I Know, Use the Search Function (Clearcoating)

[FishinsMyLife]

I have been looking at all of the posts on clearcoating for the past couple days, and I still don't know what to do. I am looking to clearcoat this bait Tru-Tungsten Blue Gill and Talapia Swim Baits

because the paint chips off too easily. I also want to clearcoat this bait Deps Realiser to help it suspend and for durability purposes. While I'm coating these baits, I also want to clearcoat some Bagley crankbaits that are down to the wood on some parts.

I've been told to use Devcon 2 Ton Epoxy. From my reading, I have determined that you have to turn or rotate (or something...) the baits after you apply the epoxy, but I don't exactly understand this....I am assuming you hang the baits, but that makes me think the epoxy would run to one end...

I know not to use the 5-minute variation of the epoxy, and I don't want to buy a rotisserie chicken cooker and hang my baits on it as I don't plan on doing this regularly.

If someone could just give me some basic directions on how to do this entire process, it would be greatly appreciated

[Basseducer]

As for your multi section swimbait, you are going to need a whole other contraption. Now for the smaller baits this is what I came up with. I came across a light wheel from an old aluminum christmas tree. I removed the color wheel and light bulb. I attach the lure clamp to the lure and paint. When painting is finished I brush on a coat of D2T and attach the lure clamp to the motor and turn on. The motor turns the lure like a pig on a spit.

[mark poulson]

I would recommend you use Envirotex Lite for the sectional swimbaits, and turn them for a few hours on a horizontal drying wheel. One that looks like a ferris wheel. I'd use the Etex for all of them, as I've had the unfortunate experience of the D2T flaking off when the lure meets a rock by accident. The Etex seems much less brittle. It's also not as hard as D2T, so, if you're fishing for pike, muskie, or salt water fish, it might not be as good a choice as the D2T. But for Bass lures, the Etex is great.

[duck1968]

If you are only going to do 2 or 3 baits a year and don’t want to build a turner. You can turn them by hand making 3 to 8 rotations a minute until the epoxy has set then hang to cure. A multi-section bait is a little harder to do this with as you have to keep the sections from touching each other.

Brian

[FishinsMyLife]

Thanks Basseducer and Mr. Poulson. Those pictures helped. I can push the joint rods out of the Tru Tungsten swimbait, so if I can whip up a rig like the one pictured, it should work fine. It just might take longer because I have to do a coating for each section separately.

[Bass'n'Cast]

oh and dont forget to post pics of the finished job.

[BobP]

Take the swimbait apart or immobilize the joints with rubber bands. Hook a bent wire hanger on both ends of the bait and hang it on a nail, switching tail/head every 30-45 secs for about 10 mins, then every 2-3 minutes for 15 mins, then every 5 minutes for about 15 mins. This works just fine at room temps or higher using Devcon. Etex is too thin and cures too slowly to be hand-turned (unless you have LOTS more patience than me!). Epoxy will draw away from any sharp edge as it cures, leaving a very thin coating that won't withstand much abuse. If you have edges, you need to round them over with sandpaper or try another clearcoat like polyurethane.

[jimmie7915]

man if you ae trying to spend as little as possible go to lowaes or home depot and buy a drywall mixer.It costs about ten bucks from there you cane tape or do whatever you need to do to fasten the lures to it and put it in a cordless drill. Devcon then grab a beer and sit on the couch bareley squeeze the triiger. By the time your'e done with the beer the lures should be good to go. Now if you drink em like I do your'e gonna need about 3 beers but you get the picture anyways! Hope this helps!

Jimmie

[jimmie7915]

Man I just reread that and it looks awful! I look like I spell like a second grader! Sorry !

[FishinsMyLife]

I appreciate all the help and suggestions so far. I tested the D2T on an old crankbait and things turned out all right, so I decided to move to a section of the Tru Tungsten swimbait. I filed down the edges (as suggested) to allow for some epoxy to adhere. It looked bad until I took a black Sharpie to it, and then it looked good as new (this was before I put on the epoxy). I constantly slow rotated the section of the bait by hand until it was adequately dry, and the I hung it up. One thing I noticed was two spots that there was no epoxy on. I guessed this was because I needed a little more D2T on the bait before I got to rotating it, but I'm not sure. if you have any suggestions on how to get a perfect coat, I'd appreciate it if you shared;)

One spot is in the middle of the head and the other is to the right of the left nostril.

http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa108/FishinsMyLife317/clearcoat.jpg

[BobP]

2 possibilities - either you didn't wet out those areas properly when brushing on the D2T, or there was grease or oil in those spots and the epoxy "fisheyed" on you. It's good practice to wipe down the lure with a cloth wetted with denatured alcohol to remove any oil before you apply the epoxy. You can spot fix the areas with D2T and a small artist's brush - use a Qtip with DN first to remove any oil. It's sort of an art to get just the right amount of epoxy on a void so it levels out even with the rest of the finish. But the bass don't notice it so it's just a cosmetic thing.

[FishinsMyLife]

...But the bass don't notice it so it's just a cosmetic thing...

That's what I figured. Thanks for all the help!