BobP

I've never heard of wood foam but lots of guys mold baits from several materials. Look in the Forum/Member Submitted Tutorials for more information.

I prefer the viscosity and performance of Dick Nite but it's not the only moisture cured polyurethane. Various companies sell the stuff. Google "moisture cured polyurethane" and you'll see.

You can also buy hose adapters that let you use a Paasche hose with an Iwata airbrush, for example. Couple of bucks. Dixie Art sells good ones but unless you spend $50, they really stab you on the shipping.

You can buy extra jars and solid jar tops, offered as accessories by the manufacturer and by other companies. I'd check the Paasche website and art sites like Dixie Art, . As long as the paint does not freeze, no problem. I keep mine in a plastic tote box stored in a cabinet in the garage and our winters are a little colder than yours. If we get really cold, down in the teens, I bring the box inside. As far as drying out, that's why I prefer to keep paint in the original bottle. Storing it in the airbrush bottle, any dried particles can make their way to the tip and clog it. BTW, I think you're wrong about multiple brushes - most of us hobby guys use a single airbrush, cleaning it between colors.

I have an Iwata HP-B (.2mm tip) and a Revolution B (.3mm tip) and like them both. There are two things that make Iwatas my favorite. First, the design is solid and the quality is impeccable throughout the Iwata line. Second, Iwatas are categorized according to their tip sizes. So you can buy one knowing how it will work compared to other airbrushes, i.e., what kinds of paint it will shoot and how much detail you can expect for shading and fine lines. It gripes me that Badger and Paasche don't specify tip sizes - you are left to guess how they will perform until you use them. I've owned both brands and think they are workhorse airbrushes, but when the chips are down, gimme Iwata every time.

Mosaic Accessories by Venture at Sunshine Glass Here's where I bought some. There are other internet sources, I just shop around for lowest price/shipping.

Bummer! I hope you resolve the problem to your satisfaction!

BriteBak comes in silver and gold (and maybe other colors). I got both. The gold is more a bright brass hue than a true gold, in my estimation.

.04 oz difference. That's not a big change on a .8 oz bait, but it is a change. My gut feeling is .04 shouldn't change the action to the extent you describe. The change in bait volume would be negligible. Before looking at the clearcoat, I'd reduce the the ballast to make up for the added weight of the epoxy to see how that works. At least one builder here on TU uses automotive clearcoat, a catalyzed 2 part "high solids" finish that has to be mixed before spraying. I think almost all of the tough automotive clears are 2 part finishes.

You can use an adhesive or you can use foil tape, like aluminum duct tape or stained glass artists's tape. I like BriteBak artist's tape because it sticks well and is very thin, so doesn't leave thick edges. You can use Devcon just as you said and can sand it if you want. The later clearcoat fills in the small scratches and turn the milky surface back to clear (same with sanding a clear plastic bait - the later topcoat makes it clear again). When I use thin BriteBak foil, I dispense with the epoxy over foil step and paint directly onto the foil, which as a plastic backing. The paint won't adhere as well as to epoxy but if you are careful and don't scratch it off, it becomes durable when you clearcoat the bait. One reason to epoxy over the foil is to hide the edges, which stick out noticably with thick foil or foil tape.

Jlester, The solvent in DN flashes off after application and it dries to the touch in a couple of hours. But the real deal is that it begins to cure when exposed to humidity in the air and slowly becomes harder and tougher. How long? It probably varies according to heat/humidity levels but I let mine cure for a few days before fishing them. A week is probably optimum. Application - you can dip, brush or spray it. I get good results from a single dip on bass baits and figure it gets the max possible DN on the lure in one operation. Others brush it on in several coats. Some thin it and shoot it in an airbrush. One thing I've discovered with dipping, it's best just to simply hang the bait up to dry/cure versus putting it on a lure rotator. So for me, dipping is a nice "5 second finish" - dip it, hang it, done. Check out the numerous posts about handling and storing DN before you start. It is sensitive to humidity contamination during storage and application and requires "special handling".

How To Airbrush free lessons, airbrush articles, airbrush tutorials and painting videos. Google airbrush/airbrushing techniques. Here's one of many "How To" sites that can help. It just takes getting used to your equipment and practice in creating the airbrush effects you want on your baits.

I think Devcon was purchased by the company whose epoxy replaced it in many stores. I like to order mine online because I can find it in a 9 oz bottle set, which is more cost efficient.

