Jdeee

I have had the topcoat peel off Rapalas's. The only way a topcoat will bond !00% to another surface is if its plastic to plastic that melts into itself. I don't think it is possible for a wooden bait especially balsa to be bulletproof or hammerproof. Like I said before I topcoat with Etek on top of coats of Solarez and have never had a bait peel yet. It is a longer procedure than most like to do but it works for me. Another thing that i do is after curing the Solarez I let the baits sit for a week to fully cure before I start to paint. I work that extra time into my workflow.

Nedyarb I use a small bit and then a medium then the largest. bits need to be really sharp. I also hold the bait in a solid vice so there is no movement.

Mark Your most welcome. Glad it helps. I have used the same method to thin out Etex but will start to gel quickly once it hits a cooler air temperature especially up here in the great white north where its not easy to keep a room temperature above 70F or so during the winter. Enjoy

Good thing fish don't carry hammers

If anyone wants a high gloss finish. Seal your baits with Solarez and then do your painting or finishing. You can then do another coat of Solarez to seal your paint job in and LET FULLY CURE PROPERLY (Important) a couple days minimum. Lightly sand a bit if you want and do a final coat with Envirotek and dry on your turner. Your lures will come out like glass and the haze is gone completely. Never had any problems with this method on many lures.

The main thing to remember with Solarez is if you want it thinner, warm up the liquid before applying it. the warmer the better. I put the quart in a tub of hot water from a kettle and let it sit until the Solarez has warmed to a nice even temp stirring occasionally and then I dip and let it run off mostly back into the quart until it slows down dripping then i hang it for a bit and then hit it with the light. Also a warm temp in the room helps. I do mostly large musky baits out of poplar but the way I do this should work for any type material that you use as a body. I use it mostly as a sealer and sometimes I dip the baits twice.

Let the Solarez cure for as long as you can afford to. After it is exposed to UV it starts to cure and is hard after a couple of minutes but it will continue to cure for a long time after and will become rock hard after a few days. It's not necessary to wait all that time but it doesn't hurt if you can. Personally I prefer using the Sun to cure if possible, I find it does the best cure. Solarez final cure isn't effected by temp, I have cured outside in -20 F on a sunny day.

I use the gloss polyester but it doesn't really matter if you only use it as a sealer. Just make sure that the temperature is warm above 75 degrees F to allow it to be thin enough to drip nicely. You can spray the Kilz on top if you want to give a nice white finish to paint on top of.

I use solarez but I don't spray it I dip it and let them drip for a while before curing them. It's a little thicker but it seals resin better than anything else I have tried and makes a nice smooth finish to paint on.

You call that a lip Mate... Now this is a lip!!!!

It is interesting how far ahead the tow line loop is placed. Be fun to tie one on to see the action.

Dam those Aussie lures are more lip than lure. I think they should attach hooks on the lips also : )))) Not sure if most North American fish could get their mouths around those ????

Ray I don't think Millsite created the river runt body just the lip design. Heddon made the Go deeper with this type of lip starting in 1949. Millsite was making them years before that and stopped in the 50's. Many lawsuits were filed back and forth between the two companies LOL things never change. Copy redesign copy it's the nature of the beast, but that's what makes lures evolve over time. Good for the fisherman, bad for the manufacturer. Dave When it swims it's angle is a little more than 45 degrees. Wish I had a tank to show the action.

Mark I don't know exactly what makes this particular lure work but it does. I think it's a combo of all the design, the cupped eyes the placement of the lip under the chin, the line tie placement. Just a well planned out design. These lures were manufactured in the 50's. Heddon tried to knock them off with a version that was identical except for a rounded lip instead of the squared off lip that they used. The Heddon version just doesn't catch fish like the original. The Millsite Deep Creep is one of the best designed lures that I have ever fished, it hunts like a starving coyote and it won't blow out until it reaches crazy speeds above 10 mph

Here is one of the best deep diver designs that I have come across. It digs hard and fast down to 20 feet casting and the wobble drives fish crazy. Caught many big fish with these, pike and musky love them. I have always wanted to make a jumbo version, maybe this winter.