BobP

I prefer inexpensive nylon artists’ brushes. I bought a set of 5 flat bristle brushes at Michaels a decade ago for less than $10 and have used them to apply hundreds of coatings since then. The finer bristles burst bubbles in clearcoats much better than other options. Clean them with lacquer thinner. You can’t beat the cost/benefit.

One thing to be aware of with prop, it should be dissolved in acetone in a pretty dilute solution to make a good smooth coating. That necessitates multiple dips to get a thick enough coating. I used 8 dips, which took about 1 1/2 hrs to accomplish for a small batch of baits. So there are quicker ways to make an undercoating. Also, i never could find a jar that sealed well enough to prevent the acetone from evaporating over a couple of months, an added complication. Yes, it makes a nice undercoating on a Balsa bait. But there are other options that are less hassle.

I use relatively cheap quick cure epoxy (5 minute). It works fast, is strong. Just about any glue will get the job done.

Over the years there were two TU sources for prop pellets. One guy passed away. The other disappeared from the site. I’m sure there is cellulose propionate pellets somewhere but nobody seems to know where that is. I wouldn’t recommend trying plastic cups. Some reportedly work ok, some crack after application. As for prop itself - I’ve used it, it works ok but nothing special compared to other options like epoxy, MCU, super glue, etc etc

If you go to the Alumilite site, there is a video of a guy slamming a uv resin coated bait repeatedly onto a concrete driveway, with little if any damage. So the resin looks pretty darned tough. I think any of the three coatings have performed just fine depending on the thickness of the coating and how well they were applied. So it’s player’s choice depending on cost, ease of use, and your expertise with the coating you choose.

I use either a moisture cured urethane like KBS or a UV cured polyester resin, ordered through Amazon from China, or Alumi-UV a brand available here in the US. A slow cure epoxy like Eastman03 uses is also a decent choice. The most popular epoxies are Devcon Two Ton and Envirotex Lite (aka ETEX), but any slow cure waterproof epoxy is usable. I prefer MCU or UV resin because they don’t need mixing and do not Yellow over time.

I just never got the knack for gluing foil, so opted for thin adhesive foil, namely Venture Brite-Bak foil. It used to be available from art shops for stained glass art but no longer. The last I found was on EBay. It adheres very well, burnishes out nicely, and has good shine.

I understand experimenting to pass the time, seek better understanding of materials and procedures, or whatever. But I agree with Anglinarcher. It probably won’t result in a better bait than simply using one body material. Experience taught me that keeping things simple while building a bait results in fewer problems, less variability, and baits that work and catch fish.better. Just my opinion.

It depends on the hardness of the brass versus the steel and either metal can be tempered to similar or very different hardness. However hard temper stainless is tougher than hard temper brass and it won’t corrode. Jmho, we put so much time and effort into a hand built crankbait that the cost of raw materials like wood, wire and screw eyes is negligible. So I say buy the good stuff.

My suggestion is to make a close a copy of a commercial lure you admire first. After all, why reinvent the wheel? Then tweak that design to improve its performance. The hydrodynamics of crankbaits are quite complicated and you’ll want to experiment. That’s fine as long as you accept that some experiments end up in the trash. How many lures have been developed for the commercial market? Thousands. Most of them follow a common shape scheme. The commonality in lure shape is there for good reason: it’s what works. How much weight? Exactly as much that will stabilize the lure when retrieved while permitting it to swim in the manner you want it to, and no more. I use calipers, tracing, and a digital scale when copying a commercial bait and work put weighting to within 1/50th ounce. When I get the copy just right, then I start experimenting with new versions to make them unique.

I like 1/32” thick G10 circuit board for shallow balsa cranks 3-6’. Using it for deeper cranks like 10’ divers is maybe a little less attractive but still useful. G10 is particularly good when grinding a crank through rocks and wood as it gives a sharper, livelier rebound and different noise than polycarbonate. More of a “ping” than a “thunk”. It also allows a crank to dive steeper/quicker because G10 is typically half as thick as a polycarbonate lip. I’ve used G10 on super deep divers with huge bills and it didn’t seem to inhibit bass strikes. Of course, your experience may differ. As far as hunting, IMO that is determined by different design characteristics than lip material.

