Garage Lures Posted April 22, 2020 Report Share Posted April 22, 2020 Hi everyone, I'm new here and relatively new to lure making. I've been hand-carving lures for about a year now and I am thinking about getting some plastic blanks soon. My big question is what will work for a topcoat that is relatively inexpensive. I have seen Solarez's products and they seem prettt decent, my choices would be between https://www.solarez.com/product/solarez-polyester-gloss-resin/ (gloss, $33/qt) and https://www.solarez.com/product/low-voc-dual-cure-polyester-resin/ (low VOC, $24/qt) the only problem is that shipping is about the same price as the product for me. Another product I was looking at is Varathane Ultimate Polyurethane, would that work? I am currently using Rust-Oleum 2X Clear Gloss spray, but I don't know how that will stand up over time. Just looking for a cheap topcoat. Thank you, -Garage Lures Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DGagner Posted April 22, 2020 Report Share Posted April 22, 2020 I've had good luck with a two part epoxy. You've got to mix them right for good results. Very doable though. Lately I'm using a UV resin and curing it with fingernail polish hardener devices. Not expensive. The resin hardens really nicely and smoothly and can be used as a base coat to smooth the lure before painting too. I carve wood lures. I'll be sticking with UV resin from now on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eastman03 Posted April 22, 2020 Report Share Posted April 22, 2020 That is a LOADED question! It very much depends on a number of circumstances, and even then there are no clear cut winners. If you are just making/painting the occasional lure for yourself, then cost and storage can be a limiting factor. What kind of fish you are going for can matter? Toothy pike and muskies can chew up some types of finish. Size of lure can matter. And what country you are in can be a limiting factor. Here in Canada, to import some of the products is huge money. Here are the basic categories anyway. Lots of guys will swear by KBS ( https://www.classicindustries.com/product/kb8404.html ). You can dip and hang, very nice for finishing small lures in bulk. Storage can be a problem and it is expensive. Good for high volume lure maker/painter with smaller bass/walleye type lures. UV cure like Alumalite UV or Solarez is very popular these days. It seems like a good product. I've heard Solarez has a very toxic smell (just hearsay), not sure about other UV products. You need UV cure lamps that match the correct wavelength for this to cure. Storage and cost are relatively cheap, but you need to have the lamps. Like DGagner mentioned, you can buy nail polish UV lights for cheap. I think this would be tough for larger lures as well? Not totally sure. Then there is slow cure epoxy. Envirotex is a popular one, BSI (bob smith industries), Devcon 30 min, west systems, TruCoat, Alumillite clear cast (there are many others in this category). I personally use these. I like them for the large lures. I like the cost, storage and useage of epoxy. I can put on a few layers and it looks great and protects the lure well. You will probably need a lure turner (like a bbq rotisserie) to let the epoxy level out correctly. So that is something to think about. There are other options like 2K I think it's called. 2 part automotive spray. Very hard finish, looks amazing, expensive, need ventilation and specific spray equipment. That isn't something I have any experience with. The polyurethane, or the clear gloss spray's like you mentioned are a tempting cheap option. But they really don't give you all that great finish. Probably good enough to slap on some personal lures and test them out when you first start. I don't think they are really 'waterproof', and I have heard the rustoleum stuff can 'melt' or kind of bind with other lures if stored together. Not totally sure. Those are just some of my thoughts from what is a very popular question on all the forums. There are absolute DIEHARDS who believe each one of these is the best lol. But each one has its pros and cons. And whichever one you choose, get good at it. They all have a learning curve. