A-Mac Posted April 4, 2013 Report Share Posted April 4, 2013 I got a sample of their cast resin to try. Since (from what I recall) you only have to add mekp to it too. Not sure how it will work with filler, but that's why I got a sample. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloomisman Posted April 24, 2013 Report Share Posted April 24, 2013 When I cure the jigs I make I am getting a sticky result. I've even cured it outside all day while I was at work. I'm doing something wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted April 24, 2013 Report Share Posted April 24, 2013 When I cure the jigs I make I am getting a sticky result. I've even cured it outside all day while I was at work. I'm doing something wrong. Are you painting your jigs before you coat them, and, if so, with what? Solarez will make solvent based stuff run. I coat any solvent based sharpie work with a coat of clear gloss createx, or a dip in water based urethane, before I dip in the Solarez, to provide a barrier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloomisman Posted April 25, 2013 Report Share Posted April 25, 2013 I sure am. I have been powder painting them. Then put on the eyes. Proceed to coat with the solerez. I wonder if it is the powder coat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A-Mac Posted April 25, 2013 Report Share Posted April 25, 2013 You might try rubbing the finish with denatured alcohol to remove any impurities or oils. Also, try the solarez on a piece of aluminum and let it cure. If you are having the same sticky result with different surfaces, then you may have a bad batch. I would call Solarez and see if they have any recommendations before you jump to that conclusion though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A-Mac Posted April 25, 2013 Report Share Posted April 25, 2013 Solarez tip: I dipped some cranks the other day. Let them hang for about 5 minutes. Wiped out the eye screws. Then flipped the lure over and let it hang upside down for a minute. Flipped the lure back over for about 30 seconds. Then hit it with the light. I seemed to get a more even finish doing this. In addition, this was my best looking batch yet. These had the "glossiest" appearance so far. However, I'm still experimenting with the headlight restorer product. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad Moose Baits Posted April 25, 2013 Report Share Posted April 25, 2013 Solarez tip: I dipped some cranks the other day. Let them hang for about 5 minutes. Wiped out the eye screws. Then flipped the lure over and let it hang upside down for a minute. Flipped the lure back over for about 30 seconds. Then hit it with the light. I seemed to get a more even finish doing this. In addition, this was my best looking batch yet. These had the "glossiest" appearance so far. However, I'm still experimenting with the headlight restorer product. Ya know, I was thinking about using this very technique. Glad to see someone else had the thought and tried it! Personally, I really like this stuff. I know it isn't as glossy as epoxy but it goes on thinner and is pretty tough. Also, I love being able to fish right away with a bait I just painted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloomisman Posted April 25, 2013 Report Share Posted April 25, 2013 You might try rubbing the finish with denatured alcohol to remove any impurities or oils. Also, try the solarez on a piece of aluminum and let it cure. If you are having the same sticky result with different surfaces, then you may have a bad batch. I would call Solarez and see if they have any recommendations before you jump to that conclusion though. Thanks! I'll try it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A-Mac Posted April 25, 2013 Report Share Posted April 25, 2013 Thanks! I'll try it. Also, try brushing it on. I've noticed on some surfaces that brushing it on (and brushing into the surface pretty hard) helps with the coverage on when curing. I do this more so on unpainted resin bodies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KelpKritter Posted April 28, 2013 Report Share Posted April 28, 2013 Got a batch of Solarez to see how it holds up to SoCal saltwater gamefish. Started by making a simple drying rack to set in the sun. Applied the Solarez to the first swimbait by dipping and hanging to drip with a few rotations for about five minutes and then set outside. The bait had a slight pooling on one edge even though it was not noticeable prior to curing. The second bait I brushed and although it appeared to have some minor visible brush strokes they were not evident once cured. Brushing was actually quicker and cleaner overall than dipping. Once out in the sun they were set up in a few minutes, overall a very quick and clean process. Now the big question will be durability. Every top coat that I have used that was hard enough to withstand the fish has had a problem with chipping and subsequent peeling at the edge where the segments clack together. We will see how the Solarez holds up next weekend when they hit the water. One additional note. There was a slight bit of the fisheye effect on one section of the bait. It was only over a portion with the same color on each bait. The paint itself did not lay down well during painting so I think it was somehow contaminated and this may be the reason behind the issue. So far so good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quickdraw Posted April 28, 2013 Report Share Posted April 28, 2013 After playing with Solarez a little I've found that even though it will setup in a few minutes it is no where near fully cured and hardened. I was sealing a new swimbait with it today and used the leftover to put on a piece of scrap wood. After 5 minutes I could still peel it off of the wood with my fingernail. The surface seemed hard but the bond directly where it penetrated the wood was still soft and it separated. When I let it cure in the sun for another hour the surface was even harder but the bonding point where it had penetrated the wood was solid. It was truly bonded to the wood. I also used MEKP in this batch. I put 1 drop in around 1oz of Solarez. This was the first time I have used MEKP and I was curious how long it took to set and harden. I was brushing the Solarez on the new bait and also did some repair to some other baits I was refinishing and repairing. The Solarez was still usable for at least 30 minutes before it got goopy. I kept it out of the sun and after 4 hours it had solidified to a firm gel consistency and after 8 hours was more solid but still a little wet to the touch. I would imagine it would take 16 to 24 hours to fully cure but even then I would still want to wait a few days before trying to continue working with it. Sunlight does a much better job but when trying to use Solarez directly on an unsealed surface or any situation where it may not get hit with UV's I plan to use MEKP in addition to UV curing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted April 29, 2013 Report Share Posted April 29, 2013 Quickdraw, Do you find that once the curing starts it continues even without the UV or does it need to be continually exposed to UV for the curing to continue? Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quickdraw Posted April 30, 2013 Report Share Posted April 30, 2013 Quickdraw, Do you find that once the curing starts it continues even without the UV or does it need to be continually exposed to UV for the curing to continue? Ben If you are talking about only using UV's then it needs continued UV exposure to fully cure. I think I may have underexposed a few baits in the past as the Solarez peeled off way too easy. The MEKP continued to cure but it is taking a long time to get fully cured. In the future I will use MEKP as an insurance policy for anything that gets into areas too difficult to get good UV exposure and still "overexpose" it to sunlight to get it as hard as possible. I'm getting a good feel for Solarez and have come to the conclusion that it is best applied above 75* and given as much UV exposure as possible for at least a few hours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quickdraw Posted April 30, 2013 Report Share Posted April 30, 2013 Quickdraw, Do you find that once the curing starts it continues even without the UV or does it need to be continually exposed to UV for the curing to continue? Ben I believe that Solarez cures from the outside in. When it is exposed to UV's for a few minutes it will setup on the outside but the bonding point where it contacts the paint or wood isn't fully set or bonded. As the curing process continues the bonding point will continue to cure even to the point where it may have penetrated slightly. I have recently become a fan of "over exposing" it for up to several hours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted April 30, 2013 Report Share Posted April 30, 2013 Thanks for the heads up Quickdraw. I just recently received my Solarez and that will help me avoid some of the issues you've already dealt with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted May 1, 2013 Report Share Posted May 1, 2013 (edited) I recently contacted the folks at Solarez to ask a couple questions about their product. One of the things I asked about was if the level of the container I received was normal since it appeared to be only a little over half full. I was told that the jug was actually a liter sized container and that was one thing that would lead to it appearing to be less than full seeing as how a quart is a bit smaller than a liter. The other thing he told me was that some of the "head space" was intentional so the inhibitors would have oxygen to breathe. He said that if filled to the top the resin would cure in a matter of days. I thought this might be important to some of you who might be dividing your Solarez into smaller containers for storage or dipping. Hopefully this information will keep some of us from having unneeded headaches. One other thing he mentioned was that the weight of Solarez was about the same as water. Just in case anyone was interested. Ben Edited May 1, 2013 by RayburnGuy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nathan Posted May 1, 2013 Author Report Share Posted May 1, 2013 Thanks for the info. Ben..Nathan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted May 1, 2013 Report Share Posted May 1, 2013 So does that mean that, even though Solarez adds weight to a lure when it's applied, it doesn't affect buoyancy, because it's the same weight as water? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted May 1, 2013 Report Share Posted May 1, 2013 My pleasure Nate. That's what I would think Mark, but my memory being what it is I can't be 100% sure. I do remember this was discussed before with Dave explaining the why and why not. Maybe he won't mind revisiting this topic again as I'm not sure how to even word a search for it. Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quickdraw Posted May 3, 2013 Report Share Posted May 3, 2013 Somewhere in all of the info I read it says that oxygen is a good thing when it comes to Solarez as opposed to about every other type of finish out there. I have 3 liters of it and plan to periodically open each container to switch out the air to keep the Solarez fresh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
archeryrob Posted May 3, 2013 Report Share Posted May 3, 2013 On a surface lure any coating the weight of water that is above the water line will affect the bouyancy. How much depends on how big the lure, how much its out of the water and how heavy the prevoius sealer was. I would think the part before the surface would act nuetral for weight in its affect on bouyancy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted May 3, 2013 Report Share Posted May 3, 2013 On a surface lure any coating the weight of water that is above the water line will affect the bouyancy. How much depends on how big the lure, how much its out of the water and how heavy the prevoius sealer was. I would think the part before the surface would act nuetral for weight in its affect on bouyancy. That makes sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TCC Posted May 10, 2013 Report Share Posted May 10, 2013 What type of solarez are you using? I am trying to find it on their website and they have multiple products. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad Moose Baits Posted May 10, 2013 Report Share Posted May 10, 2013 Well I had been dipping/waiting with my Solarez and had been happy with the results. Recently I tried brushing it on and I am MUCH happier with that technique. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TCC Posted May 10, 2013 Report Share Posted May 10, 2013 Mad Moose which Solarez product are you using, is it the fly fishing resins? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
