wgp:
the sticky collective will not go away.. or until the spindle bolts come loose and your main blades + grips come flying off the rotor head. Its a very simple thing to do, and your cheating yourself of how it performs if you dont, Especially if your a new heli pilot, Heli's are unpredictable to begin with, by having the collective do what it pleases, it only adds to the frustration of learning how to hover.
If you are going to patch the ends of the heat shrink on the main blades, do it in the smallest way possible, CA or Tape, and try to match the other blade exactly the same as possible as not to throw off the balance of the rotor head too much.