Fishhead15

I emailed solarez earlier today and got the following response: he pretty much echoes what you suggested. "There might be a couple of things going on. The gloss resin has a surfacing agent in it (wax) that needs to rise to the surface before curing. If you brush on the resin, give it a couple of minutes for the brush strokes to disappear. The amount of time for the brush strokes to disappear is usually enough time for the wax to rise to the surface. If you are still getting streaks, I wonder how thick a coating are you doing? Is it thick enough to allow the brush strokes to "gloss" over?. If not, you may want to modify resins. Our urethane "Fly-Tie" resins are of MUCH higher molecular weight and do not require a "surfacing agent", although they are more costly. If the polyester can work for you, it is a great product. you might try to bring up the temperature a bit so that the resin can flow better and brush strokes can disappear and wax to rise. I hope I haven't' confused the issue too much. Do try our Fly-Tie resins someday. They are pretty foolproof" Mark, I am not painting the entire reel. I take off the 2 sideplates and the "nose" section around the levelwind and paint those. I can get my reels apart and prepped in about 10 minutes or so. I know that there are some guys that paint the frame, but I have never broken a reel down completely like that. If i could figure out how to make my pictures smaller, I would post a few...everything exceeds the 2mb max Bob, I will look into the Dick Nite S81 as well. But, it sounds like one of the solarez products should get the results I am looking for. I haven't tried the fly tie resin that he recommends yet, but I did get some samples when i was there. Eric

Hi Bob, thanks for the info. that is very helpful. I tried the rattle can gloss clear coat on the first reel I did. but, i can scratch that off with my fingernail...durability is the key and that is why I wanted to try the solarez. it sounded promising but I now see why it acted and looks the way it does. I asked about the MEKP because it is recommended on the label to use it regardless of how you cure it. I will look into the 2 part high solids clearcoat, but that sounds like another level of investment I am not ready for. it's a bummer too, because I have a handful of guys already who want their reels painted... Eric

thanks for your replies. I did put the parts on my lure turner after the second coat and I think that helped some. I really can't dip the parts unfortunately, the resin will end up in places it can't go. I will email them at solarez and see what they say. it was already pretty runny, so i didn't think to microwave it, but since you mention it i remember one of the guys there suggesting that for the flex resin I will post up when I get some info from them at solarez. thanks

I bought some solarez polyester gloss resin to try out this week. I have been using devcon 2 ton to clear the crankbaits I have been painting with good results. But, I have received a couple requests to paint reels and soft plastic baits (the deps ss 250 in particular), so I have been looking into other products. I feel like the devcon is going to be too thick for a reel... I went with the PE gloss in hopes that it would go on thin and set up nice and evenly. I like that it has a long working time and won't set until put into the sunlight http://solarez.com/productsnew/gloss.html I brushed it onto a reel I had painted only to have the first coat come out streaky. I could see the brush strokes streaky. Then I look on the can and see something about adding a few drops of mekp catalyst, although the guy that sold it to me never said anything about that, and the website doesn't either that I can tell. I added a second coat, which was smoother and took away a lot of the streaky appearance. But, it still did not go on evenly. And in some places it is somewhat cloudy. Have any of you that have used this product have this experience? Do I need the mekp catalyst to solve these problems? I will contact the manufacturer next week for sure to ask about this as well. fortunately, the company is local and only about 10 minutes from where I work. On the same topic, they recommended the fly tier flex epoxy to use on soft plastic lures like the deps ss250. I showed them a bbz-1 tail section and they said it would work. It apparently goes on thin, sets up nice, and is very flexible. I haven't tried it yet. Are any of you familiar with this product? http://solarez.com/productsnew/fly_tie_uv_resin.html thanks Eric

Hi, my name is Eric...I am 40, married with 2 boys that I am trying to get into fishing. I manage a marine fish hatchery in southern california, San Diego, as my day job. I joined the boards about 4 years ago, when I first bought an airbrush set. I got frustrated so fast, I gave up and put it away until a couple months ago. Now I am back in it and totally enjoying it, kinda wish i had those few years back. I must say thanks for all the info you all have provided. It has made everything easier and a lot less frustrating. I hope to be able to contribute at some point, and I will start asking questions, cuz i have lots...

Bob- thanks for your reply! I am starting to use the search function and figure things out a little...I have a lot to read! I am going to start putting a shopping list together and probably a list of questions/search topics too. again, thank you! Eric

Hi- I am just getting into the airbrush/lure mods thing and need a little help. I have really only begun to scratch the surface on this site and I am impressed, and maybe a little overwhelmed ! Anyway...based on what i have seen so far, I ordered a PS900 airbrush and AC-182 (? i think) compressor and should get them next week. So, my questions are this - should i buy blank baits now or practice on some old ones first? do i need to sand down the factory finish or paint over? what type of paint and clear coat should i get? i have heard different things so I would like to get some more opinions, please... what do i need for clean up? is there anything I may forgetting? thanks in advance Eric