balsa butcher Posted June 18, 2009 Report Share Posted June 18, 2009 I painted 6 baits with Createx paints, heat set them, and clear coated with Flex Coat high build yesterday. I checked them tonight and there are several small "craters" or dimples in the finish. They are all pretty much perfectly round and about 1/16" in diameter. They are just a depression in the clear coat and there is not any paint exposed. Have any of you guys experienced this or have any idea what would cause this? Can I put another coat over it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atrophius Posted June 18, 2009 Report Share Posted June 18, 2009 I am not a pro by any means, but the only thing I can think of is maybe to thick a coat. Uneven drying will dimple the surface. Hopefully someone will give ya some more definitive info Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spoopa Posted June 18, 2009 Report Share Posted June 18, 2009 There may of been some air bubbles in your epoxy and when you laid it down on the bait the air bubbles slowly rose up and now you have a small hole. That is my experience with epoxy that is not thinned out, Im not saying that you cant get a good clean finish with unthinned epoxy its just that it is harder. Now i thin my epoxy and the air bubble come out much quicker and when a bubble comes out on the bait the epoxy just goes back over the hole. And yes it will be safe to put on another coat of epoxy. Goodluck, Jacob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobP Posted June 18, 2009 Report Share Posted June 18, 2009 That's called a fisheye and can be caused by a little grease/oil on the lure surface when you apply the epoxy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
balsa butcher Posted June 18, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 18, 2009 Thanks, guys. I don't know how I could have gotten any oil on the baits, I am always careful. I had heard of guys putting 2 coats of D2T on their baits but wasn't sure about the Flex Coat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Posted June 18, 2009 Report Share Posted June 18, 2009 I ve been using Flex Coat for years. The best way I ve been able to get a good finish is a two coat process. The first one is as thin as I can get it on, The second is sort of a medium coat. You do have to wait at least over night for the second coat but it seams to go on so much nicer than the first one did. When you recoat if you do it within 24 hrs you dont need to sand unless there is a piece of dirt or something. As for air bubbles just a little heat to break surface tension and they will pop. Hope this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spoopa Posted June 18, 2009 Report Share Posted June 18, 2009 Thanks, guys. I don't know how I could have gotten any oil on the baits, I am always careful. I had heard of guys putting 2 coats of D2T on their baits but wasn't sure about the Flex Coat. One way a bait could of gotten oily is from the oil that your body produces, so your nose may of had an itch you scratched it then touched your bait and now you got just a lil bit of oil on there. Thats just another reason to use gloves while applying epoxy also the main reason is so you dont build up an allergy for that stuff. Goodluck, Jacob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benton B Posted June 18, 2009 Report Share Posted June 18, 2009 2 coats are required to give you good solid clear coat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palmetto Balsa Posted June 18, 2009 Report Share Posted June 18, 2009 Balsa Butcher, What are you using to seal your balsa with? If balsa is not sealed perfect there will be little tiny holes that don't even get covered when you are painting. These will draw air in or let air out when you are topcoating and can cause the fisheye problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
balsa butcher Posted June 19, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 19, 2009 @ Palmetto Balsa...... I am using propionate like I have for the last one and a half years or so and I love the stuff. I did fail to mention that the last layer of paint was a Golden Fluid Acrylics brand cut in half with Golden Airbrush Medium. Don't know if that stuff might have reacted somehow with the epoxy or not, but being acrylic I wouldn't think so. I did use latex gloves when I clear coated them, so I find it hard to believe I got oil of some sort on them, especially since there was six that did it. I lightly sanded them and did a light rub down with dna, and put a second coat on this afternoon. I will keep my fingers crossed and see how they are in the morning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spoopa Posted June 19, 2009 Report Share Posted June 19, 2009 I did use latex gloves when I clear coated them, so I find it hard to believe I got oil of some sort on them, especially since there was six that did it. I lightly sanded them and did a light rub down with dna, and put a second coat on this afternoon. I will keep my fingers crossed and see how they are in the morning. Cool cool, thats just one more thing you can cross off your list of possibilities. But that is weird that you did six baits and just one did that to ya:?. Well i hope that you second coat comes out good! Goodluck, Jacob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
balsa butcher Posted June 19, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 19, 2009 @ Spoopa........... all six of them had those craters, some worse than others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vodkaman Posted June 19, 2009 Report Share Posted June 19, 2009 How are you mixing your flex coat? Problems have arisen in the past if you use the wrong cups, due to wax coatings. Syringes sometimes have a lubricant inside that causes problems. Latex gloves only work as long as you do not touch your face (as mentioned previously. It is easy done without thinking. Every time a wear my full face mask, my fingers always poke into the glass a couple of times, as I forget and try to touch my face. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
balsa butcher Posted June 19, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 19, 2009 I only use Flex Coat syringes and the little clear plastic Flex Coat cups. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Posted June 19, 2009 Report Share Posted June 19, 2009 Your second coat will be fine.I wish I knew how to get the look im after in one coat but I just settle on doing two coats. Since I started using water based paint the crater problem has gotten worse. It seems worst on pearl than any other color. When I clear the lighter colors have more problems than the darker ones on the same bait. Another time it seems to get worst is when i use the reducer to thin some colors. In that case I just put on light coats. Not so easy with flex coat but it can be done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
balsa butcher Posted June 19, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 19, 2009 It's 6:37am and I just checked the baits. They all came out great except for the gnat that flew into one and got stuck. I might try experimenting with mixing a little Deep Woods OFF in with the Flex Coat next time. Now I'm off to the lake for a week! Thanks everyone for your help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Ron Posted August 25, 2013 Report Share Posted August 25, 2013 I ve been using Flex Coat for years. The best way I ve been able to get a good finish is a two coat process. The first one is as thin as I can get it on, The second is sort of a medium coat. You do have to wait at least over night for the second coat but it seams to go on so much nicer than the first one did. When you recoat if you do it within 24 hrs you dont need to sand unless there is a piece of dirt or something. As for air bubbles just a little heat to break surface tension and they will pop. Hope this helps. What do you use to thin with? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Ron Posted August 25, 2013 Report Share Posted August 25, 2013 What do you use to thin with? Thanks I love Flex Coat High Build, but I have been having a problem with the coating of the bills, so I stopped coating the bills on my Crank and Jerkbaits, because they always puddled and looked bad. Any help will be appreciated. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobP Posted August 25, 2013 Report Share Posted August 25, 2013 I think epoxy looks great on a lure body but it always looks crappy on a clear diving lip, whichever brand and however you apply it. The only clearcoat I know that looks good on a lip is dipped Dick Nite S81 MCU. Sprayed auto clearcoat would also probably look good. I think it's just the nature of the beast. JMHO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
