Devcon 2T re-action to salt

[Stickman Baits]

I found a couple of my paint jobs "tainted" . Looks like water under the D2T clear coat. I think that the box I had them in once had some salty handpoured worms in it. My question is will the salt or oil from soft plastic re-act with the d2T & cause a "blemish" ?? I'm dipping propionate then painting with createx and clearing with D2T on balsa if that info makes a difference to the process.

[BobP]

In my experience, voids under epoxy are usually areas where the clearcoat has separated from the lure because of bad adhesion or repeated extreme temp changes. Epoxy is pretty inert when cured. Some chemicals and dyes can leach through it but lots of saltwater baits are coated with it and do OK.

[hazmail]

This could also be caused by the propionate 'gassing off' if it was not sufficiently cured before coating (a few days). Having a lure in the sun would exacerbate this, and if the prop was thinned with acetone, it would probably attack the D2T above, maybe causing it to cloud and lift.pete

[Stickman Baits]

Thanks for the help. The odd thing I've noticed is the "blemish" is in the same spot on two baits, between the belly hook hanger & the tail hook hanger. I've also had some "dry" spots pop up even after carefully clear coating, could the D2T be covering a dry spot & not adhering to the paint, even thou I can't see it??

[Downriver Tackle]

If it was salt, oil, or plasticizers, it would be apparent on the surface of the clear first with a soft, hazzy, or chalky surface. If it's still transparent and delaminating, your problem is coming from underneath the clear. The culprit could be a number of things. Haz mentioned a very likely one. All water and/or solvents must be driven out before you clear or they will gas and build pressure under the clear until it lifts. Based on your "dry" comment, it has me looking at that, or the paint you used for color. If solvents are still coming out, the epoxy won't want to wet it out. What paints are you using? Some paints are meant as topcoats and have abrasion additives in there (silicone & wax) and epoxy doesn't like to wet those out either. Some areas may look fine, but will delaminate under adverse conditions, like heat. Last thing that comes to mind is that color paint again. If you are using a waterbased like Createx, and didn't heat-cure the paint before clearing, the paint is very susceptible to water. If you get a chip in the clear, the water will just soften the paint underneath and continue to migrate and lift the clear.

[Stickman Baits]

Downriver, I believe you've hit the nail on the head !!! Can you explain the heat curing process. Thanks To All without this site life would very tuff for me & many more.

[Downriver Tackle]

Downriver, I believe you've hit the nail on the head !!! Can you explain the heat curing process. Thanks To All without this site life would very tuff for me & many more.

Createx and Auto Air are self-crosslinking paints. Essentially, the catalyst is in there already, and doesn't react until it hits a certain temp. Then it's solvent and water resistant, to an extent, depending on the paint. If you search on here, you'll find all kinds of techniques for heat-curing your baits. Most use a hair dryer. I paint 20-60 baits at a time and built a drying cabinet out of a storage bin with a hole for a hair drier to sit in the center of the lid and hang baits from wood dowels in it. Remember though that the softening point for many plastics used in lures is around 140F-ish, so be careful. I've warped a few lures and bills with a 1500W hair drier set on high.

[BobP]

You can heat set the paint freehand with a hair dryer if you're doing a few baits at a time. I do it after every paint shot so I can move on to the next color asap. Two things to look out for. First, the air stream from a dryer can push paint around on the surface so start out with a gentle stream. Second, you can cause wet paint to crack if you dry it too quickly. If you look at fresh paint at an angle under light, you'll see it lose its gloss as the water in it evaporates under the low setting of a hair dryer. When the gloss is gone, you can turn up the heat/speed and finish it off in a few seconds.

[jigman2]

I found a couple of my paint jobs "tainted" . Looks like water under the D2T clear coat. I think that the box I had them in once had some salty handpoured worms in it. My question is will the salt or oil from soft plastic re-act with the d2T & cause a "blemish" ?? I'm dipping propionate then painting with createx and clearing with D2T on balsa if that info makes a difference to the process.

I too have experenced the same problem. I cured the problem by thinning the d2t with acetone, It dont take much and applied 2 coats. The acetone helps the epoxy soak in to the balsa and really works well.

Jigman2:twocents:

[Stickman Baits]

I have tried the acetone to thin the D2T but favored the denatured alcohol, I thin a quarter size mix on the bottom of a coke can with 3 to 4 drops. I do think that I'm not getting the heat set I need but things are gonna change. Thanks for all of you guys help. Vern