Seeking 56

Sounds like your glider turned out really nice! Congrats! You think you're happy now? Wait till you catch a fish with it!! s54

Thanks RayburnGuy for explaining your situation. Then, one of two things happened: 1) The paint wasn't fully cured causing the solvents to react. 2) Perhaps DN is not compatible with that brand of rattle can paint or rattle can paint in general. Mixing two different brands of rattle cans will not necessarily react together 100% of the time. I ran out of Rustoleum black one time. I sprayed Krylon black over Rustoleum white just to have the Krylon black run right off the white. Prior to that, I used Krylon copper over Rustoleum black while doing a scale pattern and had no problems whatsoever. It's been my experience that if rattle can paint adheres and it's fully cured, it's not coming off. Even if there are battle scars or hook rash. I have beaten up lures to prove it. I wait 2 weeks for the paint to cure before applying etex. Might be overkill but i've never had wrinkling or any other problems for that matter. The only way for paint to come off wooden lures and I can attest to this since i've repainted numerous , is if the primer did not bond with the sealer or the wrong wood was used( swelled up ). My last 2 repaints were someone else's baits.....beautifully crafted / painted baits but the builders dropped the ball on the most critical part of lure building, the sealing / priming. I'm not an expert but I thought i'd share my experiences with rattlecans. When I stop having fun with them I'll join the rest of you over to the dark side. LoL!! s54

What Ben said; get rid of the rattle can paint. Dip your baits to cut the time in base coating rather than using a rattle can otherwise mixing the two will cause you nothing but problems. Even with an epoxy top coat I suspect once the hook rash gets deep enough the baits will peel like an orange @ Rayburn and gunnie 3035 Quote: " Even with an epoxy top coat I suspect once the hook rash gets deep enough the baits will peel like an orange" I'm really curious about this statement ............ Are you saying epoxy as in etex for example, would not hold on rattlecan paint? s54

Hi Gino, Yes, 54 is what i'm after. It's the legal size limit in the main body of water I fish. Not that I would keep one, i'm all about catch and release. But it would be nice to say I caught a legal musky LoL! 50'' plus fish are a different beast and as of the last few years i've focused my search primarly on these monsters. Good fishing! Joe

I also fish for muskies and build gliders as well. They are my favorite search baits. BobP is right about Envirotex. It is what I use. There is also Nu lustre 55 but there's no reason for me to switch. I find applying a total of 3 thin coats is sufficient. I wet sand with 200 grit between coats. I hope you have as much luck as I do with the gliders. s54

I'm a rattle canner and I use Rustoleum as well. How long do you wait before using e-tex? I really let the paint cure....at least one week. Are you using a white base underneath the fluoro? s54

Etex would work. The epoxy putty bassguy is probably referring to is called QuickPlastik from Polymeric System inc. They make it for various metals, ABS, CPVC, PVC. I use their wood epoxy, doesn't shrink nor crack. s54

As anyone ever given up trying to copy a lure they liked because it was too challenging? I almost did when I decided to copy Nelson's 9'' Lady ( called Shapely Lady back then ) it essentially looks like a 9'' ripplin redfin. I must've been feeling a little masochistic that day to choose hard maple.......The only power tool I used was a band saw to cut / rip the profile. The rest was all hand sanding..... I have now decided to copy a 13'' Believer...out of cedar this time Lol! The profile is cut, all is left is shaping. Anybody else? s54

I also weight my cranks. I don't like my baits to rise when i'm turning sharp while trolling. I want them to stay in the strike zone longer especially in late fall when the muskies are more lethargic. s54

Measure the desired depth and put a piece of tape on the bit and use that as your guage. If you've gone too deep, partially fill the hole with a little bit of wood epoxy and press the eye in. Assuming you're using 3D eyes. s54

Thank you for explaning this concept pizza but what do you mean by pure water? Fresh water? Has anybody figured out how to achieve a density of 1 on any given wood? Is there a formula? I experimented with Brazilian Cherry (Jatoba). I removed 1/2 of the wood stock and filled it with foam. It worked quite well. s54

Interesting! Therefore, a lure made of Mahogany for arguments sake is used in 80 degree water in summer and 38 degrees in late fall will have a different action? Or is it all related to how close the density is to 1? s54

Thanks for this information BobP, is it safe to assume that a wood that has a density of 1 g/cc will sink? I use the "Janka hardness scale" to determine how hard a wood actually is. Google it, it's actually a very interesting read. s54

