Quick Breakdown

[FISHUNTER]

Hi guys...im new to the forum and have some some questions. I have read through many past pages but I am guessen I just need a dumbed down answer. I have run into the problem (like many) where everything is going great until you dip it into the clear coat. Then all hell breaks loose and my paint strips,bubbles and runs before the epoxy hardens....so I guess my question Is this the steps to making a lure?

1. sandpaper

2. paint white

3. Paint the designs

4. clear primer coat

5. dip in clear epoxy

6. watch epoxy destroy paint job

Where am I going wrong in this process ??

[hazmail]

Hi guys...im new to the forum and have some some questions. I have read through many past pages but I am guessen I just need a dumbed down answer. I have run into the problem (like many) where everything is going great until you dip it into the clear coat. Then all hell breaks loose and my paint strips,bubbles and runs before the epoxy hardens....so I guess my question Is this the steps to making a lure?

1. sandpaper

2. paint white

3. Paint the designs

4. clear primer coat

5. dip in clear epoxy

6. watch epoxy destroy paint job

Where am I going wrong in this process ??

Fishunter- Are you sure that is epoxy you are dipping your bait into, sounds more like a thinners based clear – if dipping in epoxy you must have a lot and be mixing it 'too hot' to do all that damage.

There will be an avalanche of advice here, but we all will need to know primer type, paint type 'clear epoxy'?? type etc.

To me from what you have described, you have dipped in some sort of thinners based clear lacquer and because of it's high thinners content (slow drying time) it is attacking every paint/ primer underneath it- if so, its better to get all your paints and primers completely dry, then spray a few light coats of clear to seal everything before any dipping and for your first dip make it quick.

There is a massive amount of info on 'dipping/stripping' and how to fix it in the library, do some searching.Pete

[FISHUNTER]

I bought it at Michaels (craft store). It says fullproof clear coat dope. It was the only "clear coat" product they had next to the airbushing paints and supplies.

I just ordered some Dick nites from hearing about it so much on here. But just saw a similar picture of what happens to my bait happen from dick nite.

[BobP]

Dope isn't epoxy, it is a cellulose based coating containing acids and blend of solvents. Not durable enough and its acids probably caused your paint to wrinkle. When you layer solvent based coatings on a bait, you have to be careful that all of them are compatible or you get wrinkling and peeling as their solvents interact. One way to avoid problems is to use a single brand of coatings that are produced as a compatible "family". It's hard to find families designed for durability except in automotive finishes which tend to be pricey (not to mention toxic). An easier way is to avoid solvent based coatings altogether.

Try this:

Brush on a 2 part epoxy undercoat on the bare sanded wood (you can thin it with lacquer thinner to make it penetrate the wood fibers). Let it cure 24 hours then sand it lightly

shoot a white acrylic latex color basecoat and dry it with a hair dryer

shoot your colors drying each with the hair dryer

Brush on a 2 part epoxy topcoat to make it durable and waterproof. Rotate the bait until the epoxy hardens enough not to sag.

When your Dick Nite arrives, use it instead of the epoxy topcoat.

Edited March 9, 2010 by BobP

[6_feet_deep]

Thanks to BobP and others I've been using Devcon 2T here recently and have had great results. I must say that I am NOT a lure maker, just a re-painter, but everything is behaving just as I was told it would. When I paint wooden lures or plastic, I'm sanding down the original paints a bit, using a hi-grit paper, and then spraying a white primer (spray can) over the top of it. I let that sit overnight. For my paints, I'm using water based createx (letting it sit overnight after painting) and then applying the epoxy (D2T) directly to the plug/paint, without a clear in between...I brush as BobP suggested and everything works very well. My one piece of advice would be to get a pretty decent brush as oppose to the .99 jobs...the cheaper brushes will leave little bristles behind in your clear.

[rotorhead]

I bought it at Michaels (craft store). It says fullproof clear coat dope. It was the only "clear coat" product they had next to the airbushing paints and supplies.

I just ordered some Dick nites from hearing about it so much on here. But just saw a similar picture of what happens to my bait happen from dick nite.

[rotorhead]

I bought it at Michaels (craft store). It says fullproof clear coat dope. It was the only "clear coat" product they had next to the airbushing paints and supplies.

I just ordered some Dick nites from hearing about it so much on here. But just saw a similar picture of what happens to my bait happen from dick nite.

The coating you might have purchased from Michaels had printed full proof clear coat dope. What you probably bought was labeled Fuelproof clear dope which is used to provide a fuel proof coating over balsa wood and silkspan for model airplanes. I used gallons of this stuff in the past when I was flying R/C models. Your best bet at michaels is look for a product called Enviro-tex. That will solve your coating problems but follow the directions closely and rotate the lure on a drying wheel.

Rotorhead

[FISHUNTER]

The coating you might have purchased from Michaels had printed full proof clear coat dope. What you probably bought was labeled Fuelproof clear dope which is used to provide a fuel proof coating over balsa wood and silkspan for model airplanes. I used gallons of this stuff in the past when I was flying R/C models. Your best bet at michaels is look for a product called Enviro-tex. That will solve your coating problems but follow the directions closely and rotate the lure on a drying wheel.

Rotorhead

Thanks everyone for the advise. I have a game plan now and will start on it once the Dick Nites comes in. It looks like the Dope I bought was the problem. Embarrisngly I am a lure designer/ creator but our factory in china handles everything from A-Z....and they use some unknown chinese brands as far as clearcoats so that info route was a dead end. I want to start doing my own designs and stuff from home to keep me busy and to just plain tinker with. The turnaround on a sample from china is around 2 months as oppose to me doing it myself.

[BobP]

JMHO, you may not be happy topcoating with epoxy because it is pretty thick stuff. IMO, it looks good and performs well on wood baits and many of the guys who use it have designed their baits around it as a topcoat. But IMO, it's less ideal on plastic baits if you want a "factory look" thin topcoat. Dick Nite is a better choice in that case if you are looking for something that's very durable and high gloss. If you are just "test painting" baits and don't need them to stand up to hard field use, many exterior grade polyurethanes would work.

[FISHUNTER]

JMHO, you may not be happy topcoating with epoxy because it is pretty thick stuff. IMO, it looks good and performs well on wood baits and many of the guys who use it have designed their baits around it as a topcoat. But IMO, it's less ideal on plastic baits if you want a "factory look" thin topcoat. Dick Nite is a better choice in that case if you are looking for something that's very durable and high gloss. If you are just "test painting" baits and don't need them to stand up to hard field use, many exterior grade polyurethanes would work.

Thanks bob, I am looking to make factory look. I will use the dick nites...which should be arriving today