BobP

Stockman, with MCU you dip it or brush it on and simply hang the bait up for the excess to drip off the tail. Then the MCU reacts with moisture in the air to harden to a very durable, very clear and smooth finish. KBS Diamond coat MCU seems to be the most popular brand now. You can order it from auto sites or direct from KBS.

Yep. I can remember lively, even heated, discussions re top coats some years back. Which brand epoxy was better. How to preserve MCU. Auto clearcoats. Water based coatings. You name it! I can’t imagine here will be a new and unique clearcoat that we haven’t already seen and tried. But I’m probably wrong.

I really like MCU but have always had the same storage failure problem regardless of the heroic measures I tried to stop it. Now I think it’s just the nature of the beast. I’ve also had Solarez harden in its container after lengthy storage. I don’t know of any coating that stores indefinitely, except maybe epoxy.

I used prop dissolved in acetone a few years back. Over the years there were two members who sold prop pellets. One passed away and the other disappeared from the forum. Some have used dissolved plastic cups but results depended on the specific cup brand and the specific solvent used, with many failures and cracked clearcoats. And as far as prop goes, I’m not much of a fan. It takes 7-8 dips to coat a bait properly and at least 24 hrs to dry. Nothing wrong with the results but it’s fidgety to use and there are alternatives like MCU that are superior and faster. Jmho

His online site is still active. In dealing and communicating with him, you need to remember that his primary business is manufacturing and selling metal spoons, not supporting hobby builders, which he does as a generous sideline. He uses the DN MCU on his spoons. I have too and it works great.

Balsa is good for shallow running square bills that are lively and rise quickly to get over cover that you hit (which is what you want to do). Paulownia is similar to balsa in density but harder than balsa. It sometimes has crumbly grain that can be a problem. I use basswood for deeper diving baits, or sometimes white cedar. Basswood sands great to a smooth hard surface. Lots of woods can be used although some of the most dense/heavy hardwoods can be so dense that it is hard to build a bait that floats after the hardware is added. Generally speaking, lighter woods are more lively and that’s usually a good thing. IMO, it’s best to select just a few wood species and stick with them because it makes building easier when you know how a wood shapes, sands, is ballasted, and takes finish.

I don’t think there is a practical way to design lips without iterative testing and modification. Lips don’t work by themselves. They are attached to a bait and the whole assembly, its shape, weight, and balance determines how it will swim and how deep. The shortcut I use is to copy a commercial bait i like exactly, and then customize the copies one after another to get different and perhaps better performance characteristics. Going through that process will teach you a lot about bait design.

I painted an aluminum reel using automotive primer and enamel. It began to chip almost immediately. You have to use very thin coatings if you want the reel to go back together. We’re I to do it over (I would not) I’d try KBS MCU thinned and shot with an airbrush as a clearcoat. but I do not believe there is an amateur coating regime that can be as good as a factory job so my scratched and chipped reels will have to wear their damage as a sign of good times.

Dick Nite s81 is a moisture cured urethane. I wouldn’t try to spray it ‘cause it will harden in the brush but it is very good for dipping if you have a large batch of lures to coat. For small batch, you should simply brush it on and hang it to cure. It does have storage limitations and any unused finish must be discarded, not poured back into the can. If you’re interested, do a search and read up on it.

Thanks! I’ll try this method. I used some Chinese craft UV resin to clearcoat a few baits and results were not good. First, it took a long 20 min to cure and then I had to set them out in the sun to get reasonably hard. Stored them in a plastic box for a few months and then found they had become sticky. Eventually I coated them with D2T epoxy, which fixed the problem. But the experience was not promising.

I use a coat of Devcon 2 Ton epoxy as sealer, then as the topcoat. Simple, cures in 5-12 hrs, waterproof, and tough. It’s basically chemically inert after curing so no problems with bubbling, etc.

Like Barrybait, Early on I got some “competition balsa” not realizing that it was 6 lbs/cu ft, but I eventually used it up. First, I used thru wire. Worked ok but was a little finicky to do. Then I tried epoxying in hand twisted wires. I’ve never had one pull out of a bait yet and it’s easier and faster to do. I just don’t see a downside to it. Oh, and like Barrybait, I now order 12 lbs/cu ft balsa to get more durable wood. The lightest balsa is super buoyant but damages too quickly in the rough stuff.

