Fishhead15 Posted February 2, 2014 Report Share Posted February 2, 2014 I bought some solarez polyester gloss resin to try out this week. I have been using devcon 2 ton to clear the crankbaits I have been painting with good results. But, I have received a couple requests to paint reels and soft plastic baits (the deps ss 250 in particular), so I have been looking into other products. I feel like the devcon is going to be too thick for a reel... I went with the PE gloss in hopes that it would go on thin and set up nice and evenly. I like that it has a long working time and won't set until put into the sunlight http://solarez.com/productsnew/gloss.html I brushed it onto a reel I had painted only to have the first coat come out streaky. I could see the brush strokes streaky. Then I look on the can and see something about adding a few drops of mekp catalyst, although the guy that sold it to me never said anything about that, and the website doesn't either that I can tell. I added a second coat, which was smoother and took away a lot of the streaky appearance. But, it still did not go on evenly. And in some places it is somewhat cloudy. Have any of you that have used this product have this experience? Do I need the mekp catalyst to solve these problems? I will contact the manufacturer next week for sure to ask about this as well. fortunately, the company is local and only about 10 minutes from where I work. On the same topic, they recommended the fly tier flex epoxy to use on soft plastic lures like the deps ss250. I showed them a bbz-1 tail section and they said it would work. It apparently goes on thin, sets up nice, and is very flexible. I haven't tried it yet. Are any of you familiar with this product? http://solarez.com/productsnew/fly_tie_uv_resin.html thanks Eric Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted February 2, 2014 Report Share Posted February 2, 2014 Eric, I have never painted Solarez on with a brush. I dip my lures in it, and let them hang until they stop dripping before I put them in a UV nail light box to cure. I also use drops of it over painted eyes to get a 3D look, but that's it. I did find that I got a slight cloudy streaking on a black bait, but I can't see it on any others. Sorry I can't be more help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bass100 Posted February 2, 2014 Report Share Posted February 2, 2014 I brush mine on but I also put them on a lure turner so the solarez will even out. When it is real cold here I put the lure turner into a heat box and it will level out perfectly before I cure. You can also heat your solarez in the microwave before you apply it. When you call solarez they will answer all these questions for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishhead15 Posted February 2, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2014 thanks for your replies. I did put the parts on my lure turner after the second coat and I think that helped some. I really can't dip the parts unfortunately, the resin will end up in places it can't go. I will email them at solarez and see what they say. it was already pretty runny, so i didn't think to microwave it, but since you mention it i remember one of the guys there suggesting that for the flex resin I will post up when I get some info from them at solarez. thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobP Posted February 2, 2014 Report Share Posted February 2, 2014 JHMO, you'll never get a true level surface on any topcoat that you have to brush on, especially on a reel where you have large flat and curved areas that will show the slightest imperfection. I painted a reel with rattle can auto primer, paint and clearcoat, which looked great initially but proved not to be up to the rigors of reel use. IMO, the only way to get a good looking and DURABLE finish on a reel is to spray auto primer, paint and 2 part high solids clearcoat with a spray gun and then bake it. This requires breathing protection against the isocyanates in auto clearcoat. Solarez contains wax to make the surface of the coating hard and non-sticky when it cures. If you let wet Solarez sit too long on a surface, some of the wax will migrate to a lower section of the piece and cause a milky white haze there. There's probably slight haze all over Solarez anyway but if the wax migrates, it just becomes noticeable - especially over a darker paint background. MEKP is an alternative or an addition to using UV light to cure Solarez. I doubt it, per se, has anything to do with the finished appearance of the coating but have never tried it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishhead15 Posted February 3, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 3, 2014 Hi Bob, thanks for the info. that is very helpful. I tried the rattle can gloss clear coat on the first reel I did. but, i can scratch that off with my fingernail...durability is the key and that is why I wanted to try the solarez. it sounded promising but I now see why it acted and looks the way it does. I asked about the MEKP because it is recommended on the label to use it regardless of how you cure it. I will look into the 2 part high solids clearcoat, but that sounds like another level of investment I am not ready for. it's a bummer too, because I have a handful of guys already who want their reels painted... Eric Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted February 3, 2014 Report Share Posted February 3, 2014 (edited) You should probably check out the Rod and Reel Repair forum, and post your question there. I know there are guys who have successfully painted reels who posted their results there. Correction: I just checked that forum and couldn't find anything about how to top coat reels after painting them. Just a few people asking the same question you asked. On another forum, somewhere, someone used an auto clear, but it was a sovent based and toxic. I'm pretty sure that's the only finish that will hold up. Edited February 3, 2014 by mark