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Dominican56

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I cannot say for sure why my link disappeared... but I suspect it's because I sent it from my iDunno CathodeRayTube using TappaKeggaBrew. Here it is again:

MarcL hits on a whole lotta truths here:

Boy that sure is true. Some of that will dry out and go away with the CT shade -- but not all. The Ecuador habano shade has the advantage of being dark. Bliss and Marc appear to have the patience to pamper their shade along. I'm like you -- two damp towels and let's get busy.

Bliss has a vid somewheres showing wrapper prep, I believe. Painstaking three day process, IIRC.
ThNk you for making the video. Fantastic amount of info there.


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I just rolled the leaf I wet down 16 his ago. I used a large ceramic floor tile. Being able to stick the leaf to the surface changed the game. I picked that up from web's video. Great tip. Made my barber poles turn it much better. They are drying now.

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I take the wrapper and spritz it lightly with distilled water and place it in a large plastic zip lock freezer bag. (Zip lock makes for easy in and out) The next day it's ready to go.

The tile works well to stick down the leaf and stretch it out. (I use a piece of granite I got at Floor/decor)

I use this similar method from Sam Leccia at 'NUB' cigar.
 
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This goes to show there's more than one way to peel an orange. Everyone applies their own style of doing things differently.
I wouldn't call it a style. I was just looking for the simplest way a first time beginner could pop out a decent result without spending a lotta time or money. Simplicity.
 
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I wouldn't call it a style. I was just looking for the simplest way a first time beginner could pop out a decent result without spending a lotta time or money. Simplicity.
Hardest part of rolling is finding the best techniques that work for you. I'm constantly trying new ways and learning with each stick.

Testing out my newest blend right now. 2 n ligero from lo, 1 Corojo viso from wlt, and 1 n seco from lo. Barber pole CT shade and Andres wrap. N lo binder. 44 ring. Almost perfect. Any more seco than that waters it down too much for me. I may even skip it in the next run.

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Wrappers 16 hours in a bag after spritzing (separately, separate bags). No hand stretching. Used the tile trick to stick the leaf, CT on top of Andres while rolling. Honestly, it doesn't look any different than my other rolls. Whatever is making the CT look stained I think is inside the leaf. It happens no matter how I treat the wrappers or if I roll CT only.
This was after 24 hours of drying.
 

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Wrappers 16 hours in a bag after spritzing (separately, separate bags). No hand stretching. Used the tile trick to stick the leaf, CT on top of Andres while rolling. Honestly, it doesn't look any different than my other rolls. Whatever is making the CT look stained I think is inside the leaf. It happens no matter how I treat the wrappers or if I roll CT only.
This was after 24 hours of drying.
That would really annoy me. Off topic, here's a stick I wrapped 14 months ago and smoked this morning.
 
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That would really annoy me. Off topic, here's a stick I wrapped 14 months ago and smoked this morning.
It is annoying. I noticed some tobacco juice color come off it darker than the leaf the last two times I've hydrated. So I'm trying this now: cutting the leaf off the stem after I rinse it thoroughly under a shower stream, then putting it into a bag to hydrate. I have a feeling whatever is dying the veins is coming off whatever was on the leaves before I got them. I'm hoping the rinse and removing whatever may be in the stem will help.
 
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It is annoying. I noticed some tobacco juice color come off it darker than the leaf the last two times I've hydrated. So I'm trying this now: cutting the leaf off the stem after I rinse it thoroughly under a shower stream, then putting it into a bag to hydrate. I have a feeling whatever is dying the veins is coming off whatever was on the leaves before I got them. I'm hoping the rinse and removing whatever may be in the stem will help.
Can I offer a humble suggestion? Try it the way the pros have been doing it since the mid-1800s and still do it today in Cuba: a quick all-in dip into a bucket of water. Then quickly draw it out straight up and let it sluice off for a few seconds before laying it up to case, butt-end down. Maybe that would be less likely to spot than a shower rinse? I can't say. I have been doing both spritz and full-on-dip methods on CT for a couple years with no spots either way, with five different CT Shades, but like I said never LO's. Just tossing ideas out there.
 
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Can I offer a humble suggestion? Try it the way the pros have been doing it since the mid-1800s and still do it today in Cuba: a quick all-in dip into a bucket of water. Then quickly draw it out straight up and let it sluice off for a few seconds before laying it up to case, butt-end down. Maybe that would be less likely to spot than a shower rinse? I can't say. I have been doing both spritz and full-on-dip methods on CT for a couple years with no spots either way, with five different CT Shades, but like I said never LO's. Just tossing ideas out there.
I'll try that next time if this spots. This is the first time I've fully washed it off in the shower before hydration. I appreciate the suggestion.

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I'll try that next time if this spots. This is the first time I've fully washed it off in the shower before hydration. I appreciate the suggestion.

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So I'm 99.9% sure it's not stain or damage. The almost transparent shade shows through whatever color is beneath it if you put any amount of stretch or dampness on it. For example a dab of wet glue on the inside of the wrapper on the head will show the dark binder beneath it. Using glue on the flag does the same thing. I can't find a way not to have this happen with this leaf. I even tried drier wrapper and looser wrap, but then the seams come up and anywhere there is glue the binder color bleeds through.

I think the only chance you would have is if you double wrapper it.

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So I'm 99.9% sure it's not stain or damage. The almost transparent shade shows through whatever color is beneath it if you put any amount of stretch or dampness on it. For example a dab of wet glue on the inside of the wrapper on the head will show the dark binder beneath it. Using glue on the flag does the same thing. I can't find a way not to have this happen with this leaf. I even tried drier wrapper and loser wrap, but then the seams come up and anywhere there is glue the binder color bleeds through.

I think the only chance you would have is if you double wrapper it.

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I'm not pedantic; I just love the idea of "loser wrap." There's plenty of that for sale, b'lieve.
 
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