I'm not a fan of painted blanks for a few reasons, mostly the difficulties they pose when doung rebuilds, but also because the finish can be a bit damage prone. That said my blue Axioms have stood up well to plenty of abuse. Harrison's have reduced their colour options to one. Burgundy. Having recently built a set of three P-1s in this finish, and juts completed three Torrixes, both sets whipped with burgundy thread, I must say the overall look is aesthetically pleasing. The light olive differentiating turns of thread also go well with the colour scheme.
Another recently complete build is a pair of P-1s in Ultra Matt finish with tarted up cork handles. I do like the cork cones in front of DPS reel; seats. It's a better look than cork cones in front of DNPS seats to my eye. Although not to my taste the custom butt finish that was requested looks better than I envisaged. It was a bit of a faff to do though!
