mark poulson

When I used it, I usually put one coat on cranks, and at least two on swimbaits. The Etex tech said I could recoat without any prep, after the first coat had set, and it woulod still bond to itself. So I would coat once in the evening, turn all night, recoat in the morning, turn all day, and it would be ready to fish the next day.

I have to agree with Fred. Whatever you've been doing so far is fantastic. I don't know the answer to the hose question. Go online to an airbrush supply dealer, and ask. As for thinning your paints, I'd recommend using the thinner that AutoAire, or whoever manufs. the paint, makes for that paint. Compared to the cost of your labor, the right thinner is cheap, and will insure that the paint behaves. I use a hair dryer, not a heat gun, and I dry each coat, first on low, and then again on high. Trapped water will doom a lure before you even fish it, because it will cause the top coat to lift when it warms up and vaporizes. If you did your lures without an airbrush before, I can't wait to see what your new ones are going to look like!

Call the tech support at Etex. They are the most helpful people I've ever dealt with.

I'm guessing some kind of a bearing system, like a metal cup, that would reduce the contact surface between the prop and the lure body, is what you need, but I don't have a clue what to use. Nice fish!

Genius!

I use Etex straight, without thinning. I have thinned D2T to use to seal POP molds, and I mixed it 1/1 with denatured alcohol. I would only thin Etex if I were going to use it to seal a wooden bait before painting, and I'd probably experiment with a 2 parts epoxy/1part alcohol mix first, to see how it set up. Mix a little and test it to see if it sets up hard. Etex is a decoupage epoxy, meant to be self leveling, so it's thinner to begin with.

I was told by the Etex tech to mix the two part thoroughly before adding the alcohol to thin it. Evidently, the two separate parts will bond to the alcohol instead of each other if they're not mixed together first. Just a word of advice. Since she told me that, I make sure to really mix any two part epoxy well before I thin it, and haven't had any problems.

That's right up there with "No good deed shall go unpunished". They just don't know how good they have it, do they?

Another great idea shot all to he!! Everything you said makes perfect sense.

Dave, I know it's not your way. That's why I said it. I think you're going to run up against the glue vs. decoupage epoxy issue in regards to coating wood lures. The epoxy needs some give to accomodate the movement of the wood. People who do stamped concrete use a super clear lacquer to seal it. It holds up great outside, doesn't seem to discolor, and bonds well, although masking tape will peel it off if it's not removed carefully. It stands up to hosing down with no issues, and also to car traffic. That might be worth looking into.

You are a truly thoughtful husband, indeed. Myself, I stopped buying beer by the case because it was hard for my exwife to lift. Needless to say, my thoughtfulness went unappreciated.

If you fill the center reservoir higher than the two outside sections, can you get a one color tail, and three color body?

I use a cajun hand injector for my worms, and wind up with air bubbles in the top of the larger worms and senkos. I just weld them shut with an Iovino worm welder, and they stand up when I T rig or shakey head rig them. Unintentional, but it works out. I think it happens because I don't have a large enough reservoir of hot plastic above the worm cavity to run back down in after I inject them. It doesn't happen on the thinner worms.

Thanks for all the info.

Congratulations. Sometimes the race does go to the one with the most patience! I'd say the best test is to make a lure, coat it, and fish it. That'll tell you pretty quickly if it meets you needs.

Dang! Pictures would sure help. I live by two axioms I learned as an apprentice: "If it don't work, get a bigger hammer", and "If it can't be done with a skilsaw, it can't be done".

I guess the only way to know for sure is to make up 4oz of each color you want, and reheat them individually, so you can see how each color is affected.

From my limited experience, reheating has a whole 'nother set of concerns, like hardening, scorthing, and color change. I only buy in single gallons, so shaking the plastic isn't an issue for me. I don't know how people who buy in fives do it. Wheaties, I guess.

That thermostat in the box is a great idea! Otherwise, getting the lures too hot will cause the epoxy to run.

Clever devil! Hats off to you.

I think any of the epoxy top coats will work fine with foil. The problems arrise when the solvents in whatever you're putting over the foil, be it paint or top coat, react with the glue you've used to attach the foil. If you're worried, do a little test on a foiled/photoed piece, not on a lure that you've worked so hard on, and that's come out so beautifully. I think alcohol is the main solvent/catalyst in all of those two part epoxy systems, so you could just try brushing some DN alocohol on your test piece to see if it reacts with the foil. If you find there is some lifting of the foil, you can always spray a coat of Createx clear over the bait first, to isolate the foil from the top coat. Personally, I've never had a paint scheme that worked with D2T that didn't work with either Etex or Nu Lustre.

Rich, I just read this on Western Bass. Congrats. on a monster-getter. http://www.westernbass.com/forum2/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=60978

For exact duplication, down to the smallest details, I think you'd have to cast them from some kind of resin with an RTV mold.

Dave, That's impressive. How in the world did you find that?