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Snax

The BEST wood sealer I've found yet!!!

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Hey everyone,

Check out this product if you want to seal your wood baits before priming and painting. It's called CPES (Clear Penetrating Epoxy Sealer) and is specially formulated to penetrate deeply into the wood. Here's the link to their website... CPES™-Wood based epoxy products to repair and resist wood rot.

I've used it and love it!!! (And NO I don't sell it and they are not a sponsor of mine)

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great product! I've been using CPES for the last 4 or 5 years on decks/siding and probably the last year on baits. It is made locally here in the bay area by Smith&Co. It's not the cheapest but it is a great product and really saturates. One thing it does not do is level out the grain like devcon.

one note of caution....make sure your outdoors when you apply it! it's nasty stuff!

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It absolutely must be used in a well ventilated area as the solvents that carry the epoxy resins are highly toxic and reek strongly!

It supposedly carries deeper into wood than any other product like it and it doesn't cure like a rock but retains a wood-like flexibility which is what you want in a lure. I've only had the chance to apply it to a few lures so far but I'm really impressed with it.

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nice find....there's no question that it saturates ALOT more than the competitors.

I figure this will be ideal for the guys needing to seal the hinge pin holes in their swimbaits. It also acts as a great primer/adhesion promotor for whatever top coats you use. If you let the wood dry fully after treating it then just apply a very thin coat of the CPES again and let it tack up before painting your colors. It supposedly will glue your top coats to the wood! Even without re-coating it gives very good adhesion.

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It supposedly will glue your top coats to the wood! Even without re-coating it gives very good adhesion.

It is a great adhesion promoter! "Hot coating" does work with a second coat,but be leary it is not transparent enough to work over foil and will amber.

One note of caution...I've jumped the gun with this product and not let "large" areas not dry long enough even after the 24 hour period which resulted in bubbling.

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How do you apply it? Spray on, brush on, dip or soak?

I brush it on but you can probably dip it if you wish. I prefer brushing as it's not cheap and I want to use it wisely. You'll notice that it soaks in and covers really well. It's not meant to flow out and give you a smooth finish. That is what a regular epoxy is for. This is purely to penetrate and protect the wood.

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Poor mans CPES,

Take and mix etex. Add Denatured alcohol; lately I have been doing about 55% etex and 45% alcohol. I started with 66% etex and 33% alcohol, but I like the thinner better.

Heat the plugs if you wish. One minute in microwave is what I do. I have never microwaved plugs with body weights though, lol.

Take two 16 ounce solo beer/party cups.

Poor the solution all over the plug inside and out from cup to cup until it is 100% covered (takes about 30 seconds)

Primer in 24-48 hours depending on weather and temp.

Cheap, Easy

Wear gloves, eye protection etc. Ventilation is recommended when using D. Alcohol.

-=-=-=-=-=-

Some guys use Toluene instead of D. Alcohol.

CPES itself is a combination of solvents and epoxy, not 100% sure which.

-=-=-

Another good read related to this -

http://www.epoxyproducts.com/penetrating4u.html

Mods can kill link if violates forums rules etc.

Edited by jameso321
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You can preheat plugs w/ballast weights in a conventional oven, or in a toaster oven, on low.

I wonder when the quest for water protection becomes a matter of diminishing returns.

After all, there is no such thing as a perfect "bullet proof" lure.

If you make one, I gauantee you'll lose it! :lolhuh:

To me, it's like the "perfect baitcaster".

The Steez is amazing, but all the baitcasters today are sooooooo much better than the reels of twenty years ago that you can't really go wrong.

Same with lures.

Even though some old shapes and materials might have been "better", the sealers and paints and epoxies we use today are so much better than the stuff that was used twenty years ago that any system we use today whose components are compatible, so they don't fail because they don't like each other, is far superior.

The methods and materials recommended on this site work great.

I understand trying to make things simpler and faster and more fool proof, but, at a certain point, we can wind up spending more time testing than lure making.

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I can see why Snax is on the search for the deepest penetrating sealer since he is hunting Muskies! The more penetration the less likely water will absorb... no question. CPES absorbs so much it CAN play with the natural bouyancy so keep that in mind and run a few test samples.

CPES uses solvents as a vehicle to transport "natural resins" and to evaporate any water that is still in the wood...the thin epoxy is mixed in to stop any fungus from continuing to grow.

Another product they make that is superior is their Epoxy Filler. Zero shrinkage and it's sandable!

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