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DGagner Posted April 27, 2020 Report Share Posted April 27, 2020 On 4/22/2020 at 2:05 PM, eastman03 said: UV cure like Alumalite UV or Solarez is very popular these days. It seems like a good product. I've heard Solarez has a very toxic smell (just hearsay), not sure about other UV products. You need UV cure lamps that match the correct wavelength for this to cure. Storage and cost are relatively cheap, but you need to have the lamps. Like DGagner mentioned, you can buy nail polish UV lights for cheap. I think this would be tough for larger lures as well? Not totally sure. Hey, I'm DGagner.... The UV light chamber I made will handle up to about a 10" lure. But 3-5" it fit's best. The lights really work well in that I set the timer for 30 minutes but I think they harden in 10-20 minutes. I've never checked. Solarez hardens in a few minutes but like Eastman said it stinks and it will harden in the container over time just from the random light hitting it when opening and closing it. The Alumi-UV has no odor and takes about 20 minutes to harden. So, a bottle of it doesn't seem to get thicker over time. Alumi-UV is great. Thing is they've not had any for months now. I think it comes from China and they rebrand it and sell it to us that's why. But.... the Chinese UV resins on Amazon are much less expensive, seem to be exactly like Alumi-UV and work great. I've been using them for a few months now with great results. And you can get them unlike Alumi-UV His is a video of how I made my UV tank from a couple of fingernail hardening lights. It's been great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ravenlures Posted April 27, 2020 Report Share Posted April 27, 2020 Simple for me Etex for the larger type 6" plus and KBS for the smaller ones, I don't bother trying any other I settled on these two and I don't have all kinds of issues going from one top coat to another. This is what I work with and with good results, it seems that we always try to find the best top coat and spend a lot of money chasing a top coat we just have to learn to work with what works best for us. I am sure that the manufactures work with one type that they found to work best. Something quick and easy. Wane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anglinarcher Posted April 27, 2020 Report Share Posted April 27, 2020 I try not to chime in much on this one anymore, but ...... I don't see 20 to 30 minutes to cure my UV. The Solerez cured in 3 to 5 minutes with my fingernail cure light setup and the AlumiUV was only slightly slower. AlumiUV is abailable again and it does not have much smell. My wife is sensitive to oders so Solerez was kicked out a long time ago, plus it tends to leave a very slight surface fog that can be polished off, but it not a super clear as others. One coat of AlumiUV was all that I ever needed to protect from Pike and Muskie teeth, two coats gives a super deep look. But, if you go to the search feature and look for top coats or best top coats, you will find this discussion going back at least 15 years. PS, I do use the Krylon rattle can clear, but only for a quick seal before testing. It is NOT completly waterproof. I had planned on making a larger, more complete, cure chamber and never got around to it. The third link below will show what I found that would work great for any length of lure, up to the length of a pool cure (LOL). The others provide the lights and ballest options. I have heard it said it does not take much power to set UV cure off, and that is true, but more power, in the right wave length, does it faster. If starting out, the fingernail cure light is a great way to go. When you get serious, then look into the materials I have found below. https://www.solacure.com/365.html http://www.tanninglamps4less.com/uvcuring.html https://www.solacure.com/poolcue.html http://www.tanninglamps4less.com/wo8ba.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FishingRaptor Posted April 27, 2020 Report Share Posted April 27, 2020 KBS for me, put into a mason jar and use saran-wrap under the lid, i don't paint often, mine is over a year old and still good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RM3 Posted April 30, 2020 Report Share Posted April 30, 2020 Depends on your volume. A few baits a week, BSI 30 minute is good quality epoxy, less sensitive to mixing ratios being a little off, is less britlle and yellows less than Devcon. Plus, as long as you don't slop it on to thick, it requires no turning. The best quality finish and the best for high volume is a 2 part, sprayed automotive urethane. I was using PPG 2021 but switched over to Tamco 9500, every bit as good as the PPG at half the cost. It's advantages are quality, the look and feel blow everything out of the water IMO, Nearly indefinite shelf life, and speed. 3 coats and ready for hardware in 30 minutes. It has disadvantages though, it is very toxic so a respirator and good ventilation are required. Unless you reduce it quite a bit it doesn't get along well with most airbrushes commonly used. I started with a Passche VL siphon gun with a .68 nozzle and it did well, I switched over to a GSI Creos gravity feed trigger gun with a .5 nozzle and it sprays beautifully out of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
