if its just surface residue

 

[Cathybear]

I haven't noticed anything with my moss green powerpro, but I've had it a couple of years. I did try some rainbow braid, can't remember the brand, the colour came off on my hands as I unwound it, so i gave it to a friend who goes fishing.