First Problem With D2t...little Help

[Kris]

Been using D2T for over a year now. Last few baits I noticed after taking the baits

off the drying wheel there are pits or dents in the surface. I haven't changed anything up in the way

I mix it or apply it.

They don't appear while brushing the D2T on...just sometime during drying.

Everything looks smooth when I go and put them on the drying wheel.

[Vodkaman]

Been using D2T for over a year now. Last few baits I noticed after taking the baits

off the drying wheel there are pits or dents in the surface. I haven't changed anything up in the way

I mix it or apply it.

They don't appear while brushing the D2T on...just sometime during drying.

Everything looks smooth when I go and put them on the drying wheel.

We call them 'fish eyes'. If you never had them before, then something in your process has changed, a different seal coat, a new brush, new scale netting etc. Try to think what you did differently, no matter how insignificant you may feel it is and start there.

Was the weather out of the ordinary? Some people think that humidity can cause such problems. Personally, I live in Indonesia, with daily humidity in the 90's, so I am not convinced.

The last time I had fish eye problems, I had switched brands of base coat (rattle cans).

Please report back when you find the culprit, so that we can all learn from your misfortune. Good luck with it.

Dave

[BobP]

I agree with Dave that the solution to fisheyes can be elusive. You'll get different diagnoses about contaminating the surface with oil through your airbrush or from your fingers, bad batches of epoxy, bad brushing technique, etc. One, all, or none of them may be true. I'd keep them all in mind and take a close look at your finishing process to see if you can eliminate the possibilities one by one. My first thought if you are getting multiple fisheyes on a bait is that the surface is contaminated with something, possibly something oily. But that's just a Wild A$$ed Guess on my part. I handle baits with bare fingers throughout the finishing process but have rarely had a fisheye. When I did, I felt it was more likely a failure on my part to wet out the surface of the paint properly with the epoxy - a brushing failure. One thing that helps me is thinning D2T slightly with denatured alcohol after it is thoroughly mixed. Gives me a little more time to make sure the epoxy is brushed out well and MAYBE it would counteract any oily spots on the bait, in case I forget and start munching potato chips during the process (NOT).

Edited April 14, 2011 by BobP

[spoonbender]

I've also had issues with fisheyes, but in my case believe it's caused by application of epoxy before the paint finish is completely cured. It's most noticeable when I use gloss finishes, especially those bled from aerosol cans so may be a lack of complete mixing (shaking) of can and concentrations of the gloss wetting additives. Don't confuse air bubbles with fishseyes, as they are a completely different malady. If you start application when the epoxy starts thickening, the brushing action will drag the material over gaps in coverage without adhering to the lure. During the turning process, the material dragged over the gap will re-incorporate into the surrounding finish and leaves an "opening" in the finish. As the other gents have mentioned, thin your epoxy with DNA and apply it as soon as it's mixed properly. I use an alcohol lamp to provide a little heat and CO2 to dispense with any bubbles than form during the coating process.

[blazt*]

Here's a shot in the dark: If you are clearing lures in or near the kitchen, is it possible that some oily fallout landed on your lures the last time somebody fried up some bacon or whatever?

[gunnie3035]

Been using D2T for over a year now. Last few baits I noticed after taking the baits

off the drying wheel there are pits or dents in the surface. I haven't changed anything up in the way

I mix it or apply it.

They don't appear while brushing the D2T on...just sometime during drying.

Everything looks smooth when I go and put them on the drying wheel.

All great advice mentioned. I use the 2-ton in the syringe type applicator. I've notice when I get close to empty on the syringe I have more issues. I'm not sure as the end gets more buggered up the exposure to air creates a problem and particles of dust collect on the [tip] cap. I've also noticed if I brush too hard while applying the epoxy it will make it thin enough in certain spots to separate while on the wheel. Sometimes the smallest little paint web or bristle will create a pothole in the finish. But generally when I have a problem I didn't mix it well enough.

[Kris]

First, thanks for all the suggestions and help.

I think I figured it out. At least I hope so. The 4 lures I cleared last nite turned out great.

It seemed the first culprit was the new jar I used to put my Acetone in to clean my brushes I use to brush the D2T on. The jar I had been using was getting to much 'junk' in the bottom so I changed out jars.

Even though I cleaned the new jar out it must still had something left in it and it would mix with the Acetone.

Also a family member who is an artist overheard me talking about my problem. They suggested that another cause could be the way I load my brush with the epoxy. They explained that when painting you are taught to load up your brush with paint by

loading paint on both sides of the brush AND the tip. They are taught to almost 'mash' (a good southern word) the tip into the paint. If you only load your brush with a little bit of paint then as the bristles of the brush are pressed on the canvas the air that is trapped inside the brush is squeezed out and into the paint leaving air bubbles.

They thought that this would be the same with brushing on epoxy. So I thought back I realized that I wasn't loading up my brush with D2T like I used to. So last night I loaded up my brush with D2T and applied it the lure and then brushed all the epoxy off.

No bubbles or fish eyes.

So it seems the problem was two-fold. A brand new jar and the way I was loading my brush with D2T.

[Vodkaman]

Thanks for reporting back.

Something as insignificant as changing out a brush cleaning jar. Scary, but could well be the culprit.

interesting read about brush loading. I will think about that next time I get the epoxy out.

I scoop a load of epoxy onto the brush and deposit it around the lip area. I then push the epoxy upto the lip, so that it forms a fillet and laps onto the lip. I then load more and push/mash it onto the surface, the intention being to make sure the surface is wetted. I then smooth it out from nose to tail, loading more as necessary.

Keeping the bait rotating, I examine closely under a strong light, looking for blemishes and missed spots. Then transfer to the drying wheel. I am thorough and careful, but this means that with D2T, I can only coat one bait at a time. I know some of you guys are doing 5 or more baits with one batch. Hats off to you, but I'll stick with one at a time.

Dave