I’ve clearcoated hundreds of baits with D2T epoxy, moisture cured urethane (MCU), and Chinese uv cured resin. I really like MCU for it’s ease of application, gloss, and toughness in a thin coating. I like uv resin for its quick cure. I like D2T because it’s tough in a thick coating that resists hook rash. But there are quirks to each choice and each can have problems. MCU often has storage problems. UV resin (the Chinese brand I tried) became sticky months after curing. D2T will eventually yellow (but if measured and mixed really well it will be some years). Choice may vary according to what you build, how often you build, and the purpose you build for. I’m an occasional hobby builder. I like the advantages of MCU and UV resin but my default has long been D2T. It’s still chugging along when my UV resin has failed and my MCU has turned to jelly in its storage can.

The rubber band method is only needed for fat/round baits like a square bill. If the bait has flat sides, you can cut a slot without any tricks. I use a thick rubber band, the kind used to package celery, etc in a supermarket. Stretch it over the front of the bait until a side of the band looks like the correct angle and alignment, the mark it with a Sharpie and cut the slot.

I work in wood and cut lip slots while the baits are still “square”, but have been given some poured baits to assemble. I used a thick rubber band stretched over the bait’s nose to find the right lip position and cut the slot with either a Dremel or a saw. If the slot ends up a little ragged, no problem because I mount lips with Rod Bond paste epoxy which doesn’t run. If the slot is REALLY large and rough (when I have to cut out a damaged lip) I use an epoxy putty log. My basic point is that there aren't many lip slot problems that the right kind of epoxy can’t fix.

Amen to that.

I have no idea what “liquid glass” is. Epoxy is fairly resistant to chemical reactions with underlying coatings. You didn’t specify what brand/type of epoxy you used. The pic looks like it might have been a fast cure variety. If it is, that’s your problem. If it’s slow cure variety, which takes at least 30 minutes to harden (the correct type to use) then you need to consider your epoxy mixing and application techniques. Why do you apply acrylic varnish between the color and the epoxy? I can’t think why it’s needed. Without looking at your process while you do it, its hard to evaluate where the problem is. I try to keep it simple. Measure it well, mix it very well. Apply with a soft brush, rotate it without heat until hard.

I believe the problem is the acetone contained in your paint. If your paint contained lacquer thinner, denatured alcohol, or (probably best) water as a thinning agent, I think epoxy would not be a problem.

Yes! Thanks for the assist.

The DN referred to is Dick Nite Fishermun’s Lurecoat, type S81. In the decade since the post, another MCU option has also become popular, a MCU sold by automotive online stores (can’t remember the product name -a little help please!)

wood choices: most builders experiment to settle on the wood they want to use on their crankbaits. With experience, you realize producing a crankbait that performs well requires limiting the variables that can otherwise screw things up. One important variable is wood density and the workability of different wood species. It doesn’t matter which wood you decide is right for you. What matters is gaining experience using it. How to shape it, how to ballast it, how to finish it. Eventually you need to settle on a limited number of wood species because if you don’t, your baits will tend to disappoint you. At least that’s been my experience building baits for 20+ years.

I catch redfish in the surf using a standard Carolina rig and finger mullet. Seems to work ok. There are all kinds of rigs I see used in salt water. Most of them work if you are fishing with “live” bait. Some of them work well with soft plastics, depending on what the targeted species is.

I use a scroll saw. It’s much slower than a band saw but cuts shapes more finely. I use standard 12 tpi blades. If you’re cutting hard wood, it can be REALLY slow. If you’re cutting balsa, it’s plenty quick. I haven’t found any problem regarding the width of wood but if you plan to build large musky baits or glide baits, especially out of a hard wood, a band saw is really the choice.

I only use denatured alcohol. Maybe isopropyl might work BUT I think most of it is sold cut with at least 30% water. I definitely would not use acetone. Tried that and the result was not good. I say bite the bullet and buy a can of denatured at the home center. It will last a long time and you can use it to clean epoxy off your brush too.

When you mix epoxy you start a chemical reaction at the molecular level. If the epoxy is measured accurately and mixed very thoroughly, you get a good finish that’s tough and resistant to yellowing. So I measure with syringes and mix the hell out of it, disregarding any air bubbles introduced. After mixing, I stir in a FEW drops of denatured alcohol and that expels bubbles. I paint it on the lure with a nylon bristled artist brush. Its fine bristles get it on the lure without generating any new bubbles and tend to pop any stray ones that remain. Clean the brush with solvent and it lasts indefinitely.