crankbait sealer.......

[bemidjibasser]

I have read several posts regarding sealing wood baits before painting them via the search tool on this forum. Would the Kilz brand premium sealer/primer work? If not, what would you suggest? I primarily use cedar to make my baits. Thanks for the help.

[ldzoller]

I use and love a homemade mixture of Virgin Laquer Thinner and cut up plastic cups. You could do a search for "sealer" and find many results on this site. The Virgin Laquer Thinner melts the cups. This liquid is now a sealer that a bare wood bait can be dipped into. Shake off the excess over a trash can and let dry (about 3-5 minutes). The sealer will soak right into the wood. Coat again using the same dip-shake process. Let dry, usually a bit longer. Coat again or as many times as you need. I usually do 3-4 coats. You will end up with a clear coating ready to be painted that seals and requires no sanding before painting.

[Brushwacker]

Can you use Acetone, or does it have to be Virgin Laquer Thiner?

[ldzoller]

I think I have read that some guys do use Acetone, but I have only used the Virgin Lacquer Thinner with great succes. It seems like it wouldn't make a difference. However, when I first tried that mixture I used just regular Lacquer Thinner, not the Virgin type, and it did not work. All I got was a melted blob at the bottom of the jar that would not fully dissolve. Once I got the Virgin Lacquer type it worked great.

[Swede]

When using plastic cups it has to be virgin laquer thinner.With acetone it will be just a gooey mess

[FishThanks]

I build custom homes for a living and my painters use Kilz for priming before oil based paints. We love the results on our homes. I tried it on my prototypes on Western Red Cedar. The kilz cracked up pretty quick when testing the action. They were Kilz only no paint or clear. I am now using propionate/acetone mix with great results. I just primed 25 propionate dipped baits with a two part automotive epoxy primer and it fused nicely to the prop. On the baits that were stripped for repaints it made the screw eyes very tight again and filled the scrapes and tooth gouges nicely making them appear much smoother than the ones that I only used primer on. I decided to use Propionate on my baits when i found out one of the most durable baits to hold up to Musky teeth I know uses it on thier baits. The stripers on line/ surftalk web site has the results from extensive testing recently posted by a member. it is worth the read. pm Swede for in depth propionate information as well.

[woodieb8]

i am the odd man out. i use a laquer sanding sealer. then i immerse in wh/ laquer primer. no issues at all. the largest issue is a beautifull paint job and paint cracking off from temperature differences in the northern regions.

[cheesehead]

I have used both the cups and the prop.

I switched completly to the prop when I had a cup coated bait crack on me. I do have others that haven't cracked with the cups but to me the prop is easier to use and has a proven background in the lure industry.

[jimbo]

Jump on this if i,m messing up, but this is what i,ve been doing. I use the cups usually the solid white throw away beer cups and lacquer thinner. it,s mixed a little thicker than milk more like enamel paint. After no more than three coats i have a solid white finish thats ready for paint. in the past i used testers with no problems except using it in the airbrush.The white cups seemed to give me a solid sealed base to do my painting on.I,ve also used black,red and brown plastic with the same results.If you see any flaws in this method let me know would save alot of tears later on.

[hazmail]

For quite a while now after trying the plastic cups etc, I have been using reading glass lenses dissolved in virgin lacquer thinners OR acetone. The acetone brew soaks in and is quick drying, but you need more coats, the thinners brew soaks in slow, is much slower curing so with multiple coats it smooths out well on a drying wheel to a rock hard 'Reading Glass' finish. pete