Fluorocarbon line "conditioning"

[Potter]

I have a little chemistry question for you guys.  I sometimes use silicone spray to relax some of my stiffer mono lines.  Can I do this to fluoro line without screwing it up?


Greetings from exit 212

Potter

[djkimmel]

I've tried it and didn't notice any damage, but the benefits were not like those with mono. It appears that silicon does not bond with the flourocarbon line.

It helps with casting and friction briefly, but seems to wash off pretty quick. It doesn't seem to help with stiffness or memory on flourocarbon.

[MBell]

It was explained to me that mono has small holes in it and the silicone or water after some time will fill these holes.  Flourocarbon is different and doen't absorb water from my experience. 
-Matt

[blakstr1]

Thats right MBell, floro basically repells water, where mono absorbs it...Kevin VanDams line conditioner is engineered to penetrate floro or at least adhere to it (not sure of the process) all i know is i use it and have no complaints..  KVD touched on this at his seminar and i noticed it while using the conditioner as well, make sure you let it dry for a few minutes after you spray it on the line..otherwise a bunch blows off during the cast.

[McCarter]

Greetings from exit 212

Potter

Tanger Outlet

My friend has a cottage on Tee Lake.  I am in West Branch 4 or 5 times a year.  Awesome place to get a way, and its only a 2 hour drive.

PoorBoy himself

[Potter]

Thank you for the info.  Have a good one.


Potter

[yukonjack2]

A Little Chemistry answer -

Mono is a term for line made of Nylon Homopolymer.  Think of the products in their chemical form as molecules made with tinkertoys - nylon is a ring structure of carbons with some smaller other stuff sticking out - this type of arrangement is pretty much fixed - you can't bend the dowel connectors.  It is also Hydroscopic - which means is absorbs moisture - which means it also can lose moisture - when that happens, like after extended periods of storage  it can get stiffer and more brittle and lose some breaking strength and abrasion resistance.  The holes Dan was referencing are not really holes(or the line would be weak, but space between the tinkertoys where the water and silicon molecules fit in between.

Mono - Co-polymer - changes the structure of the ring somewhat - same general constituents, but you get better properties from the line - ie feel ,abrasion, tensile(knot strength),...  that's why there are so many types of lines out there in the mono market - many ways to slightly tinker with the chemistry.

Now flouro is a whole different animal - some have tried to coat co-polymer nylon to get the best of both worlds - ie p-line fluoro clear...etc  the feeling of the mono supplenesswithout twist, and the transparency and density of the flouro.  Fluorocarbon is made basically with a modified version of Teflon(copyright to DuPont), think of it as the non-stick surface for pots and pans drawn into a fiber form.  This is why the water and silicon coatings don't penetrate or stick to it.   Remember the tinker toy models?  Teflon is carbons and fluorine, which are much smaller - so they pack tighter together - ie the connecting dowels are very short.  That's what gives it the non-stick properties, and with little to no space between them, also makes it more dense ie.. why it sinks. 

Braid - just so you know is polyethylene (#2 in the triangle for recycling) made from oil bottles,milk bottles, kids toys,... type material - it is spun into a fibre called spectra(copyright to honeywell), and then processed in different ways.  some are like one fat fiber, and others are many small fibers BRAIDED together.  Again, different mfg use different braiding technologies to try and differentiate their product.  Seems to work - notice the subtle differences in spiderwire from the early products to today?  or from fireline to powerpro?

got ya confused yet?  bet you wished you went to chemistry class now - lol.

[Cheetam]

I thought the only difference was mono came in a red box, Floro in blue boxes and braid in green...learn something new everyday...

[Potter]

yukonjack2

Thank you for the excellent response to my question.  Chemistry could have been so much easier a few years back if someone would have used the "fishing based" approach.  Who would have thought, a polymer chemistry lesson on greatlakesbass.com!!

Thanks again,

Potter

[Dan]

Great job with the explanation Yukon! Can I use your piece on my blog??

[Eric]

Holy cow Jack.  You should consider a career dealing with plastics or something.

[Cy]

"Look at the big brain on Jack!" 

Thanks Jack!  I found that very informative and helpful.  I thought you were just a SALES GUY, I'm so impressed! 

The tinker toy reference was very helpful for visualization.  For you young guys that don't know what tinker toys are...google it.

Cy

[djkimmel]

Thanks to a spammer for bringing this back from the 'archives' (spammer is no longer with us sadly )

Some super line braid is made from another material - microdyneema - mostly Berkley products.

[dashaver63]

My brain hurts now. Too much information to process in one sitting.