BobP

I added Future to some bottles of paint per the recommendations and in a few random cases, it caused the paint pigment to fall out of suspension and form a hard layer in the bottom of the bottle. Had to throw those paints out. I don't remember with which brands and colors this happened. Also, if you use Future, you have to clean your airbrush, including the barrel, thoroughly after painting. Future dries hard and can be difficult to remove. I've had to use pliers to pull the needle out of my airbrush a couple of times when it became welded into the barrel packing. I liked using Future during painting but there can be downsides.

Sound like it has dried paint in the tip (bubbles) and in the barrel around the packing (trigger sticks). You should soak it in an airbrush cleaning solution for 24 hours and then use a small brush through the barrel and the tip section to remove any build up.

Like Mark says, most of us avoid spraying lacquers and use water based acrylics. Lacquers are more water resistant than acrylics but the basic principle is to paint the lure with whatever you like and then clearcoat it with something that's very durable and waterproof. And several clearcoat options work well. I'll leave it to you and the SEARCH function to explore the threads and comments on clearcoats, which have been the most discussed topic here on TU. There are clearcoats that can be dipped, sprayed, or brushed, just depending on the specific product. Epoxy Moisture Cured Urethanes, especially Dick Nite S81 UV cured polyester resin, especially Solarez Two-part auto clearcoats

Matador, I haven't had any acrylic paint fail to adhere to another after spraying; Createx, Smith Wildlife, Polytranspar, Auto-Air, etc - I buy colors I like and have never had that problem. Now, if you're talking color mixing, yes, there can be problems. If you mix up a bottle using different brands and don't use it immediately, the paints can sometimes separate while stored and one color may precipitate to the bottom of the jar into a hard layer that you can't shake back into solution. My guess is that different brands use different additives which aren't always compatible but once sprayed and dried, that is not a problem.

I use prop sometimes as an alternative to Devcon 2 Ton. I just dip the lures in prop for a few seconds then hang them to dry, repeating the process until I have the film thickness I want, usually 7-10 dips. Most bubbles occur as the prop soaks into the wood during the first dips and they will be popped by later dips. Prop dissolved in acetone dries very quickly so on a batch of 5-6 lures, I can start dipping again in the time it takes to get to the last bait if the humidity is low. After dipping I let the lures dry for several hours, usually over night. It's important to use a thin solution of prop or you can get runs in the finish. I like it to be slightly thicker than water, thinner than maple syrup.

I do think film thickness can be a factor. I dipped the lure in a 50 degree garage into 70 degree Solarez, let it drip for 5 minutes, then cured it. The film was thick enough that the weight of the finish caused it to separate in a couple of areas on the bait, leaving what look like little valleys in the film surface. I didn't have either the hazing or leveling problem earlier on a light color bait when I brushed the Solarez and used continuous UV curing. I don't think mine is a "bad batch" of Solarez. Oh well, back to the lab!

All you're doing is removing dust from the sanded finish, so it doesn't make much difference what you use. Washing it with a little dish soap and water works and so does denatured alcohol and a cloth. Denatured alcohol is a mild enough solvent that it will not harm most finishes. I don't like using paper towels during finishing because it can shed fibers and leave them on the lure. Ben probably uses a better brand.

I know everyone here on Hardbaits is into building HARD BAITS. That's a great looking frog and It's an interesting experiment. But thinking about it in practical terms, it's hard for me to imagine a hard frog that would perform as well or be as weedless over an emergent grass bed as the hollow rubber or soft plastic frogs. Unless you can engineer a hard frog with fixed hook to always land right side up, it will snag weeds on the first twitch. Maybe I'm not too bright and lack imagination, but I'm skeptical. Maybe instead of a fixed wide gap hook, a free swinging hook or treble with a weed guard?

Well, I did a dark red and black craw pattern lure in Solarez tonight. I got the same haze Thad reported. I stirred the Solarez to dispel some of the waxy coating on the liquid's surface, dipped the lure, let it drip for a couple of minutes, then cured it in a nail UV dryer 15 seconds ON, 30 seconds OFF for several minutes, which is the schedule recommended on the jug. The ambient temp was about 55, the Solarez temp was about 70, the humidity was high (it's raining here). Aghast at the results, I immediately wet sanded the lure with 1500 grit, which removed the haze but left a frosty white surface. When the lure is wet, you can't see any haze but it looks like crap when it's dry. I did not get this problem on a light shad color bait on which I brushed Solarez in an initial test. I put up the Solarez, dipped the rest of the batch in moisture cured urethane (MCU), then dipped the Solarez lure in MCU too. Who knows where I went wrong? Temperature, humidity, dipping vs brushing, UV cure schedule? I haven't figured this stuff out! But I won't be using it on dark painted lures anytime soon, until I can avoid the hazing problem. I don't sell crankbaits so having a pristine jewel-like finish is not a priority - but there are limits, even for me. Incidental observation: When clearing the hook hangers with a Dremel and micro drill bit, the Solarez seems harder and tougher than epoxy. It becomes a very fine white powder when sanded or zipped out of hook hangers.

