bluetickhound

That's exactly what it is. It looks like its mainly used by boat repair/building type folk. I was actually kind of surprised a search here didn't turn up a single mention considering all the threads about topcoats.... I ordered some DN S81 and a sack of proprionate off of eBay to do a comparison test to see if I like either (or both... Or even NEITHER..) to the D2T I currently use....

While looking on the 'net for alternatives to the usual suspects for topcoats I came across this stuff. I did a search on TU and it didn't come up with any hits so I'm going straight to the source... Does anyone have any experience with this stuff and if so, it must either be SOOOO great you're keeping it on the downlow or it SOOOOOI awful it isn't worth fooling with!! Here's a link for anyone like me who might have an interest in it... http://www.epifanes.com/products.html

I have actually been doing just that with 400 grit., which really leads me to believe the thickness of the polytranspar white base coat is the problem. Will go with multiple thin coats (with better heat setting w/ hairdryer) from now on as opposed to one or two thicker coats. Also thinking about shelving the D2T for the time being to experiment with DN topcoat and/or trying my hand at propionate topcoats. I've been all over the search function to try and see what folks are saying about either one and it's hard to get a consensus... I also saw on the intrawebz a product (the. And of which escapes me right now.. Will search and edit shortly...) that looked very promising yet didn't show up on a search here.... Edit: that product is called Epifanes... Anyone familiar with it?

As an aside... What is the general consensus as to dipping finished balsa lures in DN S81 as a topcoat? I know the issue with humidity and being cautious not to let runoff drip back into the main container as well as the necessity of keeping main container open time to an absolute minimum but my question is this... does DN S81 dry harder than D2T or is it pretty much six of one, half dozen of the other?

LR, After having more time to consider all of everyones replies I think this is the crux of my problem. The sealer coat of D2T gets 24 plus hours to set up but when painting I think I've been getting in a bit of a hurry when it comes to my painting. I have been spraying multiple coats of the superhide white but even with the hair dryer I just don't think I'm giving the layers enough time to really dry before moving on to the finish coats and epoxy topcoat. When I examined the chips from what I was able to peel off of the damaged lure I see that the delamination occurs at the superhide white level. I'm still skittish about leaving my lures in direct sunlight but I'm almost tempted to try an experiment. Spray one lure like I did the damaged one and another with plenty of dry time in between coats and see if it makes the difference I'm pretty sure it will make.

Post of the year IMO!! Well played, sir!!

I just went ahead and brought all my wood and epoxy inside so it wouldn't be in an environment I had no control over. I may bring my paint in also...

Lures 5 & 6 are now official fish catchers also! Lure 3 was given to a friend for critique, lure 4 blistered in a hot car and is in the process of being re-done... All others are in various stages of completion.

I'm sealing (and topcoating) with D2T. Here in Georgia there really is not much relief from humidity... I do most of my work in a garage shop however and all my supplies stay there. I probably need to start storing my wood inside along with my D2T... I hadn't considered that until you mentioned it. BTH

That being said... I will say that I didnt really let much time pass between color applications... I'd hit it with the hair dryer and move on to the next step in the paint schedule... Of course, I'm not glooping on the paint either like some Tammy Faye Bakker bluegill wannabe.... The only culprit as far as possibly not being dry would be either the superhide white base or the brilliant silver undercoat... The good thing is that I can (and have...) repeated the same paint scheme on at least two other lures and I'm really happy with the result.

The polytranspar is water based. I know they have the solvent based type also but I was careful to order the acrylic. I do use acetone to clean my airbrush and it's entirely possible that I didn't let all the acetone flash out between colors... My gut on this is that the air within the balsa expanded as the lure baked in the direct sunlight and caused the heat softened D2T to blister. The entire lure didn't puff up though... Only in random spots did I get blisters but I think that had I let it sit out longer the whole thing would have been one big bubble!

Apparently polytranspar makes for really good adhesion... I had to dremel down the entire lure with a fine wire brush to get it back down to bare wood. Possibly baking in the sun (and then drying out again) had more than a little to do with that but hopefully this wont be something that happens very often...

Not sure what a KO (knock-off??) is but if it's a balsa bait then you did better than I did. Mine looked like an overcooked hotdog... I think the fact that it was in direct sunlight in a car that had to be well over 100 degrees inside was my undoing...

In the "taking lemons and making lemonade" department... I had finished another lure yesterday that I lake tested this afternoon. It swims like a champ and is going to be the pattern lure I'll use for subsequent crankbaits of it's type (2.5 inch .75 to 1.00 oz.). Since I had already removed the finish on the ill fated bluegill I broke out the Murphy knife and contour gauge. I got busy making a duplicate out of the stripped down blank and can't wait to see if I can make it do what the other lure does!! I'll repeat the bluegill pattern on the duplicate ( the original is chartreuse yellow with a purple back... think LSU Tigers colors... Ugh!!.. and a very subtle shimmering violet wash... Gives the lure great "depth"...) . I'm saving pictures of all these projects and will post (in the gallery of course!!) when I can. BTH

So basically I need not to be so careless (read:stupid!!) as to leave my baits in a hot car... I kinda figured it was an air problem. Heat softened topcoat enough to let the trapped air expand= blisters.... Lesson learned. I can't treat my lures like store bought Rapalas. I've already dremeled down my finish to bare wood and am starting over.

I sealed with D2T, primed with polytranspar superhide white, base coated with polytranspar bright silver and used either ctex or polytranspar paints for the finish coat. Topped off with 2 coats of D2T and I gotta tell you... It was gorgeous!! Glorious!!! I wish I could post pictures but that'll have to wait for the time being. I hope to have my new laptop in the next week or two and hopefully that will take care of my "not being able to post pictures" problem. I posted in the home page in hopes that a Mod or Jerry himself could help but so far I haven't seen any response....

I may have learned a valuable lesson here... My beautifully finished bluegill pattern crankbait is now not so beautiful... I left it in the car (in Atlanta Georgia, where it's about 95 degrees outside right now) and the finish now has blistered all over the place. It seems easy enough to say "well... Stupid! Don't leave your bait in the car!!" but I'd like to think the finish should be able to endure being out like that. I'm sure that being a balsa bait, the problem is either air or moisture trapped inside expanding and causing the paint to blister but could it be something else? More importantly, what can I do differently to prevent this from happening again? BTH

Go to the hardbait how to and look for the polycarbonate lip forming thread. I think it's on the second page. There is another thread titled compound bending or something line that but it isn't as detailed.

I will usually spray ammonia free (make SURE it is ammonia free!!!) windex through after backflushing with water (holding the entire front portion of the AB under water). When I take the AB completely apart I'll soak the parts in hot water, wipe the needle down with acetone and run the back end of the needle through the bore a few times to get any crud out of there. After reassembly I'll shoot some acetone through, followed by warm water. Maybe overkill and maybe my procedure is incorrect but so far it has worked for me.

Have you looked at Barge? I think it would work. I have used it in the past for leather work and other projects and can't think of an application where it has failed me.

I have been using balsa and thru wiring mine. The action on these baits is amazing!! What I really like is that with the length (I'm making mine 3-1/2" long) there's a lot of room to play with ballast to get exactly what you want out of the lure.

Thanks Ben!

Sorry for the bump but I'm foiling a lit for the first time and have gone ahead as you suggested and laid down a coat of D2T over the foil to smooth it out. My question is this: after the epoxy dries do you scuff it with say... 400 grit before painting or do you go right ahead to painting? So far, I have scuffed the surface of my non-foiled lures to insure good paint adhesion but I'm kind of leery of scuffing over the foil for fear of sanding through and torching what is shaping up to be a really nice lure...