LooksLikeSinbad Posted October 30, 2008 Report Share Posted October 30, 2008 Hey all. For those that don't know me I have been making jigs and spinnerbaits for a while and usually post in that forum, or in threads about websites and graphic design. I recently decided to try my hand with photo finishing. After reading a ton of great info on the site (thank you everyone!), I decided to use a plastic lipless crank and finish it with a bluegill image taken from the gallery (thanks again!). There are a lot of mistakes on here but I don't mind. I learned a lot from the mistakes I made and I have a lot of ideas to improve my technique. So I tried it out at my local pond and it worked! I caught 2 bass on it and lost 1 in less then an hour. But then, wouldn't you know it, I banged it off a rock and broke the finish on it. Can I fill in the chipped devcon with more devcon to fix it? Or is it trashed if the devcon is chipped off in a big chunk? In the future, how many layers of devcon should I apply? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vodkaman Posted October 30, 2008 Report Share Posted October 30, 2008 Great looking lure! I'll leave it to the devcon sales staff to answer your questions though. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nathan Posted October 30, 2008 Report Share Posted October 30, 2008 Great job Zak!! You've learned one draw back too devcon..it is so hard it's brittle,and can crack easy...another draw back too it is that it is heavy...you apply too many coats too a small bait it can really kill the action...You have 3 choices on how too fix the bait.. 1. Remove the damaged devcon and patch only those area's with more devcon..(you'd be adding the least weight this way..) 2.Leave the cracked areas and devcon over the whole bait..the new coat should reinforce the damaged area..(you'll be adding additional weight with this fix..) 3.Remove the damaged area like in Choice # 1 and recoat the WHOLE bait.(Your top coat won't be smooth..but I don't think the fish will care..and you'll be adding additional weight with the top coat..)..Nathan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted October 30, 2008 Report Share Posted October 30, 2008 Choice number four is to use a table top, decopage type epoxy which is more flexible, instead of D2T, which is a glue and very hard/rigid, when you recoat the lure. Remove the loose stuff, without damaging the photo finish, scuff sand the remaining D2T with 400 grit wet and dry, and coat with the other kind of epoxy. Two of these that come to mind are Envirotex Lite, and Nu Lustre 55. I know a lot of people use Dick Nite's, but I'm not familiar with it, so I don't know if you can coat over Devcon with it. But I do know the other method works, having discovered the error of using D2T on wood baits the hard way. P.S. Great looking lure! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captsully18 Posted October 31, 2008 Report Share Posted October 31, 2008 Yes, you can coat over D2T with Dick Nites. I use it exclusively, especially since I droped a finished bait on the concrete floor and didn't even get a scratch. I have given them the "rock test", accidently of course , and the withstood the test with flying colors. A very durable finish, hard and yet flexible enough. David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dramone Posted October 31, 2008 Report Share Posted October 31, 2008 here are my i use 2-3 coats of d2t on larger baits, and with no weight problem, cause d2t only add appx. 10% ballast weight of the amount used on the bait, due to its density. (5g d2t adds appx. 0.5g witch will affect the ballast) thx dave aka vodkaman http://www.tackleunderground.com/forum/hard-baits/12275-how-does-clearcoat-affect-bouyancy-lure.html by knowing this i would fix the lure like this: - sand the whole lure with 400 grid or scotch pad (mecanical bond) - clean the crack an make it a bit wider (if necessary) - clean the whole bait (denaturated alcohol) - re-coat the whole bait with d2t when using photofinish or foil/netting i use more than one coat of epox, to get rid of any overlaping stuff. (coat, sand, re-coat) hope it helps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cadman Posted October 31, 2008 Report Share Posted October 31, 2008 Zak, I'm no expert at this but that lure looks beautiful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Predator Bass Baits Posted October 31, 2008 Report Share Posted October 31, 2008 Not bad for a first try, Just some pointers, looks like you put too much 2t on the lure or it was put on too slow or lt was not turned while it set up. make sure you use 30min 2t you could thin it with denaturated alcohol and then top coat it with DN, DN will stand up to teeth marks a whole lot better and is worth it. I take about enough 2t to do 3 or 4 lures and thin it with about 10 to 15 drops of denaturated alcohol so the first coat of 2t goes on smooth and thin then second coat with the DN Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LooksLikeSinbad Posted October 31, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2008 Thanks for all the compliments and advice. I am going to see if I can repair this bait using the suggested techniques. But to be honest I am more excited to make some design changes and work on the next version - I guess I'm hooked . I already know a bunch of ways to improve on it. Is Envirotex something I can find at a local hardware or crafts shop? Or should I order it online? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nathan Posted October 31, 2008 Report Share Posted October 31, 2008 Zak, You can find it at most hardware stores..Besure you measure out equal amounts and stir well..It isn't as forging as Devcon in these areas..Nathan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.dsaavedra. Posted October 31, 2008 Report Share Posted October 31, 2008 don't worry about fixing this one, just make another Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CL Rods Posted November 1, 2008 Report Share Posted November 1, 2008 Awesome, glad someone put the photo to use. Now if I could only do as good of a job with the photo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RiverMan Posted November 1, 2008 Report Share Posted November 1, 2008 Here is a crappie I did probaby 4 years ago. I think this lure was done with Devcon............there is no reason to thin Devcon before applying it. Jed V. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LooksLikeSinbad Posted November 2, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 2, 2008 I just read the 5 page thread about Dick Nites and it sounds like a great product. But I have 1 concern: these photofinish baits do not have a perfectly even finish (because of the application of the paper) and according to that thread the DN would not even it out the way epoxy does. Would it be better to do 1 coat with D2T to even and smooth everything out, then apply Dick Nites on top for additional protection? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Predator Bass Baits Posted November 2, 2008 Report Share Posted November 2, 2008 I mentioned thinning 2t to keep the weight down, and if your having trouble getting a smooth layer. Dicknite over top of 2t if you want to protect it better from teeth marks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
