psilvers Posted February 5, 2012 Report Share Posted February 5, 2012 I have started clear coating my jigs with D2T. I do add a little bit of isopropyl alcohol to thin the epoxy before I coat the jigs. How do I get rid of, or prevent the small bubbles that I am seeing on the jigs? I have heard that CO2 from your breath will pop the bubbles. I have tried blowing on them, but I still get bubbles. I was hoping some of you guys could help. Thanks, Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psv Posted February 5, 2012 Report Share Posted February 5, 2012 Pete, After you jig were coated, wait 10-15 minutes and then just turn your source of heat (heat gun, in my case at 400F) on and run hot air around the jig head for a couple sec. All bubles will be gone in no time. One more thing: I warm the heads a little bit before apply epoxy on them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psilvers Posted February 5, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 5, 2012 Thanks PSV! I am going to try that. Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cadman Posted February 5, 2012 Report Share Posted February 5, 2012 Pete, One more thing: I warm the heads a little bit before apply epoxy on them. x2. You can aslo hit your mixed devcon with your heatgun, wherever you mixed it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psilvers Posted February 5, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 5, 2012 Thanks Cadman. I just tried the heatgun trick and it worked! I guess I will also have to try warming the jigs a bit. While I am at it - if a coat of D2T goes on thin, is it OK to put on another coat of D2T - or will that somehow mess things up? Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cadman Posted February 5, 2012 Report Share Posted February 5, 2012 Thanks Cadman. I just tried the heatgun trick and it worked! I guess I will also have to try warming the jigs a bit. While I am at it - if a coat of D2T goes on thin, is it OK to put on another coat of D2T - or will that somehow mess things up? Pete Pete, I prefer to heat the jig like PSV said earlier. It is much easier. Reason being is when you mix the hardner and the resin of the epoxy together you get a heat reaction. The heat reaction starts the curing process. So when you heat the mixed epoxy on a piece of foil or whatever, you are speeding up the curing time and as the epoxy cools it starts to harden giving you less working time. When you do it the way PSV mentioned you are heating the jig and not the epoxy. Also I don't thin my D2T, there really is no need to. I personally believe (just my opinion) that when you thin it it weakens the epoxy. Now the answer to you question is yes you can put another coat of D2T on an existing coat. I've done it 3 hours later, 2 days later and to me it didn't seem to matter. The only thing is if you wait too long, wipe off any dist particles on the jigs. When I first started, I screwed up some jigs with the D2T, so I lightly sanded it after it cured, put another coat on and it was crydtal clear and as good as new. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psilvers Posted February 5, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 5, 2012 Thanks for some more valuable info! I was thinking of rubbing the jigs down with some light steel wool and recoating the ones that had bubbles. I will try gently warming the jigs. Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smalljaw Posted February 5, 2012 Report Share Posted February 5, 2012 I never had a problem with bubbles in the D2T but I never thinned it out either. I always mix just enough to glue in about 10 weedguards then I go back and mix another batch enough to cover 10 jig heads. I do them in 10s as I've learned over the years that I can do 10 without a problem, I could do and have done 15 but by the time I get to 10 it is getting hard to use and rather than mess with it I just make small batches and believe it or not I waste very little, I got it down to the point I don't want to tweak it for fear I'll ruin a system I developed overtime that works for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psilvers Posted February 5, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 5, 2012 Thanks Smalljaw. I have tried thinning it a bit but I think I will skip that. Part of the reason that I was thinning is that I was trying to coat more jigs with one batch of mix. However, I am doing large jigs - most of my stuff runs 1.5 - 4 oz, but I also do some that are up to 8 oz. Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psv Posted February 6, 2012 Report Share Posted February 6, 2012 I usually mix small ammount of D2T, just enough to cover 5-6 heads 1, 1.5 or 2oz heads. The working time is really short before epoxy is started to set and it makes sence to work with small batches of D2T. I double coated my heads and first coat I let the epoxy set for 3-8 hours, then - second coat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted February 6, 2012 Report Share Posted February 6, 2012 I can see getting the bubbles to pop when coating jigs would be a much bigger problem that brushing it on a crank, top water, etc. On a larger surface a good, soft brush will help pop any bubbles. If you try thinning your D2T again you might want to try denatured alcohol. I'll add a few drops to a batch big enough to do one crankbait. Few more drops if I'm mixing a batch big enough to do two or three cranks. Three is about all I can do comfortably, but the denatured alcohol does extend the working time a little and it does make it easier for the bubbles to escape. I use D2T to seal wooden baits, but not as a top coat so if it does weaken the strength a little by adding denatured alcohol it's not that big of a problem for me. Hope you guys don't mind me wandering over into the "Wire Baits" section. good luck, Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psilvers Posted February 6, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2012 Thanks Ben - I certainly appreciate your input. I have been using a soft brush but I was still getting some bubbles. While watching the Super Bowl I warmed up a few jigs and coated them with D2T. Wow! Warming the jig really helps with brushing the D2T! A BIG difference in brushing the D2T on a warmed jig versus brushing it on a cool jig! It was almost like thinning the D2T by at least 50%! I also used the heat gun and I think I cut down on the bubbles. I will check it when it is pretty solid later tonight. Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psv Posted February 6, 2012 Report Share Posted February 6, 2012 Pete Let us know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psilvers Posted February 6, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2012 I didn't get a chance to check it late last night when it was completely dry. However, from taking a quick look at it while it was not sticky - but still not fully cured - I think it solved the problem. I will post more later. Note that warming the jig also made brushinf it on a LOT easier. Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psilvers Posted February 7, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 7, 2012 I just got a chance to look at the three jigs that I heated in a toaster oven (on warm -just about 100 degrees), clear coated with D2T, and then ran over the heat gun. They look good except for one jigs which appears to have small (very small!) bubbles on only one side. The other jigs look great! Has anyone tried using a hair dryer instead of a heat gun? Were the results any different? I would think that a hair dryer might be more effective than the heat gun because the force of the air is greater. Thanks for all of your help. Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted February 7, 2012 Report Share Posted February 7, 2012 (edited) A hair dryer doesn't come close to the amount of heat a heat gun puts out. A heat gun will not only dry your hair it will burn it off your head. If you have an object that is room temperature, say 70 degrees, and you have a heat source that is 100 degrees. It doesn't matter how fast that 100 degrees is transfered to the room temperature object. It's not going to get above 100 degrees. Now if your hair dryer is getting hotter than your heat gun it's time to get a new heat gun. Ben Edited February 7, 2012 by RayburnGuy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psilvers Posted February 7, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 7, 2012 A hair dryer doesn't come close to the amount of heat a heat gun puts out. A heat gun will not only dry your hair it will burn it off your head. If you have an object that is room temperature, say 70 degrees, and you have a heat source that is 100 degrees. It doesn't matter how fast that 100 degrees is transfered to the room temperature object. It's not going to get above 100 degrees. Now if your hair dryer is getting hotter than your heat gun it's time to get a new heat gun. Ben No wonder all that hair on the top of my head is gone!!!!! Ben, I was asking whetehr the hair dryer might be more effective because of the force of the air. Compared to my heat gun, the temperature of the air from the hair dryer is a LOT lower, but the force of the air is greater. So, is it the force or the air or the temperature - or both - that bursts the bubbles? Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted February 7, 2012 Report Share Posted February 7, 2012 Pete, It's the heat that's popping the bubbles for you. What happens is the epoxy gets more fluid when heat is applied and that lets the bubbles rise to the surface easier. I'm not saying a hair dryer won't work since you only need to raise the temperature of the epoxy enough to make it more fluid, but it has nothing to do with the force of the air. That's why warming your jigs before applying the epoxy made it go on easier for you. I've also been told that breathing on the epoxy makes the bubbles pop better because of the carbon dioxide in your breath, but the bubbles have to get to the surface before they can be popped and that's where the heat comes in. When I mix epoxy to cover a crank I mix it in one of those little graduated pill cups like they use in the hospital. And I mix the hell out of it not worrying about how many, or how big, the bubbles are when mixing. I add a few drops of denatured alcohol to thin the mix after the initial mixing and then stir the hell out of it some more. The few drops of alcohol thins the mix just enough to allow the bubbles to rise to the surface easier as well as extend the working time just a tad. I then hold the pill cup up to my mouth and slowly exhale into the cup with a wide open mouth. The combination of warmth and carbon dioxide in my breath pops all but the very smallest of the bubbles. The bubbles that are left are so small it makes the epoxy look cloudy as opposed to looking like it still has a bunch of bubbles in it. Application with a soft brush will pop these. I wouldn't suggest using a hair dryer or heat gun blown directly on the mix as this will only shorten the application time because this starts the curing process before you've had a chance to apply it. Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psilvers Posted February 7, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 7, 2012 Ben, Thanks. I was thinking that maybe it was a combination of both - the heat thinning the epoxy and allowing the bubbles to rise to the top and the force of the air flow then popping the bubbles. That is why I thought that the increased force might help. When I warmed the jigs in the toaster oven before coating with D2T, the warmth made brushing on the D2T a LOT easier. As I mentioned, it was much more effective at "thinning" the epoxy than actually adding alcohol as thinner. Thanks for YOUR help --- and thanks to all the other folks who provided help for me on this question. Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
