Sealing stone molds

[dv616]

I saw this mentioned here once and tried it.  I sealed my stone molds with KBS diamond clear finish.  So far, no more Pam spray needed and baits come out shiny now.  Someone posted here that they had done this and it has not needed reapplication after a lot of use.  I only have limited use so far, so precede with caution, but I sealed all of the stone molds with it.  I had one multi-cavity stone mold that I could barely separate it stuck so bad (didn't use PAM since I didn't want to risk contamination the mold if I clear coated it).

If you have used Pam on the molds, you will need to degrease well so the finishes stick well.

I have brushed and sprayed the finish on both worked fine.  I have just done one coat.  The sprayed application was thicker and took a couple days to get hard.  The 

Once it is done, you may need to do a little sanding on the pegs so everything fits together.  Any finish in the holes or on the pegs does affect the fit of the molds, so keep finish out of the holes and off the pegs.  Easy enough to sand it off the pegs.

I tend to do a light sand on the flat surface of the molds when everything is dry just to level the surface a bit if needed. 

So far, it does not seem to fill or clog the air vents either.  If over applied, I could see this being a potential problem.

I would say try one mold out and see if you like it.  It is a moisture curing urethane.  Very similar to PermaGloss if any of you are rod builders, so that might work as well.  

I have not noticed any loss of detail on the ribs of baits but I suppose deep, small details may be prone to filling in.

[Les Young]

dv616 thanks for the info. I tried the high temp engine enamel on one & it didn't work out to good. The paint just came off on the baits. I may give the kbs a try. Thanks.

[mark poulson]

I wonder if runny super glue would work?

 

[Jig Man]

I sealed some for a friend with Bondo fiberglass resin.

[dv616]

I am sure other things would work too.  The KBS says it can go on engine parts and engines typically run some where in the mid 200 F range.  It says non-yellowing to 300 degrees.  Of course, we are injecting in the low to mid 300's.  But, I do not care if it yellows as long as it does not come off.

I wonder if a 2 epoxy would work as well. Not sure on their temperature ratings though.

Super glue might still be somewhat porous and not bring the mold to a gloss would be my guess.  Probably difficult to apply I would think.  Who knows though.

 

 

[Les Young]

I will also add that the stone molds i have i really don't have a problem with the finish. I just tried painting one of them because of skimpys video on here, but they work absolutely fine without painting too.

[dv616]

For me, I really do not care too much about matte vs shiny finish on the lures, but I do like not having to spray the molds with Pam anymore.  Permanent no-stick is a good thing, especially with baits that have a lot of fine ribs on them.

 

 

[Les Young]

I may have been lucky i don't know, but i have several artificial stone  jig trailer & craw molds  & have never used any oil at all. I did try the paint thing, but it didn't work out to good for me so i just cleaned it off & went back to shooting them without any oil & have made a bunch  of  baits with them & haven't had any problems.

Edited December 9, 2019 by Les Young