matt duarte Posted February 27, 2009 Report Share Posted February 27, 2009 ok well on a nice long test run on my proto 8" trout swimmie, the swim test went well as did the sinking of the bait. but what i noticed is that the bondo i used to fill the tops of the holes i drilled for the weights started to crack (note: on testing i let it hit the walk way around my pool a few times for the beat up test) none of the weights fell out they are epoxyed in, just used the bondo to fill the rest ans smooth out.. so is there anything else i could used that would be "tuffer" than he bondo? maybe just add more hardner<------not sure if that would work just throwing it out there.. thanks, matt duarte Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Birdman Posted February 27, 2009 Report Share Posted February 27, 2009 Hello Matt, You're in luck. There are lots of wood fillers on the market but the one I find that works the best is also one of the most expensive. It's perfect for small runs of baits but cost prohibitive for anything beyond that. It is made my Minwax and is called High Performance Wood Filler. It's a two part system and even smells like bondo. It sets up very fast and can be sanded in minutes after being applied but will shrink on occasion. If so, apply a second coat. Be sure to prime your baits or it may bleed through your paint jobs. Good Luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobP Posted February 27, 2009 Report Share Posted February 27, 2009 You might try a 5 min epoxy putty stick. It doesn't shrink, adheres well and is ready in a few minutes. You slice off a thin piece of the epoxy log, knead it for about a minute and push it in the hole. Smooths with a finger and can be sanded in a few minutes. It's not a solution I'd pick for volume lure production but it works fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FishPA Posted February 27, 2009 Report Share Posted February 27, 2009 I'll second the epoxy putty! That stuff saves me from alot!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted February 27, 2009 Report Share Posted February 27, 2009 Sounds to me like you didn't mix it well enough. I've found that, the more hardener I add, the more brittle it is. But, even with a lot of hardnener, there's not much shrinkage that I can see. There are solvent based wood fillers, like Famowood, that don't shrink and are water proof, but they will absorb water, so you have to seal them with crazy glue before you test swim your lure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RiverMan Posted February 27, 2009 Report Share Posted February 27, 2009 Hard to beat Bondo from my experience. If it didn't stay in place you may have not given it enough space to grab. If you try to put it into a really shallow hole it or on a mostly smooth surface it won't work very well. Give it another try, bondo is great! RM:yay: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt duarte Posted February 28, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2009 thanks guys! ill try that mixwax stuff.. maybe some bondo experaments Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...