A-Mac Posted November 14, 2009 Report Share Posted November 14, 2009 I was etex some cranks today and was setting the cup of mixed epoxy on top of an oil heater unit (to make the epoxy more fluid). At a certain point I noticed the stuff to start to gel up. Instead of continuing on (and potentially ruining more baits) I made up a new batch. After 15min the old epoxy was hard (after being removed from the heater). I have not seen the outcome on the lures yet (since it happened like 40mins ago). So heres what I'm thinking. Can you heat the lures up while they turn to reduce cure time? I'm very tempted to try this... but I figured I'd see if someone has had success first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pikeman Posted November 14, 2009 Report Share Posted November 14, 2009 I've tried with devcon2ton man it was a mistake the resin became hard in 10 minutes instead of 30 than I've changed to your idea and heated the lure, yet another mistake, it didn't cured evenly, and the resin didn't covered all the lure, don't ask me why but there were huge spots uncovered and I couldn't blame the oil from my fingers for that so, yes, it is more fluid but that didn't helped me too much and then I decided to remain on the classic method Maybe you'll have better luck with etex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A-Mac Posted November 14, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 14, 2009 I've tried with devcon2ton man it was a mistake the resin became hard in 10 minutes instead of 30 than I've changed to your idea and heated the lure, yet another mistake, it didn't cured evenly, and the resin didn't covered all the lure, don't ask me why but there were huge spots uncovered and I couldn't blame the oil from my fingers for that so, yes, it is more fluid but that didn't helped me too much and then I decided to remain on the classic method Maybe you'll have better luck with etex I normally use the oil heater to bump the temp up to 75-80F in the small room I do this stuff in. This temp range seems to work best for both my clear coat and my resin to cure at as quickly as possible (the classic way). As for the plastic resin, after I pop the lure from the mold I will put it on foil over the oil heater. This seems to work very well and hardens the resin quickly. I've been able to paint after 24hrs without blistering from gas release by doing this. As for the etex, what I had left from the 2nd batch (which I didn't cook to a gel) is still tacky and being like normal etex. The stuff that I cooked to a gel is hard as a rock now (after 3 hrs) and isn't tacky at all. However, the lure that I put the etex on (from the first batch) is still tacky. What I can conclude from this is that warming the etex mix doesn't seem to alter the curing speed once its put on the lure. However, there must be a temperature that once the etex hits actually alters the chemical compound... which is what I believe happened when the etex started to gel. Basically, as soon as the gel cooled it was hard. So could you heat the outside of the lure fast enough to cause this chemical change w/out damaging the lure? Hmmm... something tells me vodkaman would have the formula for this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Husky Posted November 15, 2009 Report Share Posted November 15, 2009 (edited) You might want to mix 5 parts of Etex to appx 1 part D2T. Test it first if you're leary. Edited November 15, 2009 by Husky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobP Posted November 15, 2009 Report Share Posted November 15, 2009 (edited) Yes, if you heat the epoxy or the bait you put in on, it will cure faster. But you also run into problems that are hard to control, like sagging and running, soot on the bait, or curing too fast to level out, etc. I know everyone wants Instant Gratification (me too!) but epoxy takes time to cure. More patience = fewer failures. Edited November 15, 2009 by BobP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DUCBOS Posted November 16, 2009 Report Share Posted November 16, 2009 It seams to be like everything else in life. A little is good but too much is bad. I use a cheap s heat lamp bulb to shine on my turner while drying D2T. Don't work with DN because it is moisture cured. After turning an hour I hang it closer to the lamp for another hour. They are ready to handle then and I do not have any problem fishing them the next day and they have not yellowed or cracked. Sometimes when it is cold where I am working in the garage, I'll put the D2T tube under the light to make it flow smoother on to the bait as well. I keep it inside at about 72 degrees to store it. On this site it is posted that D2T is best at about 68 to 72 degrees. Use a cheap cooing thermometer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamie Posted November 17, 2009 Report Share Posted November 17, 2009 Yes, if you heat the epoxy or the bait you put in on, it will cure faster. But you also run into problems that are hard to control, like sagging and running, soot on the bait, or curing too fast to level out, etc. I know everyone wants Instant Gratification (me too!) but epoxy takes time to cure. More patience = fewer failures. Im with bobp on this.More patience= fewer failures. There is no real short cuts with epoxy( not one that I would do) read the directions and stick with the directions with epoxy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
