heat setting before topcoating

[mark berrisford]

Hello all

Before topcoating my lures i have to spend several minutes on each lure with the heatgun setting the paint(medea airbrush paint) otherwise the topcoat(e-tex) pools which is getting on my nerves.What i was wondering is it possible to make a heatbox to ensure the paint is thoroughly dry if so what did you use,i was thinking of a box i could hang the lures in heated by a small heater or a lightbulb which the lures could be left in to dry the paint.Any thought's, suggestions or comment's welcome

Thank's Mark

[BobP]

I'm doubtful that the dryness of the paint is the problem. I quickly dry airbrush paint with a hair dryer between colors and when finished, can immediately clearcoat and put them on lure rotator with no pooling problem. Epoxy cures regardless of moisture, even under water. A box lined with tin foil and a 100W bulb will dry paint but you wouldn't want to use it to speed the curing of epoxy on a wood bait because the heat will expand air in the bait and cause bubbles in the clearcoat. If you employ a heated box for drying paint, I'd also not leave it unattended overnight due to the possibility of fire.

[mark berrisford]

Thank's BobP

The epoxy cures but the finish is terrible(further coats cover the mess and you wouldn't know there had been a problem when the lure is finished),i think this is perhaps due to an additive in the paint they call "lube" have noticed baits that are well dried don't have the same problem which was why i was thinking of the drier for the paint and was wondering if anyone else used this method

Mark

[cheesehead]

sounds like the "lube" in your paint might be causing fish eyes in your topcoat.

[rofish]

I think the rule in finishing a crankbait is that every layer you apply on the lure must be completely cured before adding another layer, wether this is sealer, paint or clearcoat. Exception: a second coat of epoxy can be applied before the first one is completely cured.

I start this process of drying begining with the blanks, so I dry very well the wood before applying a sealer. In such a case, I do not have to worry about the possibility of air bubbles escaping from the wood, and showing in the clearcoat (and that's because I heat the blanks before applying the sealer).

There are several ways to dry the lure after each layer you apply on it. If you are not in a hurry, you can use what you have in the house, without making an extra drying device. In winter, I use a heater in the house to dry the lure after each layer (after about half an hour in which the lure is hanged on an S wire) even though my wife is not very happy about it. Slower drying is better than a quick one, with the help of a higher temperature.

My oppinion is that in case you put the lures overnight on a heater, you do not need a heatbox, but if you do not have a heater (in case your heating system has heating pipes in the floor, for instance), you would need such a heatbox, which you should use after a reasonable time in which the lure hangs at room temperature.

[Vodkaman]

Rofish, the pre-heating strategy for sealing is sound. It draws the sealer in as the body cools.

The problem here is a different one (I think viscosity), the solution is the same, pre-heat the lures. Heat setting does the job, but if the bodies were heated for an hour in a box, the core of the body would be heated too. This would hold the warmer surface for longer.

Of course, you already know this, as you identified and described the cause of the problem. I think the heat box is a good idea, go for it.

[mark poulson]

Try spraying a sealer coat of clear pastel fixative over your water based paint, and drying that with a hair dryer, before you epoxy.

[Sonny.Barile]

Hi folks

Im no paint expert.....but I think I read something way back that acrylic paints take about a month to cure all the way through. I would guess that means it can out-gas for up to a month. I dont pay any mind to that now but I also do not topcoat with epoxy....the article was on one of those wood boat building websites.......