cm10lber Posted November 12, 2015 Report Share Posted November 12, 2015 Whats your opinion on clearcoating the bills of crankbaits? The bills on some of the blanks I have arent clear. I put a clearcoat on one last night and it looks 100% better. Im just not certain it wont affect the way the lure works in the water. Anyone ever coat their bills? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted November 12, 2015 Report Share Posted November 12, 2015 I do sometimes, either with AC 1315 or Solarez UV cure resin. Mostly when I've painted the lip with craw claws, like with Wiggle Warts,where the bait looks like a craw swimming craws first. Both protect the paint and seem to not peel at all. But first I dip the blank, unpainted, into clean acetone, to remove any surface contamination, and some of the sanding marks left from the manufacturing process. I also think it presents a "virgin" plastic surface for painting, because it removes a thin layer of plastic, so I can paint directly on the plastic with no primer. That lets me do transparent paint schemes. As a side note, I use the Solarez when I've heat bent the lip, to give it a little more reinforcement, in case the heat weakened the lip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishon-son Posted November 12, 2015 Report Share Posted November 12, 2015 i dont think you really need to unless you have painted it...i fish rocky flats alot and im banging the bill off the rocks and i think it would just chip off ..alot of the warts i fish are all beat up on the bill and body but there not coated at all.... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobP Posted November 14, 2015 Report Share Posted November 14, 2015 IMO, depends on what you clear coat it with. For plastic lips on KO's, a thin topcoat of moisture cured urethane or concrete sealer works fine. I think you'll be disappointed with epoxy. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted November 14, 2015 Report Share Posted November 14, 2015 I agree with BobP about epoxy, but Solarez does bond well to both plastic KO's and Lexan bills. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobP Posted November 15, 2015 Report Share Posted November 15, 2015 (edited) Never used Solarez on lips (seems a little thick to me, as does epoxy) but I know from experience that MCU's like Dick Nite will not adhere well to Lexan (polycarbonate) lips but it works great on the plastic lips of KO's. Actually, I don't see many polycarbonate lips that have significant scratches or wear, so it has never been an issue for me. Edited November 15, 2015 by BobP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted November 15, 2015 Report Share Posted November 15, 2015 (edited) I made and Solarez dip coated a craw crank and it's painted lexan bill. Afterward, in order to try and make the lure more stable, I heated and bent the bill. The Solarez coating has not come off so far, even though the bill got really hot, and I've fished the lure a lot since then. But I don't have many clean rocky bottoms to grind it on where I live now. Edited November 15, 2015 by mark poulson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
osutodd Posted November 15, 2015 Report Share Posted November 15, 2015 Painting KOs or repainting cranks that have been heavily used, I dip the whole bait, bill and all, for the first dip. It really helps clear up little scratches on the bill. (using GST concrete sealer) Second dip on, I dip only the painted parts. At that point, I don't see the need to build up a thicker coat on the bill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