Yeah, I think a UV on-off-on cure regimen is the way to go. Now, the best timing for that remains to be seen. My jug says 15 second bursts of sun followed by 30 seconds of shade for "dual cure" with MEKP and sunlight, repeating until full cure is obtained. But it doesn't give a schedule for using a UV light and no MEKP. I'm envisioning platoons of surfboarders running in and out of their garages like ground hogs. I tested it on a white lure first, so can't really say anything about hazing. I tried 30 seconds on, 30 off for 3 mins and it cured hard. I'll give it a shot on some craw pattern baits this week and see if it hazes.

Yozuri Hybrid is very popular and gets lots of kudos on a bass fishing site I frequent. P-line Fluoroclear is very similar. Both are nylon copolymer lines coated with fluorocarbon. If you don't like braid or fluorocarbon, that only leaves a copolymer line. Another great line is Izor Line Premium and Izor XXX. The Premium is a hard surface, tough line with not much stretch for use on baitcasters. The XXX is a softer line that works on spinning reels. Both have good knot strength and are abrasion resistant. I like Izor because you can buy it in 1/4 lb spools for a reasonable price online. I use lots of fluorocarbon because I frequent a deep clear water lake. Its density does transmit feel better than copolymers. I like Seguar, P-Line, and BPS fluoro. I stock up on BPS when it's available on a BassPro spring sale event. Most recently, I've used Suffix 832 and Power Pro Super Slick for braid. Both work well. I'm trying to switch from fluorocarbon on my dropshot spinning rigs to braid with a fluorocarbon leader. I don't use a lot of braid and I won't use it without a leader except when fishing heavy grass. If you do fish lots of grass, straight braid rules. Some guys use braid all the time, for all presentations. Using a fluorocarbon leader helps with braid abrasion and acts as a shock leader. But really if you like copolymer monofilament line, you can use it for anything and everything. It just isn't ideal if you want maximum sensitivity or the ability to cut through grass.

All of the big lure companies offer a shallow running square billed crankbait, so there are dozens to choose from. If you're just "trying it out", there are plenty of inexpensive models from Strike King, Rapala, Bomber, Bandit, etc that fit the bill, as well as higher priced lures. In these conditions, a fat bodied lure with lots of buoyancy will back out of snags or ride over them and it swims with a head-down attitude that tends to protect the trebles from snagging. With just a little practice, it's amazing the obstructions you can navigate through without hanging up. I'll throw a crankbait in any cover where I would throw a spinnerbait. It won't sink like a spinnerbait so you can take your time and bounce it off everything you can.

John - I haven't tried putting DN on top of Solarez. If the haze is a wax component in the Solarez, it probably wouldn't help. It would be "gilding the lily" to use both. If I thought I needed to use DN over Solarez, I'd just stop using Solarez. I'm pretty sure Solarez is not as clear and tough as DN. If there were not the infernal storage problems with DN, I'd never use another topcoat.

I think Auto-Air Elegance (a metallic brownish/gold acrylic) is very close to the darker cisco back color I see when I google examples.

I think all the Dick Nite colors are lacquers? I use water based acrylics for safety reasons and because that's what I learned to airbrush with and I don't want to start from scratch again. The lacquers do offer more vibrant colors If that's what you're looking for. I tend to favor more muted, naturalistic patterns.

I can't I would use it if I sold baits because presentation to the customer is critical. I hope there may be ways to minimize surface hazing other than polishing the topcoat - which I have no intention of doing. I've tried Solarez on some light colored baits and any hazing is invisible to me, so I'm not giving up. I have a batch of dark craw pattern baits I'm just finishing up, so I'll try it to see the results. I'm hoping an on/off UV cure regimen will help avoid the problem. No, I don't think it will ever be as nice a topcoat as the flawless epoxy topcoats I've seen on Fatfinger's baits. Then again, I never see ANY baits, commercial or custom with that nice a topcoat. I only build baits to fish them and I'm not dissatisfied with the results so far and don't think the bass will care one bit. And it is super easy/fast to use. If nothing else, I'll continue to use it as a bait undercoating.

