Resealing a swimbait

[Bassin Phil]

First off, thanks in advance for the help.

I made a wooden swimbait recently and did not adequately seal the wood. I already painted and clear-coated it as well. After fishing it for a significantly amount of time, the lure takes on a significant amount of water and starts sinking too fast. I’m look for a way to waterproof it as much as possible without having to take the paint off. Any suggestions of the best approach?

Thank!

[Vodkaman]

I usually throw such lures in a box for a few months and fix them up next time. If you are in more of a hurry, this is the way I would tackle the problem:

Your biggest problem, without removing the topcoat, will be drying the lure.

The most likely point of water ingress, apart from deep scratches, will be the hook and tow eyes. If the eyes are screw-in, I suggest that you remove them. This will speed up the drying process and allow you to re-seal the eyes into place. Before epoxying the eyes back, clean them up with emery or a wire brush, a brief soak in a degreaser such as alcohol, acetone etc, will improve adhesion and help prevent future leaks.

To dry the lure, place in a sealed container (screw eyes removed) buried in uncooked rice grains to dry the air and draw the moisture out. It is impossible to tell when the lure is completely dry. I suggest weighing with a gram scale daily, making notes of the weights. When the lure stops losing weight then you are done. Drying through a minute fault could take weeks, so be patient.

With the eyes removed, grind off any meniscus forms from the old epoxy before installation of the eyes.

If the eyes are through wires, the best that you can do would be to apply a small drop of runny CA (super) glue to the wire after drying. This will be drawn by capillary action into any faults that allow water ingress. Also apply to any deep scratches.

You could apply new epoxy locally, but a complete new coat is always the tidiest solution. But for lures that are close to neutral buoyancy, a complete new coat will disturb the buoyancy. Clean all the areas to be epoxied with emery, and wipe with degreaser. Don't worry about the emery scratches, they will disappear under the new epoxy.

Dave

[eastman03]

How big is the lure you made? And what is the method you used to clear coat the outside (epoxy? uv cure?)  Where do you suspect the lure to be taking on water?  Maybe post a pic to see if we can help you better.   Take Vodkaman's ideas to dry the lure completely! You do not want to trap moisture in there.  

As far as finishing, probably a complete layer epoxy like etex or other popular brands should keep water out, but depending on the lure, or where the water is entering this might be tricky (like joints in the lure).  

[Bassin Phil]

1 minute ago, eastman03 said:

How big is the lure you made? And what is the method you used to clear coat the outside (epoxy? uv cure?)  Where do you suspect the lure to be taking on water?  Maybe post a pic to see if we can help you better.   Take Vodkaman's ideas to dry the lure completely! You do not want to trap moisture in there.  

As far as finishing, probably a complete layer epoxy like etex or other popular brands should keep water out, but depending on the lure, or where the water is entering this might be tricky (like joints in the lure).  

It’s 6 inches long. I can separate the joint. My suspicion is that it is leaking at small cracks I have noticed in the paint as well as the cotter pins that make up the joint.

 

[mark poulson]

Nice bait.  Clever side fin attachment!

[woodieb8]

we would strip the bait to original wood. enviroteck it. then re-paint.