Rail splinter guard color

[oakhilltop]

The splinter guards on the rails that I have are all clear. And the little bit of searching for replacement splinter guards that I have done all say clear.

Given that my eyes are old, might it not be a good idea to have a different color maybe ........ green that is easier to see when it is placed on the wood? I struggle somewhat to see if the clear guard is really lined up with the mark on the wood.

Has anyone tried to add color to them? I tried a orange Sharpie permanent marker that I had laying around, but the ink didn't take very well to the plastic.

BTW, I have been lurking on here for a few weeks and this is my first post. I have found these forums to be very informative and friendly. I recently took the Festool plunge and re-mortgaged my house!

Steve

 

[peter halle]

Welcome to the FOG!  I doubt that anything coloration wise will stick freely to the strip.  The older strips were black.  Some members have written saying that they preferred the strip material for the Makita rails which are black.  I can't comment on that because I have only used the Festool ones since they became available.

Peter

 

[JavierMoreno]

I was thinking about that last night. It would be a good improvement. 

 

[oakhilltop]

Thanks for the welcome.

It seems to me that clear is the last "color" that you would pick for something you use to line up with your mark.

I do think a bright green would look cool and work well. It would contrast with both the wood and the mark that I am trying to line up with.

 

[vidkid26]

Hello. Sharpie

 

[GPowers]

Plus one on liking the older BLACK splinter guard. The black also did not peal off like the clear ones do.

 

[Dangermouse]

After you've trimmed the splinter guard on your rail, why don't you just run a permanent marker along the top of the clear strip,to make it easier to see,  you can have any Colour you want.

Thats what I did ;-)

 

[Brent Taylor]

I use the Makita splinter guide, haven't had any problems. The black is easier on the  eyes,  especially older ones like mine.

 

[tigger]

Plus one on liking the older BLACK splinter guard. The black also did not peal off like the clear ones do.

I have to agree. (Festool, please take note  [big grin]) Everyone I know, now goes and gets Makita splinter guards. WHY???
Com'on Festool, at least give us the option of black or clear.  [huh]

Maybe if enough of us say something, Festool will listen. It's us "old guys" that need it and we have been loyal for many years so we should have some influence  [thanks]

 

[semenza]

Yeah, green might work  [thumbs up]

I actually prefer the clear. I found that the black blended with any small amount of shadow created by the strip and made it hard to align to a mark. Dark strip, dark shadow, dark mark.

Trying to think of  way to color the clear for the OP though  [scratch chin]

Seth

 

[Svirre]

+one here for black or green.

 

[GPowers]

I like the Festool bright GREEN option, Please.......

 

[Gary in Texas]

Yeah, green might work  [thumbs up]

Trying to think of  way to color the clear for the OP though  [scratch chin]

Seth

As mentioned above. A Sharpie or Mark-O-Lot......  Anything with a permanent ink...

 

[semenza]

As mentioned above. A Sharpie or Mark-O-Lot......  Anything with a permanent ink...

Has anyone tried to add color to them? I tried a orange Sharpie permanent marker that I had laying around, but the ink didn't take very well to the plastic.

Steve

Right , but the OP said he had tried a sharpie and it didn't work well.

Seth

 

[Gary in Texas]

Seth,

Reading apprehension 101.... 

LOL, when I read the OP's post the first time, I replaced orange sharpie with highlighter....  Do NOT ask me how I made that leap...but I did.

Now I will have to go try a black sharpie on one of my strips.  Perhaps give it ample time to dry???

 

[semenza]

........... and try cleaning the strip with alcohol first.

Seth

 

[Cheese]

I tried this a while back and my conclusion was either blue or black helped the most with legibility.

I took the cut edge of the spliterguard, wiped it with alcohol to clean it, I then used Milwaukee Inkzall markers (their version of a Sharpie) in green, red, blue & black. I colored about 6" of the splinter guard edge with each marker. The green made the least difference followed by the red edge. So I removed all of the colors with alcohol and then applied blue Inkzall to the entire edge. I like it, the blue seems to work better in shade/shadow conditions, than the black.  [big grin]