[skeeter jones]

Thanks for your answer Cherry. RJ "retarder" what do you use as a retarder and for what type of paint. There is a lot of chemistry in this painting. Some are using a couple of drops of dish soap, alchol and water. I have heard windex works too for the acrylics. What is a extender for lacqure, or water based poly transpar. I have also decided for now to try and make some stenciles. I want to try and do them with the brush to improve my skills, but it appears to be futile unless you can get the right mix.

[rjbass]

Skeeter Jones,

I use Createx retarder with all water based paints. I have some 1oz. jars and mix about three drops per 1oz of paint. Here is a link...

http://www.misterart.com/store/brows...h--Mediums.htm



Rod

[skeeter jones]

Thanks RJ, In my previous post I put extender for lacqure I meant retarder. I saw on the WACO site their scale paint included a retarder to assist in the flow.

[OhiOLurMakR]

Hi All, new to the site..Great place for sure..Thought I might chime in on this thread.I make about 200-300 wood lures a year for sale, & restore old wood lures for collectors too..I paint with enamels, the small bottled hobby store brand "Model Master".. For restorations I clearcoat with a high grade automotive enamel clear with hardener added, comes out beautiful, high gloss, no clouding or yellowing..I do everything with an airbrush.. For lures that are to be fished, I clearcoat with a 1 part epoxy called Top Secret MFG'd out of Canada.. The 1 Step I dip my lures into, its thinned w/the MFG's recommended thinner at a 50-50 ratio so it wont go on too thick for curing..Kinda makes it a 2 step doesnt it!..haha..I use a rotator wheel as well.. You can thin it for airbrush use, I have tried it, it sprays ok & cleans up good, but I always have problems w/the finished surface having tiny pinhead pointers when I use the airbrush.. But it works great for dipping!..Ive used the waterbased paints, never cared for 'em, but do like the results I get from Model Masters enamels..

I have questions tho too..Im puzzled on how you folks can brush your epoxy on by hand without the paint softening up and smearing.. Maybe thats where my enamels are different and/or less desirable.. I know if my epoxy wet lures even touch the edge of my dipping jar when removing them from the dip jar, the paint rubs off..But I got around that by pre-sealing my works w/enamel clearcoat prior to epoxy dipping.. The epoxy doesnt seem capable of softening the hardened enamel clearcoat.Its an extra step but I can get my lures epoxy coated & thats what counts.. Thought about trying the Devcon 2 ton but Im afraid I'd still need to sealcoat w/enamel first..So how is it that your paints dont soften when brush coating epoxy & mine do?.. Just the enamels doing that or do other people have the same problem?
Hey great site, enjoy reading the threads~
John Myers

[Vodkaman]

Welcome OhiO'.

Sorry I can't help with your question, but you seem to have it well 'covered' with the clearcoat solution.

I would, however, like to see a full size pic of your avatar, that looks a really interesting bait.

[BobP]

OLM, Many epoxies come pre-thinned with solvent which can begin to disolve solvent based colors when brushed on. This includes Envirotex Lite, a table-top epoxy popular among builders here on TU, as well as many of the rod guide epoxies. The solvent thinned epoxies usually do fine over latex paint. I've never seen a true one part epoxy. Devcon 2 Ton is also popular. It's a glue epoxy with a medium slow cure rate and very good leveling properties. Devcon is considerably more viscous than most clearcoats and it cures to a thick clearcoat. Some like that, others don't. Since it doesn't contain solvent, Devcon is among the most "fool proof" epoxies. I don't like it for restorations but it works well on original wood crankbaits.

[OhiOLurMakR]

Hi Bob,
thanks for the input.. Yes with the Top Secret Im using, it must be thinned to use, no getting around it.. So at a 50-50 ratio it is probably 10 times more likely to soften the paint..Im glad you mentioned Devcon2 having no solvents, as I wasnt aware of that.. I tried to get some today but my local True Value hardware only had the small tubes & suringes of the 2 Ton.. The founder of Musky Snax told me about Nu-Lustre55, he says he brushes it on & it goes on thick.. I like a thick single coat if possible & thats not possible with Top Secret, it has to be layered in thin time consuming multiple coats..I dont mind double dipping small lures like my surface plunkers, but big lures for Pike,musky,stripers, I want a thick coat..My new line of lures Ive just started making are 8"-10" plugs, I think one thick protective coat with a brush makes more sense than trying to dip that big plug several times.., If I can find the Devcon2 locally I'll try it before ordering Nu-Lustre online..Thanks again..
John