trout Posted December 16, 2003 Report Share Posted December 16, 2003 I am new to making fishing lures and found the information on this site helpful. One question I have is if anyone knows about the UV curable one part epoxy and if anyone has tried this. The research I have done is that the lures can be dipped and cures under a UV light in about 5 seconds. I think they will cure if they are exposed to sunlight too. If anyone has any information or have used this type of product and have any feedback I would appreciate it. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
out2llunge Posted December 16, 2003 Report Share Posted December 16, 2003 What is the product called? Any links to sites with info on it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muddy Tires Posted December 16, 2003 Report Share Posted December 16, 2003 I know that the optics industry uses a UV curable adhesive to hold glass lens/prism blanks on a polishing dolop. The stuff that I saw was not transparent but a reddish brown. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redg8r Posted December 16, 2003 Report Share Posted December 16, 2003 Ive heard of UV cured epoxy but didnt realize it cured that fast. I think you need some heavy duty light also, maybe sodium halide? I dont know, Id like to see more info too if anyone has it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodsac Posted December 16, 2003 Report Share Posted December 16, 2003 In the past I have used a UV liquid sealer. It is used for patching holes in pvc bladders. It's flexible when cured. The cure time depends on the temp, and it has to have direct sunlight. In 100+ degrees it cures almost as fast as I can apply it! Less than 10 seconds. I applied some in the garage (because it was so hot!!) but without direct sunlight, it was still liquid after 3 days. You can find it at fly shops for repairing float tubes. If anyone is interested, I'll post the name of it when I get home. It's about $7 an oz!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Ratz Posted December 17, 2003 Report Share Posted December 17, 2003 Trout, I have checked seriously into this finish and it is the only way to go for a mass produced bait. The epoxy acrylate coating is sprayed or dipped on the lure. You can run it on a conveyor system for approx. 2 minutes and then the bait is ran thru a U.V. lamp which ideally would have a highly polished mirror across from it to cure both sides at one time. The coating is cured in less than 5 seconds and can be packaged immediately. The start-up cost are around $2000 for the U.V. lamp. The lamps are from 5-8 inches long but have an output of 1000 watts. I am going to send some lures to this company to coat for me and see how they come out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skeeter Posted December 17, 2003 Report Share Posted December 17, 2003 From what I understand there is all kinds of UV cured products. The epoxy will cure in 1 to 10 seconds. This all depends on the brand of product and like Fat Ratz said, the intensity of the UV light. Seems the standard is 1000 watts. They do make some that is cured in 2 min. with low intensity 300 watt lights. It is water resistant and it does seal. Some of this stuff has a tensile strength of 8000 psi. This is the stuff that dries hard. They also have some of these products that do have some flex to it. My only question is that if you dip the lures, what about runs before it hits the light? Skeeter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trout Posted December 17, 2003 Author Report Share Posted December 17, 2003 Thanks for all the feedback. I am going to look into this more. I am also sending some lures to be finished and see how they come out. Once I get the lures back after this process is done I will let everyone know how it went. I expect to have the lures back by the first couple weeks of january. I have also looked around at UV lamps. They seem to be expensive but there might be some that are affordable. I did see a small hand held version that is shielded, but I need to check into the prices. I beleive that there is also a verion of this epoxy that is curable by a black light, the cure time is about 15 minutes. I am also going to give this a try. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoosierdaddy Posted December 17, 2003 Report Share Posted December 17, 2003 I have an old safety glass cabinet in my junior high class room that has what is called a germicidal lamp in it. It has caution stickers all over the thing that warn the user about the Ultaviolet light that it produces. I wonder if this thing can be adapted to cure the epoxy you are speaking of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlamOso Posted December 17, 2003 Report Share Posted December 17, 2003 What about the clear sealant epoxy and fillers used by dentists? I believe that they use UV to cure in seconds. It has to be very strong. Garrett Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trout Posted December 17, 2003 Author Report Share Posted December 17, 2003 Thanks for the post Hoosierdaddy I looked at some gemicidal UV lights on the internet. The actual bulbs seem to cost between $50-60. These light bulbs output are 254 nanometers and have a life of 9000hours. One of the epoxies that I have looked at says it needs between 300-400NM output to cure in 15 minutes. I am wondering if this will work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoosierdaddy Posted December 17, 2003 Report Share Posted December 17, 2003 Please let us all know the results of this... I am still very interested in finding a better way to topcoat than Devcon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackjack Posted December 17, 2003 Report Share Posted December 17, 2003 I've looked at this company's website a couple of times over the past couple of years. I think if you are going to go into major production this would be the way to go. I can make between 75 to 125 baits a month depending upon the style of bait. Thank god I haven't had to do that many on a consistent basis. If I ever get to that point I would definetly give it a shot. But for now I'm just as happy with my finished product http://www.epoxycoatingsco.com/uv_curable_coatings.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clemmy Posted December 18, 2003 Report Share Posted December 18, 2003 ok, silly question, but how about sunlight? I looked it up and most of the uv that gets through whats left of the ozone layer is that wavelength..I guess it might be slower, but it would probally work..you'd still save time as it's one-part epoxy... just thinking out loud! please give us feedback to the board on how you find the finished result those of you that are trying and/or sending baits in... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cavu Posted January 7, 2004 Report Share Posted January 7, 2004 How is the research going into this product? I contacted the company about this stuff and they said if i would send them a few lures they would coat them & send them back. I hate to do that, as I do not plan to mass produce my jigs in a quanity that would be worthwhile. However, I am interested in purchasing a gallon or so if it proves to be as good as it sounds. If anyone has actually used this stuff and has an idea what it would cost per gallon and how long the shelf life is, I would appreciate the info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cobra0718 Posted January 8, 2004 Report Share Posted January 8, 2004 Hey guys...I've been following this post for awhile now... My mother is a Plate Maker in a Big Bag Factory. All the plates that those pretty designs come from are cured by UV light with an Expoxy that has an Orange Tint to it. I will hit her for some informaton about and see if there is a Clear Color, which I'm sure that there is. I know the Plates are pretty tough and never thought about using it as a clear coat... These Plates go through a pretty beating every night and usually last extremely long also. I mean if it can handle a Printing Press Day in and out and not even scratch then I'm sure a little fish wouldn't hurt it either. I have a few baits carved out. Just need to figure out the weighting and Bill placement then I'll have her take them and coat them, and would be will to send it to someone to test! Not sure how long it will take me to get the weighting and bill down, but I'll try my best. Charlie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
