dochollow Posted March 2, 2012 Report Share Posted March 2, 2012 i used the search, but came up empty. what is the best way to apply d2t. i have built a lure turner now how do i get the best results Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arkie Posted March 2, 2012 Report Share Posted March 2, 2012 Brushing is really about the only way to apply it. I mix enough to do 1-2 small to medium sized baits at a time. Start where the body meets the bill and work your way around the bait, adding d2t as needed to continue working your way to the tail-end of the bait. I use cheap paint brushes that you can buy at Wal-Mart in a 30 pack. Use the brush for a job, cut the brush end off and use the handle to mix the next batch, and so on. A clean area, thorough mixing and thousands of baits will teach you more than anything. Best of luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobP Posted March 3, 2012 Report Share Posted March 3, 2012 (edited) Ditto what Arkie said. If the epoxy is too thick, say if you are using it in a cool garage, you can mix in a FEW drops of denatured alcohol to thin it slightly. The alcohol will extend the brushing time a minute or two, will help the epoxy expel bubbles, but will not significantly retard the curing time. Most important: measure it accurately by volume and mix the heck out of it. Personally, I like to use a flat 1/4" wide artist's brush, which I clean thoroughly with lacquer thinner after use. When I started using epoxy, I occasionally missed a spot - which ruins the job and requires a complete re-coat to fix. You want to be systematic in how you work around the bait so you will not have any missed areas. Also, you don't want to be re-brushing areas. Keep your brush wet with epoxy so you won't be dragging a dry brush and causing bubbles. It's not like painting something with paint - think in terms of smoothly spreading the epoxy over the lure. I epoxy around the lip, then around the hook hangers, then start at the top and work all around the lure, brushing from nose to tail at all times. And I only mix enough D2T to coat 2 bass lures at a time. I don't worry about getting epoxy in the hardware - you can zip it out after curing with a small drill bit or piece of stainless wire chucked in a Dremel. Edited March 3, 2012 by BobP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassguy Posted March 3, 2012 Report Share Posted March 3, 2012 Same here. Nose to tail, nice even brush strokes. If the epoxy gets in the hook hangers (and it does) I use a small wire brush on the dremel to clean clean up the hangers and line tie, it makes them nice and shiney. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted March 3, 2012 Report Share Posted March 3, 2012 When you start doing a few baits you will see what everyone is talking about. Once you've done it a few times, deal with some of the problems and possibly screw up a few times you'll begin to get a feel for it and before long you'll be putting on glass smooth coats. Good luck. Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crankpaint Posted March 3, 2012 Report Share Posted March 3, 2012 also use a hair dryer and run it over the bait to get rid of the air bubbles and smooth the d2t Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishnart Posted March 3, 2012 Report Share Posted March 3, 2012 @Bobp-I never realized that but does dragging your brush over dry areas cause bubbles? I do that sometimes by accident. I HATE bubbles and there are times I can't get them out no matter how hard try. Do any of you know if theres a difference in using lauquer thinner to thin the epoxy vs. the alcohol??? I'm very anal and this is what I do to save money, it s a real pain in the arsh but it works for me. I do all of the same abve but I use popsicle stix to mix it. Right after I mix a batch I wipe the stick off and reuse it. I have a little cup of lauquer thinner and once I've epoxied my bait I wipe my two mixing cups out, pour the thinner in them and clean my two cups and brush off really well. I get many many uses out of my cups and brushes this way. This is only for the most anal money saver I know lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OSScustom Posted March 3, 2012 Report Share Posted March 3, 2012 Everyone covered brushing, so I will throw my two cents in on mixing. I puchase D2T in the 9oz bottles, buy the cheap medicine dispensing syringes at Wal-mart ( the ones with the bottle plug). These little kits are about 2 bucks and will ensure you get equal amounts of epoxy and hardener every time and also helps you work clean. I tried the dual tube at first but could not always get a consitent measurement and ended up wasting alot of epoxy. To cover two medium lures (under 4 inches), I draw enough epoxy to fill the syringe to the top of the "L" in 1ml after I push the air and excess back into the bottle add 2 small drops of DA and then start brushing. ( read the guys above. They got it I can add nothing) Hope this helps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dochollow Posted March 3, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2012 thanx, all. very informative. i tried my first bait last nite, very good learning expirence {missed spots, to thick, etc}. do you coat the bill on repaints? & im using swivels on my turner, how can i stop the lure from flip floping while drying? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saltshaker Posted March 3, 2012 Report Share Posted March 3, 2012 I have tried thinning my epoxy with acetone and lacquer thinner, but, never had much success. Didn't seem to extend my working time at all. In fact, it appeared to make it less. After almost giving up on epoxy altogether, I got some denatured alcohol and tried it. It made a world of difference. So much easier to spread and, instead of doing 2-3 lures, I have done as many as 5-6 small cranks with the same amount of epoxy. Tell ya what, tho...you'll know when it's time to stop. I've found that when I dip my brush and it lifts my mixing cup off the table when I try to pick it up...it's time. Anything past that is gonna be trouble. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saltshaker Posted March 3, 2012 Report Share Posted March 3, 2012 thanx, all. very informative. i tried my first bait last nite, very good learning expirence {missed spots, to thick, etc}. do you coat the bill on repaints? & im using swivels on my turner, how can i stop the lure from flip floping while drying? Oh, Lord!!! I'd like to know the answer to that, myself. Scares me to death everytime one moves a little. I don't have too much trouble with cranks, but, jerkbaits and topwaters are a problem with my setup. Gotta figure out something else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobP Posted March 3, 2012 Report Share Posted March 3, 2012 (edited) Fishnart, some things about the "art" of epoxying baits are hard to describe. If you have too little epoxy on your brush, that can lead to missed spots, fisheyes, and creating bubbles. You want all your brushing to feel nice and smooth as far as the "touch" of the brush as it spreads the epoxy. That requires that you keep the brush loaded at all times. It's not like painting a wall. More like smoothing icing on a cake. What to thin it with: like saltshaker, I've tried the same solvents and denatured alcohol works best. Acetone evaporates too quickly. Lacquer thinner, being an "undefined mix of various solvents" has occasionally caused my epoxy to fail to harden. When I hit on denatured alcohol, I found it helps epoxy level out and de-bubble, extends the brush time moderately, but has never caused any hardening problems. I use it in cool weather to get the brushing viscosity I like. In hot weather, D2T is thin enough to use without. One thing I don't like when brushing epoxy is DRAMA. I don't want to worry about whether I can brush epoxy on X number of lures before it gets too hard and I start screwing up the lures. Get in a hurry and you will eventually screw the pooch. For me, that means doing 2 lures at a time - rarely 3 if they are small and I'm feeling frisky. Is it more of a hassle if I have a dozen lures to coat? Yep. Don't epoxy the lip on a repaint! You won't like the way it looks or the way it yellows. Edited March 3, 2012 by BobP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arkie Posted March 3, 2012 Report Share Posted March 3, 2012 dochollow & saltshaker Swivels? What kind of turner set-up do you have? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted March 3, 2012 Report Share Posted March 3, 2012 (edited) Here's another little tip about brushing epoxy around diving lips. If you tape off your lips while painting be sure to take the tape off before you apply epoxy. If you don't it can be a beast to get that little bit of tape off right next to the body of the bait as it invariably gets just enough epoxy on it to make it part of your top coat. Don't ask me how I know. The easiest way I've found to apply epoxy around the diving lip is to hold the brush at a 90 degree angle to the lip and apply pressure against the body of the bait until it makes the brush flare out a little. Then ease the brush down until it barely touches the lip. This ensures you get the lure totally covered and leaves the smallest amount of epoxy right at the base of the lip. Ben Edited March 3, 2012 by RayburnGuy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dochollow Posted March 3, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2012 Swivels? What kind of turner set-up do you have? i built it from plans from another site. between the wheels their is a wire attached to a swivel on one side, and a spring attached to a swivel, the clip on the swivel is what the bait attaches to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted March 3, 2012 Report Share Posted March 3, 2012 (edited) I would do away with the swivels. Keep the spring and just bend some short pieces of wire into "S" shaped hooks. Attach the spring to one side of your turner and a loop to the other side. Use one "S" hook to attach your lure to the spring on one side and another "S" hook from the lure to the loop mounted on the other side of the turner. Depending on how your springs are shaped you may be able to attach the lure directly to the spring. This should get you going without having to completely redesign your turner and it should be a cheap, easy fix. Ben Edited March 3, 2012 by RayburnGuy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OSScustom Posted March 3, 2012 Report Share Posted March 3, 2012 I use christmas ornament hangers, the good ones with the green plastic coating and carburator springs for R/C cars I picked up at a local hobby shop. The springs have an open hook end and a closed loop. these two items allow me to adjust tension as necessary to ensure the bait does not flip-flop while turning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishnart Posted March 3, 2012 Report Share Posted March 3, 2012 Get'n me some alcohol tomorrow...thanks and then I"m gonna get some for my epoxy hahahaha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mordy Posted March 4, 2012 Report Share Posted March 4, 2012 Alll good advice above. I warm the epoxy bottles in warm water before I start 10-15minutes, draw up epoxy with one of my two syringes (no needles) (one has a band of red tape on it Hardener) I depress the epoxy out of the syringe back into the bottle and re draw with out any large bubbles. Put equal portions into a mixing container, mix well, coat as above, then check it under a bright light to make sure there are no missed spots, give it a blast with the heat gun (Dont cook it!!!) remove from grippers and then connect to spinner. I hold my crank baits with an elastic band with wire loop on one end and a just a wire loop on the bib end. I usually have the wire connected to the bib end before I epoxy. Last time I was fiddling with the bib wire and the whole freshly epoxyed bait few