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Marking Gear - Nail Polish? |
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12-Apr-2011 8:42:46 PM
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I was just wondering your opinions on how best to mark gear.
I've seen the Trango rack tags but they get mediocre reviews. I also thought to avoid electrical tape and it's sticky residue.
What do you think about nail polish? Hopefully it doesn't have any ill effects as I've recently tagged all my rack (other than slings, rope etc.) a lovely shade of Revlon Emerald Green!
Many thanks in advance,
Jimi
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12-Apr-2011 8:59:47 PM
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Copy cat from Ballarat!!!
I use a beautiful shade of lime green to mark my gear too. It would seem we can never climb together now.
The major precaution I take is to make sure the polish doesn't get on the cam slings... I also give it a touch up every now and then as it does flake off over time.
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12-Apr-2011 9:36:57 PM
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On 12/04/2011 Miguel75 wrote:
>.... I also give it a touch up every now and then as it does
>flake off over time.
This made me chuckle. Have you given into the temptation to paint your nails yet?
smiles
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12-Apr-2011 9:55:03 PM
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I'm a fan of electrical heat shrink.
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13-Apr-2011 6:49:59 AM
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I marked with nail polish years ago and it gave up pretty quickly.
One of the climbing companies, maybe Metolius? markets a paint called The Mark or something like that. Had rave reviews from mates.
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13-Apr-2011 8:28:22 AM
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http://www.gearexpress.biz/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=G&Product_Code=7000
There you go.
I keep meaning to include this on an order for myself but I have the memory of an amnesic frying pan
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13-Apr-2011 8:30:06 AM
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On 13/04/2011 evanbb wrote:
>I marked with nail polish years ago and it gave up pretty quickly.
>
>One of the climbing companies, maybe Metolius? markets a paint called
>The Mark or something like that. Had rave reviews from mates.
I use nail polish too. The secret is to get it into any hollows you can in a piece of gear to slow it getting rubbed/bashed off. keep it away from hinges and gates on all gear. Don't get it anywhere near non-hardware. Mid-rope marking has always been my bugbear: tape always tends to get manky and hang up in belay devices, etc. and rope marking pens wear off too quickly.
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13-Apr-2011 8:31:45 AM
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On 12/04/2011 matthewp wrote:
>I'm a fan of electrical heat shrink.
Now THAT sounds clever... Might have a crack at that
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13-Apr-2011 8:39:55 AM
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Surely soldering flux would work?
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13-Apr-2011 8:59:10 AM
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Nail polish is too fiddly. I just go for spray paint. Take all the slings off, line the biners up and spray away. I do the cams somewhat more carefully to avoid the fixed slings. As it turned out the primrose yellow I had bought last time was more of a washy off white, it does look a little like I've marked everything in bird poo, but it is quick and easy.
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13-Apr-2011 9:04:46 AM
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I paint my cam triggers with nail polish. two-tone, in fact. works a treat.
as for nuts, I paint the plastic around the swage/stopper thing that binds the wires together, you know - the bits that has marked what impact it can take before failing... :-D
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13-Apr-2011 10:22:07 AM
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On 12/04/2011 matthewp wrote:
>I'm a fan of electrical heat shrink.
Erk. I tried that for about a year. Dangerous. The heat shrink eventually loosened, travelled around the biner and at times stopped the gate from closing properly. I've gone back to tape.
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13-Apr-2011 10:31:19 AM
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On 13/04/2011 PDRM wrote:
>Mid-rope marking has always been my bugbear: tape always tends to get manky and hang up in belay devices, etc. and rope marking pens wear off too quickly.
So get a rope that has a pattern change at the mid point?
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13-Apr-2011 10:40:56 AM
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Have tried nail polish and tape. Permanent marker is heaps better!
1) you can write your name / initials / favourite doodle, so it's much more individual (there's only so many colours of nail polish and tape that people use)
2) it lasts heaps longer (just write on the non-wearing surfaces - yes even carabiners and RPs have some). I get 5 years between refreshes on even the most heavily used gear
3) no litter unlike when tape falls off - i get dismayed at how many bits of others' insulation/marking tape I find at the crags
4) tape can get in the way and catch on things - eg if you want to rotate the biner in a quickdraw.
5) gear freaks can benefit from the "huge" weight saving of not having tape
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13-Apr-2011 11:43:40 AM
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On 13/04/2011 wm wrote:
>Have tried nail polish and tape. Permanent marker is heaps better!
>5) gear freaks can benefit from the "huge" weight saving of not having tape
Oooh. Excited now.
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13-Apr-2011 2:07:00 PM
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Thanks for all the input. I really like the idea of 'The Mark' paint... might be a bit late now though.
I only have a few climbing partners and don't yet get out to any really popular climbing destinations so probably won't need a really individual marking just yet. If anyone is supremely paranoid about keeping their gear their own, perhaps using datadotDNA might be the way to go, but I'm unsure of how hard wearing it is & it's probably more cost effective to just upgrade ones rack if things go walkies (unless some sod swipes the whole thing!)
So that brings me to the next question, if I wanted to remove the nail polish and go for 'the mark', what do you all think of using acetone to clean them off?
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13-Apr-2011 2:11:48 PM
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as a solvent, I wouldnt be letting it near my gear though my worry would be slings.
Could you just scrape it off? Or use "the mark" near it and then wait of the nail polish to come off itself?
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13-Apr-2011 2:17:56 PM
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On 13/04/2011 Gavo wrote:
>Could you just scrape it off? Or use "the mark" near it and then wait
>of the nail polish to come off itself?
Yeah... I think I'll just wait. The nail polish is all shiny and new at the moment, and I tried to apply it to non wearing areas of the gear so it should hold up fine for a fair while at least.
I can use the gear, wear it off and earn the right to 'mark' it the right way!
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13-Apr-2011 2:20:58 PM
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Marking gear? Pah! I'd recognised my beloved cams in a lineup any day
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13-Apr-2011 2:21:28 PM
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Any sort of gear will hold a paint mark much better if you rough it up with glass paper.
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