It’s a matter of what tools you enjoy using, whether you have skill in shaping wood by hand, what you can afford, and how fast you need to build lures. I’m a hobby builder and use 3 power tools: an band saw, a Dremel, and a disk sander. Of those, the Dremel gets most use. I’m not in a hurry when building a lure and value the discipline and craft of hand shaping wood. Every builder eventually finds his right level of automation.

You can use a router table and a hand held template grip to safely round over blanks and this is/was done by several TUers. A demo of it was filmed at a TU get together several years ago and may be here on the site somewhere if interested. I don’t do it myself because it required making a template for each model of bait to be rounded over and that seemed too complicated since I do many different styles, models, and sizes of baits. But it’s possible.

Uv resin is thick and viscous but gravity will still cause it to migrate. If you have a lure turner, you can coat lures and sit the turner outside in sunshine to cure an even coat. I often combine curing in a fingernail uv box with sunshine curing. Uv lamps operate at different wavelengths that may or may not match your resin brand’s requirement. Sunshine has all wavelengths and works even on a cloudy day. I’m still experimenting with sun versus uv lamp. How long to use each, in what sequence, whether the lamp is really needed at all, etc. One thing I have found; if the lure still feels a little “greasy” after lamp curing, putting it outside for 30 min will always cure it hard and slick.

I KBS is a MOISTURE CURED urethane, Top Secret is not. There’s a big difference in durability between the two. So you’re not comparing apples to apples. Maybe Top Secret durability is ok on a crankbait. Maybe not. Only one way to know. Of course, you’ll have to pay the piper to find out.

It doesn’t seem practical to me to dip lures in epoxy, for cost reasons. Once it is mixed, use it or lose it. And yes, I would not use any epoxy without a lure turner. It’s possible to go without but it’s a big hassle to turn lures by hand for at least an hour.

Nobody knows until they try it. I assume the reference to ‘uv’ means it has uv filters to protect the epoxy from yellowing, but it’s still just a two part casting epoxy, not a uv cure polyester.

Amazon.com

Yeah you can thin acrylic latex with water. No foreign hook brands? Three of the best are Gamakatsu, Owner, and VMC. All are foreign. You can order bulk on Amazon but they are usually ‘no name’ from Asia.

Hey I don’t know what’s in brush cleaners or windshield washer fluids but I think brush cleaner contains emulsifiers intended to soften and loosen hardened paint from internal passages in a brush as it is soaked for some hours. I don’t think using it as a between-color flush is optimal considering its cost so your idea of using windshield fluid instead is a good one. But I’d still soak my brush several times a year in cleaner to insure function.

There are 3 basic “good to go” topcoats used by most hobby builders. Slow cure epoxy, moisture cured urethane (MCU) and uv light cured polyester resin. KBS Diamond is a MCU and is very popular.

Yes, if you use a TRANSPARENT red acrylic paint or a red dye.

I clean the sanded edges of polycarbonate lips with a q-tip dipped in naphtha and it doesn’t cloud the lip. I’ve no idea what primer you use, but since naphtha is a mild solvent, it may work.

I agree with 21xdc, but recommend taking a look at uv cured polyester resin too. Either allows you to simply dip into a one part finish and is as tough or tougher than epoxy. I never liked epoxy on metal because it thins out to almost nothing over any sharp edge and then chips off quickly. Once a topcoat over acrylic chips and exposes the paint, the whole paint job begins to delaminate. btw, those are wild and wonderful jigs. Nice work.

I’ve painted jigging spoons with acrylic latex glow paint and topcoated them with moisture cured urethane. No special technique or procedure required and the spoons have performed flawlessly for years. I used Dick Nite Fishermun’s Lurecoat MCU, not KBS but don’t know if that matters. If you use lacquer paint, it is more like a factory finish but acrylic worked just fine for me. Lacquer is thinner and tougher though. With acrylic the finish lasts exactly as long as the topcoat protects it from water infiltration. Lacquer is waterproof, so maybe more durable. But MCU is a very tough topcoat and protects paint better than any other coating on metal. If you want to go that way, Dick Nite sells the lacquer colors and MCU he uses on his own line of spoons. Good luck with it.