across the garage sliding on the filthy floor Just left it there and carried on, came back to it, gave it a wipe and recoated, then back on the spinner. Turned ou the best !!! Have fun, work inside the limitations of the epoxy, if you are working too long on one batch it will start to clag up. The fresher the better and more fluid. When all baits are on the spinner I pour a small sample of the mix to the side so I can check its curing process. Pour some acetone into a jar draw some up the syringes and give them a clean then clean my brush with acetone then hot soapy water. I then pull up my seat and have a long well deserved cold beer and watch the spinner go round. Tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pizza Posted March 4, 2012 Report Share Posted March 4, 2012 (edited) I coat one, occasionally two cranks at a time. Now i use etex, but before that i used d2t. I mix in the bottom of a pop can. Wipe off printed letters/numbers with solvent( i use epoxy thinner). Squirt in d2t(used the $2 ones from wally world with the dual plunger). Now i use etex, either the 8 oz kit or 16 oz kit, i just pour a little of resin and hardener in (eyeball method). Then i pour a little a little epoxy thinner in. I use more than most on here, probably 10-15 drops, but that is a guess. Next i stir with a wiha brand micro flathead screwdriver for about 2 minutes, sometimes longer. When it gets to the viscosity that i want to apply i apply with wiha screwdriver. I will have a butane torch handy and will sometimes use it to smooth things out before it goes to turner. This is mostly on larger lures that take longer to coat. Not the quickest way, but It works for me. Can can be reused multiple times. Edited March 4, 2012 by pizza Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nc cranker Posted March 4, 2012 Report Share Posted March 4, 2012 Seems like almost everybody does it the same way. I can't add any different technique but I can tell you how to be cheap. I save the containers from the the little cheese & cracker snacks. I use the container to mix the d2t in and the plastic stick that comes with it is useful for mixing . Use the small section of the container , less area = easier mixing & less waste of epoxy.I use flux brushes, just pull out any loose bristles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basstech5 Posted March 4, 2012 Report Share Posted March 4, 2012 A tip I read about when I first joined this board 4 or 5 years ago, if you do find you have a holiday or small part where the paint is exposed, you can mix a little dab of 5 minute epoxy and just lightly dab it on the exposed area of the bait and use scotch tap, the cloudy stuff not the clear and just place it over that area and let it sit an hour to make sure the 5 minute has set up well enough. Remove the tape and it apears seemless. If done perfectly you can't see there was a "repair". That way you don't have to start all over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saltshaker Posted March 5, 2012 Report Share Posted March 5, 2012 Fishnart, some things about the "art" of epoxying baits are hard to describe. If you have too little epoxy on your brush, that can lead to missed spots, fisheyes, and creating bubbles. You want all your brushing to feel nice and smooth as far as the "touch" of the brush as it spreads the epoxy. That requires that you keep the brush loaded at all times. It's not like painting a wall. More like smoothing icing on a cake. What to thin it with: like saltshaker, I've tried the same solvents and denatured alcohol works best. Acetone evaporates too quickly. Lacquer thinner, being an "undefined mix of various solvents" has occasionally caused my epoxy to fail to harden. When I hit on denatured alcohol, I found it helps epoxy level out and de-bubble, extends the brush time moderately, but has never caused any hardening problems. I use it in cool weather to get the brushing viscosity I like. In hot weather, D2T is thin enough to use without. One thing I don't like when brushing epoxy is DRAMA. I don't want to worry about whether I can brush epoxy on X number of lures before it gets too hard and I start screwing up the lures. Get in a hurry and you will eventually screw the pooch. For me, that means doing 2 lures at a time - rarely 3 if they are small and I'm feeling frisky. Is it more of a hassle if I have a dozen lures to coat? Yep. Don't epoxy the lip on a repaint! You won't like the way it looks or the way it yellows. Bob, I still get nervous when doing epoxy. In fact, I'm so nervous that I can't remember to put the eyes on first about half the time. I lay out the lures that I want to coat and it doesn't matter if it's 2 or 22...I still find myself tryin to get 'em all done. I've finally realized my limitations, so, maybe things will get better. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crankpaint Posted March 5, 2012 Report Share Posted March 5, 2012 A tip I read about when I first joined this board 4 or 5 years ago, if you do find you have a holiday or small part where the paint is exposed, you can mix a little dab of 5 minute epoxy and just lightly dab it on the exposed area of the bait and use scotch tap, the cloudy stuff not the clear and just place it over that area and let it sit an hour to make sure the 5 minute has set up well enough. Remove the tape and it apears seemless. If done perfectly you can't see there was a "repair". That way you don't have to start all over. i see you use 5 min epoxy to fix the bad part only thing wrong is 5 min epoxy its not waterproof the 30 min d2 is waterproof so water can get to the paint Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobP Posted March 5, 2012 Report Share Posted March 5, 2012 (edited) I wouldn't use 5 min epoxy because it really looks ugly after awhile. It doesn't just yellow, it turns brown. I won't even use it to mount lips in lures because of that. Edited March 5, 2012 by BobP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
