Sealant/topcoat For Baits For A Newby

[Faithfishing]

I know there may be some post about this already but what works well for sealing or top coating wooden or plastic baits. I'm going to start hand making some wooden swimbaits and doing some plastic crankbaits. After you airbrush what do you topcoat and seal with. Thanks guys

[mark poulson]

There are tons of other choices, but I know from personal experience these will work, and are compatible with most paints.

 

For wooden swimbaits I'd recommend a decoupage epoxy like Envirotex Lite, aka Etex.

http://eti-usa.com/envirotex-lite/

 

For plastic baits I'd recommend Solarez, a UV cured polyester resin, originally designed for surf board repairs (it works for that, too).

http://solarez.com/products/low-voc-dual-cure-polyester-resin/

[Cougarftd]

yep...what Mark said

[gunther57]

I am a newby to the art of crankbait painting also. I have a rod building business and I use the thread finish. It has worked for me, but like I said I have not been doing this but a month or so.

[HAWGFAN]

I am a newby to the art of crankbait painting also. I have a rod building business and I use the thread finish. It has worked for me, but like I said I have not been doing this but a month or so.

I know there are different thread epoxies.  I tried the one I use on some crankbaits, and wasn't pleased.  The flexibility that makes for a good rod finish isn't very abrasion resistant.  If you deal with many rocks, I'd avoid the rod/thread epoxies.  Swimbaits aren't going to be grinding into the bottom, so that might be a better application.  Two coats of Etex works for me, but I prefer one thick coat of D2T.  I can't speak for Solarez or any of the urethane finishes.

[mark poulson]

Solarez UV polyester resin is the easiest and most trouble free, in terms of reacting with any paints you use.

If you buy a UV nail light, you can dip your bait, let it hang inside, out of direct sunlight, for five minutes so it can drip back into your dipping jar, wipe off the last drips on the bottom, and then hang it in the UV nail light box.  It will cure hard enough to fish in three minutes.  I turn mine every 30 seconds.

 

http://solarez.com/products/low-voc-dual-cure-polyester-resin/

 

I bought a quart, and it lasted a long time.

 

http://www.amazon.com/SHANY-Light-Dryer-Watts-Series/dp/B00644YNCM/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1408459337&sr=8-8&keywords=uv+nails+lamp

 

I paid $30+- for my nail light.  The 36 watt model works well.

[BassCrackBaits]

What size Crankbait style baits can you hang in that nail light, Mark?

[mark poulson]

What size Crankbait style baits can you hang in that nail light, Mark?

 

The opening in the mouth/top is 2"X6", with radiused ends.

The depth from the mouth to the bottom of the light box is 5 7/8".

I've been able to hang cranks and lures up to 4 1/2" long, from line tie in the bill to the bottom.  That way, I can adjust my hanger wire so I have at least 1/2" clear at the bottom.

The insides of the box is very reflective, so the UV bounces around a bit.  When I do the longer baits, I'm very careful when I lift them out and rotate them.  Once I've done three minutes one way, I turn them upside down and do another three the other way, in case the top part didn't get enough UV's.  It doesn't seem to hurt the part that's already cured.

The bottom of the nail box, which is part of the throat when I turn it up to use it vertically, is removable, so I can actually cure baits fatter than 2" if I lay the box down with the bottom panel out, and hold the fat bait beneath it for three minutes, again turning it every 30 seconds.  

With my light box, the baits seem cured after two minutes, but I do three, just to be sure.

Edited December 12, 2014 by mark poulson

[Jdeee]

Mark do you find there is a problem with solarez over wood? I use it as my base coat/sealer over poplar and then Createx then finish with Etex as my topcoats (musky baits). Just curious?

Never had a problem doing it like that.

[mark poulson]

Jdeee, 

I haven't tried it over wood, so I can't say.

Sorry.

You'll have to be the tester for the wood application.

[Matt M]

Devcon Two Ton Epoxy. The thirty minute stuff. Im very happy with the results but it requires a turner to keep the coat even.

[Jdeee]

Jdeee, 

I haven't tried it over wood, so I can't say.

Sorry.

You'll have to be the tester for the wood application.

I have been using it as a sealer since people have started talking about it here on TU. So far so good, I haven't had any problems. It seems to contract and swell the same as Etex so I have never had any splitting or bursting problems, mind you I usually do at least 4 coats of Etex on top.

[mark poulson]

That's good to know.  Now folks have another alternative for a wood sealer.

Thanks.

[BassCrackBaits]

Thanks a lot for sharing all that info Mark.

[mark poulson]

Thanks a lot for sharing all that info Mark.

My pleasure. I'm happy to be able to share.

Or maybe I just want others to share my addition and pain.  As my mother used to say, "Misery loves company".

[FlipSide]

Ive been using the GST concrete sealer from menards with great results.

 

I spray a coat of createx gloss top coat before I dip them and let them cure 24 hours in between each dip and dip 3-4 times. Then allow 1 1/2 to 2 weeks for curing. Takes a while but that stuff is really cheap and a gallon will last you quite some time.

[BobP]

Yep, as you can see, there are lots of options that work.  Which you choose depends on how you want to process your topcoat/undercoat, how patient you are in letting topcoats harden, and how much you want to spend.  For wood baits, I still like Devcon Two Ton epoxy after a dozen years of building lures.  It's tough, hardens over night to a nice level, thick, beautiful finish.  You have to brush epoxies on and it's recommended that you use a lure turner afterwards to keep the epoxy from sagging or dripping until it begins to harden.  You can use Devcon both as an undercoating/primer and a topcoat.  For plastic baits that don't require undercoating like wood, you just paint and topcoat so a thinner product like AC1310 (a solvent based concrete sealer) works well.  My favorite is Dick Nite S81 moisture cured urethane but if you choose it, be sure to read up on all the handling and coating threads here on TU before choosing it.

 

There is no cheap, easy to use, works-every-time, quick topcoat with optimum beauty and performance so you have to choose what to use, then learn its ins and outs, and maybe experiment with other coatings before you settle on the ideal product for your baits and the way you want to build them.

[BassCrackBaits]

Great info. Thanks Bob.

This might be a dumb question, but if you choose to use the solarez and nail dryer, do you then use the Devon two ton epoxy? "Undercoat/Topcoat"? Or could you just use one or the other? Thanks

[BobP]

I like solarez for undercoating wood because it's fast but i don't like it for topcoating because it has a wax haze that kills the gloss. You can use epoxy to topcoat after undercoating with solarex on wood baits. In fact, you can use most topcoats over either epoxy or solarez.