I've used both regular bits and Forstner for ballast but for the eyes strictly Forstner. If i'm boring into hardwoods especially exotics, I will use regular bits...they're cheaper to replace than Forstners when they get dull. My smallest Forstner is 1/4'' I don't have any experience with brad point. s54

You can use automotive brake fluid DOT 3. I've tried this in the past and it works quite well. Hang the lure if possible and only saturate the body using an acid brush. Do not apply to the hook hangers or lip as you don't want the fluid going inside the lure. After a few hours the paint will start coming off. After you've taken all the paint off with a metal scraper or equivalent ( the acid brush works too ), spray it with brake kleen to remove any residual brake fluid. This is a messy way of doing things but it would work well on scale bodied lures that sandpaper can't reach. s54

I`m forced to paint a `beat up` shad pattern on one of my glide bait now because it originally didn`t turn out like I was hoping. I`m basically wet sanding patterns through the next colored layer of paint. I`ve never seen this kind of pattern on commercial baits and since I`m donating it at a silent auction fundraiser i`m kinda nervous it won`t do well. I`m waiting for the paint to cure and I might consider posting it here after it`s cleared. S54

Beech has a hardness of 1300 lbs-f. You would be better off with either Red Oak @ 1290lbs-f or Ash @ 1320 lbs-f. s54

Try wet sanding your clearcoat if you're using e-tex with 800 - 1500 grit 3M automotive sandpaper. s54

Have you tried down sizing the front treble? s54

All good points! If you know and you've been told you craft a quality bait with quality components, paints, clear etc.. don't be afraid to sell them at a premium price. If you make musky lures for example, that is a very specific niche. Musky fishermen will pay for a good crafted bait that is durable and catches fish. You should also consider consignment. If the retailer is receptive to this and if your lures don't occupy a large amount of space it could be the best of both worlds. He doesn't have to buy them and you may benefit from a higher percentage. You can produce a limited amount of baits and in the end you reward yourself with an acceptable return for your efforts. Just a thought. S54

I brushed a thin coat on a mahogany blank and it dried in less than an hour, mind you it was in my garage in summertime. I subsequently bored a 1" diameter 3/16" deep hole in a scrap piece of wood, filled it with glue to see how it would dry. It took a few days, some of it soaked in but it did not shrink nor crack. After about a week it really really hardened, I could hardly dent it. For a 16 fl.oz bottle it cost under $15 if memory serves me right. They recommend using it above 45 degrees F. I going to finish this lure and report the results. s54

Hey fellows, After doing a thorough read on previous years sealer posts, is there a general consensus on your sealing experiences? Like, what product not to use for sealing bare wood prior to priming? For those who tried something new, any regrets? I'm using acrylic primer to seal but would like to try something else. Some pm'd me to use a sanding sealer but it's hard to find. It seems to some people i've grown 2 heads LoL! Would like to seal with e-tex, but find it a little too expensive to use as a sealer when it can be used as a clearcoat. I've started experimenting with Titebond III waterproof wood glue. So far, this stuff cured rock hard. Your thoughts? Thanks s54

2 part epoxies will work if your lure is not going to pound bottom. If you plan on pounding bottom, I suggest West System Six 10. It's a tickened epoxy that comes in a self metering cartridge (caulking tube). It comes with a static mixer that will mix both parts together as it comes out. I do not use the static mixer, I just squeeze and mix both parts myself. I carve grooves on both sides of the polycarbonate fill the slot with the adhesive and insert the lip. A great feature of this product is that it does not run like epoxy and has a working time of about 40 minutes. It dries to an opaque yellow. The only negative thing about this product is that it's expensive, $27 for a 190ml tube but, it does go a long way. s54

Are you cleaning the caked paint on the nozzle after it dries? I used to have the same problem until I started scraping off the paint. I think the fluoro's are thinner...and if the nozzle is plugged it will come out the sides. One thing though, the propellants are definately not all the same. Some of their textured paints are nice to use. s54

The primer is what is most critical to protect the wood in my opinion. I use a high quality int/ext latex primer $30/gallon. I dip my lure only once and let it cure for a good couple of months. At this point the primer is rock hard, some sanding and touch up with a foam brush is all I do. Sure, you could seal the wood with envirotex but not only is that expensive for a primer it also adds weight to the lure especially if you're going to clear the top coat 2-3 more times. I have a 12'' glider that's been gouged and the teeth have yet to penetrate the wood. My 2cents s54