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flocknocker1

Prepping plastic for paint?

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If it's a clear, unpainted blank, I dip it quickly in clean acetone, to remove a small layer of plastic from the outer surface, and then I can paint directly onto the plastic, with no primer.  Most of the time it also clears up any sanding marks, because it actually melts the surface plastic.  Just a quick dip, or the bait can actually dissolve or leak.

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Not really genius.  I just had some undrunk actone left over one night, and the rest, as they say, is history.  Hahaha

I actually found that acetone melts plastic many years ago, when I broke the bakelite wheel on a homeowner's old Sears vacuum cleaner, and used acetone to weld it, back in the 70s,  long before I made cranks.

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No.  The acetone flashes off quickly, so I just let it hang for a few minutes, and then paint.

If I'm doing a bunch of new blanks I'll leave them hanging from opened paper clips over my bench until I'm ready to paint them.  As long as I don't touch them with my bare hands they will be okay for at least a week.  If it's longer than a week, I'll do another quick dip and then paint.

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On 28/01/2017 at 11:59 AM, mark poulson said:

If it's a clear, unpainted blank, I dip it quickly in clean acetone, to remove a small layer of plastic from the outer surface, and then I can paint directly onto the plastic, with no primer.  Most of the time it also clears up any sanding marks, because it actually melts the surface plastic.  Just a quick dip, or the bait can actually dissolve or leak.

hey mark what brand of paint work best for plastic?

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I use Createx, Wildlife, or just about any water-based sir brush paint.  The size of the paint particles is the key to a good air brush paint.

Here's a link to one source:  http://www.coastairbrush.com/categories.asp?cat=11

I always do a really light first coat over the raw plastic, and heat set it well.  

You can get some really neat transparent/translucent paint jobs that way. 

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Mark's is a good quick and easy  system.  Alternatively, you could lightly sand the plastic or use a plastic/paint adhesion enhancer aerosol.  JMHO, if you're dealing with acrylic latex paint over plastic, what really keeps the paint on there is the lure topcoat.  If it is breached, the acrylic paint will begin to reabsorb water and will eventually push the finish off the lure.  In my experience it really doesn't matter much how or even if you prep the plastic for paint as long as you remove any oil or contaminants from the surface before starting.  Dipping in acetone is as good a way to do that as any.

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tks mark

now is that true that denatured alcohol is ethanol ? for some strange reason in the country of sob trudeau it look like it's illegal to use denatured alcohol .doe's anyone know another source or an obscure contact to get that so useful denatured alcohol in canada??

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