I see the same thing in my Solarez. I assume it is wax they put in it. As I understand it (maybe not all that well), when curing, the wax rises to the surface of the coating and "suffocates" the resin so that it can form a hard, non-sticky surface. I don't think you got a bad batch - it's probably just the nature of the beast.

It doesn't say what exactly it is in the company literature but one online seller states it is a moisture cured urethane (MCU). I used a quart of Famowood MCU a few years ago and it worked OK but like any MCU, it is hard to store without beginning to cure. It will also bubble if allowed to pool anywhere on the lure, so it's best to just hang a lure up after dipping and let it any excess drip off the tail of the bait. The Famowood I tried was a little thicker than Dick Nite S81 and I did not think it had the clarity of Dick Nite - but it was clearer than most epoxy topcoats. Not sure what I used years ago is the same exact thing as the Dura-Tuff, but I suspect it is. JMHO, none of the commercial floor MCU's are quite as good as Dick Nite S81. But they are considerably cheaper.

Access the online site via this URL: http://www.dicknite.com/TU_Lander.htm

A comment about samples from Vintage Woodworks: they charge $5.99 to ship a sample pack of Azek. I bit on it and my sample was 2 pieces of Azek, one of which is the trim board. That piece was about 2 1/2" x 4" x 3/4" So, it cost me $6 to get a piece of trim board sufficient for 2 small bass baits. Bottom line: if you're expecting to get enough board to make some baits, you're gonna be disappointed at the cost.

A few words about Azek trim board (I looked it up!). Compared to woods typically used in crankbaits, it is substantially heavier: Azek = 34 lbs/cu ft (55 grams per cubic centimeter) White Cedar = 20 lbs/cu ft Balsa = 11 lbs/cu ft Basswood = 23 lbs cu ft Water is 62 lbs/cu ft So yes, it floats. IMO if you are used to using wood, Azek will be easier to use in larger baits, like musky lures or swimbaits where the hardware weight is a small percentage of the overall lure weight. As you go down in size, hardware becomes a larger percentage of the lure weight, so if you want to build a 2 1/4" long flat sided bass bait that performs similar to a D-Bait balsa shallow diver, Azek isn't the obvious choice. But I can certainly see using it in some other situations like mid-depth or deep lures where you want the bait to suspend or slowly rise. Not saying you CAN'T use it for anything, just that you will have to alter your design if you are used to building with lighter woods. And if you like balsa because it makes a very lively shallow bait, you will have to REALLY alter your design with Azek if you want similar performance (personally, I doubt that's even possible but admit I'm a Doubting Thomas).

Yeah, nowadays I mostly paint lures that I build but when I started out I would cruise the "Reject" box at Walmart and tackle stores to find popular crankbaits that had really ugly paint schemes or damaged packaging. It was sort of hit or miss, but that and modifying/repainting my own crankbaits kept me busy and introduced me to the hobby.

If you're a stickler about how your baits perform after they're all prettied up with paint, you'll find that the market in unpainted plastic baits is pretty much a crap shoot. Major manufacturers don't sell unpainted baits to the public. When you buy something that looks exactly like a $27 Megabass Ito Vision 110 jerkbait for $5, no, you aren't getting a lure from the Megabass factory. Most times, you're getting a copy made in a Chinese factory for a few pennies. Sometimes, you're getting a copy of somewhat better quality made in a Japanese factory. Your mission is to sample various offerings and winnow out the ones that actually catch fish. Through the years, I've probably bought 25-30 different unpainted plastic baits and of that group, maybe 15% of them were really good crankbaits. No, they don't have the action and performance of the original lure on which they're based - but they had their own performance characteristics that I considered "good". And I caught fish on them. Sometimes lots of fish. I had fun painting them but whether it was cost-effective to buy the knockoffs or an original - well, I'll leave it for you to do the math on that.

Ben, you may be right. It's hard to tell how the slot is cut without having one in hand. One of my kids gave me a gift certificate and I used it to pre-order a few, so I'll see in March. I don't bend Lexan so I just buy lures that have curved lips. Shad Raps, DT Thugs, Luhr Jensen Hotlips Express are some of my favorites that I'd just as soon buy as try to recreate for myself.