[mark poulson]

Acetone dissolves the plastic that Norman DD22s are made out of.
I found out when I tried to speed up the old paint stripping process by soaking a lure in acetone.
Kind of funny, really. I had scraped and sanded the paint, but I figured I'd just dip the lure in acetone to get the last of the paint off.
Well, the paint came off, and the lure that was left was crystal clear, but sticky.
I hung it to dry, and the bill and head clouded up kind of milky white, but the plastic is still hard.
I don't know how much of the actual lure body I dissolved, or whether is has been weakened significantly, but it is still hard and solid feeling, so I'll just paint it and coat it, and see what happens.
Funny the things I took for granted, like that the plastic wouldn't be affected by acetone.
Live and learn.

[jamie]

They use that stuff to dissolve plactic cups for sealers dont they?

[Downriver Tackle]

Acetone is one of the more aggresive solvents. It will dissolve almost any plastic or paint. Just a matter of how fast.

The lure body is fine. Just maybe a litte out of shape.

Why strip the paint anyways? Those are descent factory paint jobs and just a little scuffing with 120 will give you a good surface to adhere to. No need to make it harder on yourself than necessary. I haven't stripped a lure for years and haven't had a failure in 10,000+ baits!

[mark poulson]

They do, but I never put 2 and 2 together. I guess all those math classes I slept through finally came back to bite me.

[mark poulson]

I thought I'd get away without having to admit this, but I was really trying to strip an epoxy top coat that didn't set up, and stayed sticky. So, there's the ugly truth.
My name is Mark, and I am a top coat screwer upper sometimes.
Next time, I won't be in such a hurry, and will mix it more thoroughly and let it sit for a minute, like I know I should. at myself.

Originally Posted by Downriver Tackle

Why strip the paint anyways? Those are descent factory paint jobs and just a little scuffing with 120 will give you a good surface to adhere to. No need to make it harder on yourself than necessary. I haven't stripped a lure for years and haven't had a failure in 10,000+ baits!

[redg8r]

Yup, could've told ya. but you didnt ask

If the epoxy was properly cured, thats all that would've been left over time.
Epoxy does have a decent ability to resist solvents once cured.

I've taken the liberty of renaming your topic title from "Guess what?" to something a lil more descriptive.

Hopefully it'll help someone else in the future, but hey, enjoy the newly frosted bait! I have a few myself

[b75nweav]

You were just scared to ask another epoxy question huh, mark. lol. Isn't it fun to learn the hard way! That was one of my first lessons. I've learned a hell of a lot with the good ole fashioned trial and error...

[Downriver Tackle]

Originally Posted by mark poulson

I thought I'd get away without having to admit this, but I was really trying to strip an epoxy top coat that didn't set up, and stayed sticky. So, there's the ugly truth.
My name is Mark, and I am a top coat screwer upper sometimes.
Next time, I won't be in such a hurry, and will mix it more thoroughly and let it sit for a minute, like I know I should. at myself.

Before I started weighing my epoxy and had those troubles also, I'd just wet sand the lure with 600 under the faucet with COLD water. I'd get as much clear off as possible without getting down to the color. Then I'd just go over it with a properly mixed epoxy and all was well. Even if I did get into the color, if you're good with the airbrush, you can generally touch it up over the bad clear and you'd never see it.

[KcDano]

That would have been a good time to shoot the paint while the plastic is sticky, that is if you are using lacquer, Super adhesion.

[mark poulson]

Jerry,
If the lure had stayed completely clear, it would have been cool. The melted plastic wound up looking like an ice sculpture. But the frosted bill and head make me think I'll paint it again as a red/black craw, and paint claws on the bill with a water based marker.
Since it's a deep diver, I want a darker scheme.
And if I can keep it that long, I'll probably throw it in 10' of water in the spring, for prespawn bass.
I may even do the bill in transparent light brown first, as a background, so it looks like mud that's being kicked up by the claws.
Decisions, decisions!
Downriver,
I'm not that good, either at saving epoxy, or airbrushing. I'm just a carpenter who paints, too.
I thought about trying to save it, but the epoxy was a little harder than gooey, but not much. Too soft to sand, at least at my skill level. And soft enough to make me worry about it if I had put another coat over it. I must have really under mixed it, or seriously screwed up the mix proportions. Probably both.
Oh, well, I actually enjoy painting, and I need the practice, so I'll just do it again. Even better this time, I hope.
b75nweav,
I was just embarrassed to have made another dumb mistake, one that I'd made before and thought I'd learned from.
It sucks to be a mere mortal.