Jump to content
motomania

Dick Nite Hardness Comparison

Recommended Posts

I've used Devcon for quite a while, and love it's hardness. Just hate the mixing and application process. unsure.gif

-

For discussions sake, let's say on some imaginary hardness scale, Devcon is a 10. (on a 1 to 10 scale)

-

How would you guys rate the hardness of Dick Nite once it's cured?

-

The reason I ask, is I dipped a few cranks the other night, and the Dick Nite is dry to the touch. But, when I press the tip of my fingernail in on it; it leaves a slight impression. Not sure if it's gonna take a few more days to dry. (garage is climate controlled at about 72 degrees and 50-60% humidity)

Edited by motomania
Link to comment
Share on other sites

There is a big difference between being "dry to the touch" and "fully cured". DN can take about 3 days to "fully cure". Not sure that helps with your imaginary hardness scale other than to wait 3 days before "testing" the DN.

-

That awesome Rayburn! That's exactly what I was after. I think I was getting a little antsy. I just wasn't sure if now that it was dry to the touch, if that's it.

-

But I love the simplicity of dipping the baits! wink.gif

-

Thanks for the reply.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I hear Dick Nite actually takes a week or longer to fully moisture cure. Coincidentally, that's also how long it takes epoxy to fully cure - most of us just don't realize it. When first dried out, DN has about the same properties as any polyurethane, that's to say it isn't all that tough. If you can dent it with a fingernail, there's still some solvent in there. But when cured out, it's harder and slicker to the touch than epoxy. Most of us don't care if a topcoat is fully cured (epoxy or DN) as long as we think it's "hard enough". For epoxy, that's usually about 24 hrs. For DN, that's usually a few days. Either coating might be 85% cured at that point, so there's still some hardness developing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I hear Dick Nite actually takes a week or longer to fully moisture cure. Coincidentally, that's also how long it takes epoxy to fully cure - most of us just don't realize it. When first dried out, DN has about the same properties as any polyurethane, that's to say it isn't all that tough. If you can dent it with a fingernail, there's still some solvent in there. But when cured out, it's harder and slicker to the touch than epoxy. Most of us don't care if a topcoat is fully cured (epoxy or DN) as long as we think it's "hard enough". For epoxy, that's usually about 24 hrs. For DN, that's usually a few days. Either coating might be 85% cured at that point, so there's still some hardness developing.

-

Thanks for the info Bob. You bring up a good point about DN being about as tough as polyurethane when drying initially. That's exactly what I was up against, and I was thinking it was only going to be as tough as the Deft stuff I tried. After weeks, that stuff still dents when I dig my nail into it, and will leave a flatspot if laid on it's side for a day or 2 on something hard. angry.gif

-

I was just excited about the ease of application of dipping the DN, and was hoping it just did not fully cure yet. wink.gif

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Can we take this a little further? On a scale of 1 to 10 where 1 is one year or less and 10 is 10 years or more, about how long does it take unused, not in the tackle box sunshine, DN and D2T to start changing color, i.e. turn yellow or deteriorate in any noticeable way? What is the shelf life of both coatings for packaged lures?

Thanks.

John

Link to comment
Share on other sites

John - you might also consider the difference in thickness in the two coatings - one good coat of D2T is probably about .25mm thick, a good dipped coat of D.N is probably about 10 microns thick (whatever 10 microns is), so to get a good/fair comparison you might have to do half a dozen coats of D.N to get anywhere near the single coat D2T thickness.

Saying all this I have had some D2T samples stuck on the wall of the shed and curing for up to 18 months, and I can verify it is as brittle as glass in about one month, and yellows (mild) in about 3 (no direct sunlight). I also have some 'Pucks' of DN which are about 1/4" thick with some thinner edges, these samples are also about 18 months old.

The DN is as clear (light pink tint) as the day I poured it into a glass jar to let it harden, and when I broke it out even after 18 months cure and this thickness, it is still easily bent, but as tough as boot sole- you can not break or pull it apart, even where some of it is plastic bag thickness.

IMHO the lesson here is that hard is not necessarily tough when it comes to teeth - for the record, I don't use either product any more.

Pete

Edited by hazmail
Link to comment
Share on other sites

John - you might also consider the difference in thickness in the two coatings - one good coat of D2T is probably about .25mm thick, a good dipped coat of D.N is probably about 10 microns thick (whatever 10 microns is), so to get a good/fair comparison you might have to do half a dozen coats of D.N to get anywhere near the single coat D2T thickness.

Saying all this I have had some D2T samples stuck on the wall of the shed and curing for up to 18 months, and I can verify it is as brittle as glass in about one month, and yellows (mild) in about 3 (no direct sunlight). I also have some 'Pucks' of DN which are about 1/4" thick with some thinner edges, these samples are also about 18 months old.

The DN is as clear (light pink tint) as the day I poured it into a glass jar to let it harden, and when I broke it out even after 18 months cure and this thickness, it is still easily bent, but as tough as boot sole- you can not break or pull it apart, even where some of it is plastic bag thickness.

IMHO the lesson here is that hard is not necessarily tough when it comes to teeth - for the record, I don't use either product any more.

Pete

-

Good thought bassrecord. The lonterm angle is certainly worth discussing too.wink.gif

-

If I might ask hazmail, what do you use now? Whatever you use, have you had a chance to see the effects of time on it too?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Motormania- 'etex lite' and I will try any other epoxy that looks o.k, (and there is some crap out there)- Yep I have some samples on the shed wall, some about 12 months old and they have yellowed slightly - From anything I have read about epoxies I think it is near impossible for them to stop yellowing, but it can be minimised -

There must be someone on here that knows a bit about this epoxy/yellowing problem???????????????????????????????.

Any opinions on this????

Pete

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think all epoxies and urethanes yellow at least slightly over time. How yellow and how long depend on a lot of things. For epoxies it includes how well it was measured and mixed, what brand, and how much heat and UV light it is exposed to. I think Dick Nite will also yellow. One advantage Dick Nite has in this regard it that it is a thin coating. If it yellows at the same rate as epoxy, the yellowing will not be as evident because it is a much thinner coating. That said, I have epoxy finished lures 3-5 years old (stored inside after fishing and not in the boat) that do not show noticeable yellowing. JMHO, since all finishes yellow, it sort of becomes a non-issue. But if it is to you, I recommend either Dick Nite or a UV inhibited epoxy like Nu-Lustre 55 Anti-UV (I haven't tried the latter).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...


×
×
  • Create New...
Top