summitlures Posted November 4, 2008 Report Share Posted November 4, 2008 how did you transpose the picture on the bait? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LooksLikeSinbad Posted November 4, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 4, 2008 (edited) how did you transpose the picture on the bait? I used Husky's tutorial to start. But I could not get tissue paper to work with my printer so I ended up using regular printer paper instead. I still glued it to aluminum foil though because I found that the foil was malleable and allowed me to wrap the paper around the bait better. But I have since found a better way, printing onto full-size sticker sheets without the tin foil. I think the foil adds a lot of unnecessary bulk to the lure. Here is my latest work in progress: This is the same image (with alittle photoshop tweaking) printed on to sticker paper without the foil and with 1 coat of D2T. I think there is a pretty big improvement in quality between these 2. I jut ordered Dick Nites and I am planning on adding 1 more coat of d2t to affix the eyes and a coat of the dick nites to finish it off. Oh, here is 1 more that I did using the first technique with a Rock Bass image. I will probably redo this one too with the newer technique: Thanks again for everyone's help and advice with this! - Zak Edited November 4, 2008 by LooksLikeSinbad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
21xdc Posted November 4, 2008 Report Share Posted November 4, 2008 (edited) Unreal............ Or real? Great idea. I wish I was better on the computer.. Edited November 4, 2008 by 21xdc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dramone Posted November 4, 2008 Report Share Posted November 4, 2008 looks great sinbad! just an other hint.... after the first coat of epoxy: if you sand down all the edges (foil, netting, sticker) an re-coat the lure, you will end up with smooth edges/finish. i.e. Tackleunderground Home - Luremakers Photo Gallery - some photofinish Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LooksLikeSinbad Posted November 4, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 4, 2008 after the first coat of epoxy: if you sand down all the edges (foil, netting, sticker) an re-coat the lure, you will end up with smooth edges/finish. Thanks for the tip. What grit sand paper do you recommend? Tackleunderground Home - Luremakers Photo Gallery - some photofinish Great work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rofish Posted November 4, 2008 Report Share Posted November 4, 2008 I was trying to help with a better photo finish starting from the same image, but after seeing your second photo finish, I think you know better than myself how to play in photoshop. Anyway, here are the images (I also modified the shape a little bit): As to the problem of recovering your bait in your first post, I think you got the best advice from DSV - just make another one. I think it is impossible to sand a photofinish without damaging it. As to solving the problem of Devcon beeing brittle, the best way, in my oppinion, would be to cover it with a less brittle clear. Try several until you find the best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LooksLikeSinbad Posted November 5, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 5, 2008 I jut ordered Dick Nites and I am planning on adding 1 more coat of d2t to affix the eyes and a coat of the dick nites to finish it off. I should have phrased this as a question. Do you guys think I should do a 2nd coat of D2T before the Dick Nites, or will a coat of DN adhere the eyes to the bait like D2T does? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captsully18 Posted November 6, 2008 Report Share Posted November 6, 2008 I should have phrased this as a question. Do you guys think I should do a 2nd coat of D2T before the Dick Nites, or will a coat of DN adhere the eyes to the bait like D2T does? A second coat of D2T is really your call. I would go strait to DN and probably coat 2-4 times. This stuff is so thin that several coats are not going to affect the weight, and each coat makes the finish look deeper and deeper. Just remember to get it on the turner asap so it can even out. Additional coats may be added in as little time as 20-30 min. Full cure will be 24-48 hrs. but if in a hurry may be fished sooner. Sinbad, for a finish like this I really like using Envirotex as a first coat vs. D2T. The envirotex is thinner, clearer, and will even out better. Only downside is that the envirotex is slightly more brittle than the D2T. But the DN provides a durable protection for all of it. By all means experiment and find what works best for you. You are gonna have your hardbaits looking as good as your lead in no time. David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A-Mac Posted November 6, 2008 Report Share Posted November 6, 2008 i've had one educated attempt at photofinish so far, with some good guess work too. I used 2 coats of D2T. These are the steps I tried. 1. glue photo down on bare balsa 2. ensure that the photo is as smooth against the bait as possible 3. first coat of d2t 4. sand rough edges at top and bottom of photo 5. apply paint to cover up photo edge 6. final d2t this worked well (once I get a good pic of my bait ill put it in gallery) and you can barely tell there is a photo edge there. From what I've experienced so far, its harder to blend paint on a photofinish (match colors/scale patterns) than it is to actually paint an entire bait. But its as real as it gets. BTW, really like the last bluegill bait you posted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LooksLikeSinbad Posted November 13, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 13, 2008 (edited) Thanks to everyone who advised me on repairing my first photo finish crank. But as expected I have abandoned those first 2 cranks and moved on. In the past week I have made some changes to my technique and I think the baits are progressing nicely. And I just got my Dick Nites in the mail and am experimenting with that too. Here are the 2 latest ones. I added a drop shadow to the gill plate to give some depth to it and I think the image is applied to the body better: I also tweaked the image and applied it to a similar but different crankbait body. This shape is more like the bill lewis rattle trap shape: I also applied the same image and technique to a 2 1/4" crankbait body. I don't like these eyes on it so I am going to get some different ones for the next version. I am psyched to see how this swims: Thanks again to everyone for helping me with this and everyone who has shared info, photos, tutorials, etc. Edited November 13, 2008 by LooksLikeSinbad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