I buy mine at local fabric shops - yeah, I know, it's not somewhere you normally peruse the goods, but they do carry a good variety.

You probably could use DN over powder, but I'm not sure it would provide much additional protection. If baked powder coating won't stick on there, not much else will either.

I use hand made interlocking "screw eyes" that are permanently closed and can't be squeezed shut. I install them in one segment of the bait, clearcoat the bait, then join the segments as a last step. When first installing a screw eye pair, I intentionally get epoxy in the joint so it will stick straight out after the epoxy cures. That keeps the screw eyes from flopping around on the bait when I clearcoat it. I clean the epoxy out of the joint with a Dremel before assembling the bait.

I haven't heard of anyone trying it for topcoating. My question would be how durable and scratch resistant it is. The MSDS says it will yellow with exposure to UV light. The bottom line is cost versus performance.

I've painted blades with acrylics after sanding with 400 grit paper. I use Polytranspar Superhide White acrylic paint as a color basecoat and primer, and I heat set the acrylics with a hair dryer after I shoot them. They still must be topcoated for the paint to last, of course. Clearcoating with epoxy is possible but pretty messy and the epoxy thins out over any sharp edge. It also tends to yellow and adds lots of weight to a spinnerbait blade. So I like Dick Nite moisture cured polyurethane for this application. It is designed for coating spoons. It is thin (so doesn't add a lot of weight), tough, and dries to touch in a couple of hours (but cures really hard over several days). Simply dip the blades in once and hang them up to dry. Dick Nite seems to soak into and through acrylic paint to make a bond with the underlying metal. Works great. See the banner ad that appears often at the top of this page. Click on it and it will take you to a special area on the DN site that affords TUers a good discount, or even a small quantity to try free for the cost of shipping.

Devcon Two Ton 30 minute epoxy is carried by Ace hardware stores. You can buy it online from several sources including Wood Carving Tools - Texas - The Old Texas Woodcarvers Shop, Tools, Books, Classes. It's brushable for about 4-5 minutes after mixing and it becomes sag-proof in 45 minutes at room temps. Like most epoxies, it reaches 90% cure in 24 hours. It's thicker than most epoxies used for lure topcoating so one coat is sufficient on bass baits. It can be cut with a few drops of lacquer thinner to extend the brush time but is strongest when used "as-is". Measured properly and mixed well, it is one of the simplest and least failure prone topcoats.

I think it's easier to assemble a bait after it's topcoated but you can still get epoxy in the joint while gluing the bait together. It depends on what style joint you used - I use interlocking screw eyes so I chuck a very small diameter drill bit in a Dremel and use it to remove the excess epoxy. You can also use a piece of straight stainless wire for this.

If the originals are 3D adhesive eyes, pry them out and replace them with new ones. If they were painted on bumps that are part of the hard plastic body, I think it usually looks best just to repaint them. I have dremeled out new sockets and that usually works, but you have to be careful not to go too deep.

Thanks guys! Your tests showed me that I won't have to waste the time trying it.

Well, from the bassresource.com post, IMO it was fairly done and he put time and effort into it. From the pic included, the Target poly eventually took on water, as did the acrylic paint under it, and it all delaminated from the lure. The only ?? I have is the lure was allowed to soak for days. In real world use, crankbaits are immersed repeatedly but for short periods as they are fished, taken out of the water to be re-cast, and then sit on deck while running to another spot, etc. Would that make a difference? I don't know! At least one builder here on TU uses Target 9000 on swimbaits and reports no complaints from customers. We need to be very specific about finishes. How they are applied, on top of which intermediate coatings, cure times, and how they are fished, all may be important in understanding how they last or why they fail. I have some 9300 in the garage. I used it to topcoat a wooden sign painted with acrylics in my auntie's yard, to get a rough idea of how it holds up. I'm gonna HAVE to use it on some crankbaits to see for myself how it does eventually.

To answer the question specifically, one coat of Devcon is plenty for any bass bait. It makes a thick topcoat. for DN, I've lately been using a single dip with good results. If you spray or brush it, you will probably want 2-4 coats. In my observation,either provides a nice protective clear coat. The DN is more like the factory polyurethane finish on many store bought baits and it has slightly more gloss and is slicker to the touch than Devcon. But the thicker, silky looking finish of Devcon has its own attraction too. BTW, I have some Target 9300 and am waiting for some TUers to torture test it and let us know if it's worth of a "Four Star Rating"! I just can't seem to believe a water based poly will work well.