poulson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nedyarb Posted February 3, 2014 Report Share Posted February 3, 2014 I think gst would hold up, but I never tried it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobP Posted February 3, 2014 Report Share Posted February 3, 2014 I really like the old round Ambassadeur ProMax reels from the early 70's and have several. The problem is the factory painted them with gray paint that quickly scratched, so I tried painting one - with poor results as noted above. If I decided to paint another (I never will), and I didn't want to try a 2 part catalyzed auto clearcoat, I think my next option would be Dick Nite S81 moisture cured urethane. Why? It's really tough when cured and it's REALLY THIN, which is an important feature when painting reel parts that have to fit back together after painting. I think it could be shot with an airbrush in several coats if I was careful (I've never tried spraying it but others here on the site reportedly have). My main concern would be whether or not to use a metal primer and if so, to find one that wouldn't react badly with the urethane - which contains solvents that are very reactive. My initial try with Dick Nite would be without a metal primer since I've found that, on spoons, if the Dick Nite is fresh, it will penetrate right into acrylic latex paint and form a good bond with the underlying metal surface, creating a durable monolithic finish. These are just my thoughts on the deal, shoved into your brain without any end-to-end testing. Maybe your robot should be screaming "DANGER, Will Robinson!". But there you go... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted February 3, 2014 Report Share Posted February 3, 2014 I just can't for the live of me figure out how you would mask off the parts of the reel you don't want getting painted or top coated. Seems like it would take forever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobP Posted February 4, 2014 Report Share Posted February 4, 2014 Mark, you really aren't taping off that much. Take the reel COMPLETELY apart and about all you need to tape are the threads on the cast control and the handle shaft. The thing that takes forever is putting the reel back together after it's all done - if you aren't experienced. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishhead15 Posted February 4, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 4, 2014 I emailed solarez earlier today and got the following response: he pretty much echoes what you suggested. "There might be a couple of things going on. The gloss resin has a surfacing agent in it (wax) that needs to rise to the surface before curing. If you brush on the resin, give it a couple of minutes for the brush strokes to disappear. The amount of time for the brush strokes to disappear is usually enough time for the wax to rise to the surface. If you are still getting streaks, I wonder how thick a coating are you doing? Is it thick enough to allow the brush strokes to "gloss" over?. If not, you may want to modify resins. Our urethane "Fly-Tie" resins are of MUCH higher molecular weight and do not require a "surfacing agent", although they are more costly. If the polyester can work for you, it is a great product. you might try to bring up the temperature a bit so that the resin can flow better and brush strokes can disappear and wax to rise. I hope I haven't' confused the issue too much. Do try our Fly-Tie resins someday. They are pretty foolproof" Mark, I am not painting the entire reel. I take off the 2 sideplates and the "nose" section around the levelwind and paint those. I can get my reels apart and prepped in about 10 minutes or so. I know that there are some guys that paint the frame, but I have never broken a reel down completely like that. If i could figure out how to make my pictures smaller, I would post a few...everything exceeds the 2mb max Bob, I will look into the Dick Nite S81 as well. But, it sounds like one of the solarez products should get the results I am looking for. I haven't tried the fly tie resin that he recommends yet, but I did get some samples when i was there. Eric Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted February 4, 2014 Report Share Posted February 4, 2014 Thanks for posting the response from Solarez. I may try hitting my black lures with the hair dryer to bring the wax up more quickly, although I worry that it may make the resin too runny. I guess I'll find out soon enough. I'm still intimidated by the idea of masking anything that goes together with those tight tolerances. Maybe it's just me being afraid I'd never get it reassembled. Hahaha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishhead15 Posted February 9, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 9, 2014 Update...I tried the PE gloss resin on my other reel today. will definitely try it on the next lures I paint, which may be tomorrow. gotta do it during the day since I didn't buy a UV flashlight yet...I heated a small amount of resin in the microwave for 10 seconds, and brushed it on. I did it in the garage and then went outside to UV cure. I did have to apply a second coat to some areas that i missed, but the thinner consistency brushed on smooth and the resin spread out evenly. I went slower and kept the garage door closed, which I think allowed time for the wax to rise, and I didnt have any cloudiness this time. I will post results after i clear a couple lures... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaw Posted February 10, 2014 Report Share Posted February 10, 2014 Forgot about the solarez fly tying material until you mentioned it now I remember using some 4 or 5 years back I believe didn't realise it was the same company it had the consistency of rubber cement roughly should work on your soft plastics but check to see if it can be heated to thin it down so it will be easier to brush on also remember a strong chemical smell with it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
