Bascoat for Plastic and Wood

[ohioskeeter]

What do you all recommed for a base coat on plastics and woods? I used Fusion on the plastics and the createx water based won't stick or at least for me it won't. Please give me a product from createx, I like their products and seem safe. Can I just use the createx white as a base?

Thanks

[BobP]

I basically feel if you can get the color on without it falling off, the topcoat will usually make it permanent. If you want more adhesion, you can spray a plastic lure with Bulldog or U-Pol adhesion promoter. Light sanding is an alternative if there isn't a lot of surface texture. Least good but usually sufficient, you can just wipe the plastic down with denatured alcohol to remove any dirt/oil. On raw wood, you need an undercoat like propionate or epoxy to stop the grain from raising and to maintain waterproofness. Whatever the undercoating (if any) I use a white color basecoat before adding color. Createx white may work OK but Polytranspar Superhide White acrylic latex sticks better and covers faster. I've painted plenty of plastic baits with just acrylics and epoxy and they're still working fine several years later. That said, I think a solvent topcoat like Dick Nite soaks into and through the latex paint, which makes a more monolythic coating with better adhesion.

Edited April 28, 2009 by BobP

[silverdoctor]

I just ordered some "superhyde" finally; it takes a while for good ideas to sink in.

But Bob, "monolythic" I had to get the dictionary out for this one!

Seriously, thanks for the post and the tips Bob-the supplier also sells wildlife colors which to me are the best airbrush paints.

ken

[mark poulson]

For plastic baits, I wipe the plastic down with acetone, and then paint right over it with Createx. On a repaint, if I'm doing a "clear" type finish, like a ghost pattern, I scrape the old paint off, and then finish the removal with the acetone. If I'm doing a solid paint scheme, I lightly sand the old finish for adhesion, wipe it with acetone, and paint on my base coat.

For wood baits I seal with Minwax Wood Hardener, then prime with Krylon white primer. I think the wood hardener helps make the lure more waterproof. Water that gets under the top coat is the biggest problem with wood baits for me. If it can actually penetrate the wood, it vaporizes under the top coat, and makes the paint scheme delaminate and fail.

Primer is supposed to lock the wood fibers, so you can sand lightly to achieve a smoother surface to paint, and to promote adhesion of the finish paint to the lure. Generally, the actual paint formulation is geared toward penetrating the wood, to promote adhesion, and the film strength is low, so it can be easily sanded, and so it provides a good mechanical bonding surface with the finish paints which go over it.

The Minwax wood hardener might serve the same purpose as the primer by itself, in terms of locking the wood fibers and providing a good sanding surface, but I've never tried it alone.

For PVC baits, which is what I use almost exclusively now, I just sand, prime with Krylon white primer, and then paint with Createx.

A solid white basecoat is a good starting point for almost all paint schemes, and a white primer helps achieve better coverage with my Createx white base coat.

I do a black crappie pattern with a black basecoat, and that's the only time I don't use white. But I still prime with Krylon white primer.

I think any rattle can white primer would probably work, but I've never had a problem with the Krylon.