jigflipper Posted January 18, 2004 Report Share Posted January 18, 2004 Hi folks....I have a question regarding which clear coat would be best to use on hard topwater baits like Pop-R's, Spooks, etc. I repainted a Pop-R recently and was very proud of how it turned out. Coated with one coat of Devcon, but when the time came to try 'er out in the water, the danged thing slowly sank! "And then....depression set in"! Would Envirotex or something similar be better (i.e. lighter)? OR, I am just totally missing something here? Definitely wouldn't be the first time THAT'S ever happened!! Any input would be greatly appreciated! Jigflipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boatnik13 Posted January 18, 2004 Report Share Posted January 18, 2004 Its not your top coat > Its how you built it and what type of wood,hardware,ect. If its hardwood then What kind? What style lure? What was the lenth of the lure? what size hooks and how many did you place on the lure? I found that with solid wood lures > I can't go less than 4" in lenth for floating type lures and no less than 3.0" for any solid wood lure style. Unless your using softwoods (balsa,cork, ect.) they are a ease to dent. I work with solid wood only. Any assistance from me > just drop me mail!. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Siscoe Kid Posted January 18, 2004 Report Share Posted January 18, 2004 Yes it was the Devcon that made it sink. This is a high build resin product and problems as this can arise. Use Envirotex Lite. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boatnik13 Posted January 18, 2004 Report Share Posted January 18, 2004 Tell me SISCOE , how this is> A top coat sinking a hardwood lure? I can add alot of weight to sink a 7" or 8" top water bait. How is a top coat going to out weigh hooks,screws,weights & air voids? COURIOUS! I don't use the product but your answer well help understand the subject. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clemmy Posted January 18, 2004 Report Share Posted January 18, 2004 He said is was a repainted pop-r, which is not an unweighted hardwood bait. since you liked your paint job, but now it sinks, if you want to keep it you could try a lighter (and sharper) replacement hook...also, mono floats, so you could try using a bit heavier mono...personally i'd replace the hooks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mylures Posted January 19, 2004 Report Share Posted January 19, 2004 If I had a popper that worked and then sank after I refinished it, I would drill a hole or two in it if its made out of wood and then put a dowel in the hole just abit and cut it off, sand it smooth and again refinish it. This will make the lure abit lighter and also have an air pocket in it. I had a crankbait that would slowly sink but I wanted it to stay on top when not trolling. I drilled a 3/16 inch hole in it and then put a very small piece of 3/16 inch dowel in the hole and glued it tight, sanded it smooth and repainted it. It worked just the way I wanted it too. Thanks and good luck. I hope this helps. Ken Schmitz Mylures Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boatnik13 Posted January 19, 2004 Report Share Posted January 19, 2004 Thats a good Idea and if its bigger like the zarra spook also mentioned with pop-r > I have drilled and filled with plastic wood fill> creating a air pocket by blocking the hole with saw dust and plastic mixed.(Don't fill the holes, just cover it.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Siscoe Kid Posted January 19, 2004 Report Share Posted January 19, 2004 Luremakers in the know such as Clemmy know that Pop-r, spooks, etc. are made of buterate plastic not hardwood my friend. As suggested I can assure you Jigflipper that Enviotex Lite will be a topcoat that will please. It has it all. Excellent adhesion, high gloss and reasonably priced. Trust me Boatnik 13 I've tested all the epoxy coatings out there and this is the coating to use. Give it a try. I know you won't be dissapointed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jigflipper Posted January 19, 2004 Author Report Share Posted January 19, 2004 Siscoe is right, the lure was a Rebel Pop-R, which is made out of plastic. Guess I should have made that clearer in my original post. I have already replaced the original hooks with #6 EWG Gammy's. From now on I'll coat all (plastic!) topwaters with Envirotex. That's part of the fun of this hobby for me......learning as you go! This web site is AWESOME for a newbie like me, and I can't tell you all how much I appreciate all of the shared knowledge. God Bless, Jigflipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robertjp Posted January 19, 2004 Report Share Posted January 19, 2004 Is it safe to say that envirotex is better for topwater meaning its lighter and more boyant than decon???? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boatnik13 Posted January 19, 2004 Report Share Posted January 19, 2004 Sorry ! I mistaked the words " hard lures" as a wood lure product insted of a plastic lure from the very begining from the original write -up by jigflipper. I guess I was thinking like MYLURES and thats what we do. All my zarra types of lures and all my lures that I make are from solid wood NOT the original plastic. Thanks anyway for the advise CISCO!.My mistake. (Plastic and wood products are like day and night, what works for wood type may not be the best for plastic).) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clemmy Posted January 19, 2004 Report Share Posted January 19, 2004 I don't think it's an envirotex/devcon issue, if you already have the devcon, why not use it? dev is high build, enviro is less. All you should have to do is thin the devcon a little and it'll be a thinner coat. do a search on this site for thinning devcon, I haven't thinned it but I think people use alcohol or acetone. I just don't think their relative density is the issue but rather the thickness of the respective topcoat... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skeeter Posted January 21, 2004 Report Share Posted January 21, 2004 Your problem is several fold. But ol Skeet has been working on Pop Rs since 1986. We can get ya fixed up. First, are you a Pop R shaver? Shaving the lip is fine. It really only affects the popping action of the lure. If you sand the sides of the lure, then you are giving yourself alot of unnessary problems. Sanding the side of the lure thins the profile of the lure as it sits in the water and REALLY decreases the bouyancy of the lure. You are actually removing bulk that the lure needs to float. It also will kill the walk the dog action that you can get out of the lure. Since the sides are flatter and shoving more water, then the lure will not move from side to side as much as it is capable of. If done properly the face of the lure will give you all of the splash that is needed for this bait. Devcon probably did cause you the problem that you are experiencing. If you put a thick coat of it on the lure then you did add alot of weight to the bait. Use clear fingernail polish. It really is very tough and will hold up to abuse. It also works well on plastic cranks, thread on dressed trebble hooks, fishing rod wrappings, etc.... The next thing was the water temperature. Cold water is denser than hot, therefore, the lure sank. I will bet that the lure that sank will float come april or may. I will bet that there are alot of bait makers out there that have baits that will slowly sink sitting in there box right now. It is just that most folks don't fish when it is 16 deg. outside. Most of them will ever know it. I have taken all of my lures to extremely cold water to test them to know what it takes to make a lure for a customer that is either an all season crankbait or a seasonal crankbait. But for now you really do need a thinner, lighter, clearcoat. The sagging is caused because you are not spinning the lure long enough. I have posts on the site covering both temperature and spinning times of Devcon coated lures. Skeeter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
