Matador Customs Posted January 31, 2013 Report Share Posted January 31, 2013 Very cool stuff, I've been following this thread and reading all the positive feedback and I'm Ready join in on the fun. I'm buying the light bulb someone mentioned earlier, the GE 18 inch. Can someone chime in on how this stuff works on pvc swimbaits or wood swimbaits. I make some three piece baits that tend to eat away the d2t at the joints, will solarez hold up to that abuse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anglinarcher Posted January 31, 2013 Report Share Posted January 31, 2013 I am not sure that anyone can answer that for your lures. Word has it that it is as hard as D2T, but less brittle. My joints hold up just fine with ETec, but the lures show hook rash. Can't wait for my goop to show up now to try it myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anglinarcher Posted January 31, 2013 Report Share Posted January 31, 2013 (edited) All black lights are NOT equal......be careful..... Yes, your point is well taken. That is why I asked questions of this site to begin with. I wish I knew the answer to this one myself. Edited January 31, 2013 by Anglinarcher Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted January 31, 2013 Report Share Posted January 31, 2013 Very cool stuff, I've been following this thread and reading all the positive feedback and I'm Ready join in on the fun. I'm buying the light bulb someone mentioned earlier, the GE 18 inch. Can someone chime in on how this stuff works on pvc swimbaits or wood swimbaits. I make some three piece baits that tend to eat away the d2t at the joints, will solarez hold up to that abuse. Read Post #289 on this thread. Mark gave his opinion of how it held up on his swimbaits. Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jwags Posted February 1, 2013 Report Share Posted February 1, 2013 My Solarez was to arriver yesterday...then I got a message from Fed-Ex that the package was damaged and being returned. I'm dying to try this stuff!!! jeremy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
castncall Posted February 2, 2013 Report Share Posted February 2, 2013 finally got mine ordered yesterday, we will see if I can swing it in a tanning bed without getting killed by the wife, has anyone tried to use this on soft plastic? I have painted some big swims for a guy but the clear I use never hardens on it had it hanggin for 3 months and still sticky to the touch! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crzyjunyer Posted February 2, 2013 Report Share Posted February 2, 2013 mine arrived about a week ago and i finally got a chance to use it this morning. I had no trouble brushing it on and i liked the much much longer working time over devcon. I normally use auto clear but this was alot cheaper and easier to apply and clean up than auto clear. No mixing, spraying, flashing, and repeat for multiple coats and then complete breakdown and cleaning up on the airgun. With the soarez i simply opened the bottle, used a cheapo disposable brush and set outside to cure. It cured in a few minutes still and its an overcast and mild temp day (50's) here. The only problem i noticed was a lil bit of buildup on the bottom of the lures after curing form me possibly brushing it a bit to thick on some. After curing i got out some previously painted and cured lures with similar or the same paint colors and the solarez shows up the pearls and things just as well as the auto clear did and was basicly almost as glossy to me, and had a smooth finish as well. I think next time i will be setting my cure board on a mirror so it can reach all sides at once instead of me trying to flip it over, and dropping a lure off like i did today. I am very impressed and happy with it so far. If it holds up well this season to actual fishing use it will definitly be my new top coat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joetheplumber Posted February 2, 2013 Report Share Posted February 2, 2013 Any reports on how well in holds up to sharp teeth yet? Does it run away from the sharp edges on pop r's and rattle traps like epoxy does? Just read all the pages in this thread for the 4th time and now I'm really not sure on what clear coat instead of etex................mcu-solarez.....mcu-solarez.........mcu-solarez Thanks to all you of you guys who have done so much test and tune with this stuff and all the other lure products that get used. It's been a big help with my learning the in's/out's do's and dont's of lure painting and building. This place is great. Thanks again....................................Joe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nedyarb Posted February 3, 2013 Report Share Posted February 3, 2013 The only color I don't really like it on is black. The waxy build up stands out much more, but other than that I like it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
biggamefish Posted February 3, 2013 Report Share Posted February 3, 2013 guys any ideas on how to build a curing box for a GE black light? all i got is a case for the black light, the black light itself and a little micro-wave motor, trying to dry a 8" 2 piece swim bait Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted February 3, 2013 Report Share Posted February 3, 2013 (edited) Castncall, Put some paper towels under your lures when you put them in the tanning bed, just in case. Solarez sets rigid, so I doubt it will work on "soft" plastics, unless they are truly rigid to begin with. Biggamefish, I cure my four piece swimbaits in sections, and then assemble them. This stuff cures really fast, and doesn't need to be turned. Just coat it, let it hang over your work bench for a minute or two, remove any drips or bottom buildups with a paper towel, clean out the hook hangers, and then, once it's stopped any accumulations and dripping, put it under the UV light for three minutes, turning it every thirty seconds. Solarez seem to take enough of an initial set while hanging over my bench to let me clean up any bottom drips, edge buildups, and hook hanger closures before I hand it in my nail light box, without further sagging in the light box. Joetheplumber, I don't know how it holds up to sharp teeth, but it doesn't "run away" from the edges of my lures. It is viscous enough, like honey, to stay on the edges. Crzyjunyer, I hang my lures after I've either dipped them or brush coated them to drip off the last of the excess. I use a paper towel to remove any drip or build up on the bottoms of the lures. Once it's stopped accumulating, I put the lure into the nail light box. Like you, I brush it on larger pieces that I can't dip, and it works great. The first time I did it, I worked too fast, like I was dealing with D2T, so I wound up with uncoated areas, but I was able to apply a dab more over the dry spots and it filled in fine. After that, I realized that I had enough working time to brush it out really well, using a 3/8" artists fine bristle brush, and the results have been great. Edited February 3, 2013 by mark poulson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted February 3, 2013 Report Share Posted February 3, 2013 I want to say something to guys just starting out, or who are still struggling to find the "perfect" top coat. Over the years, I have gone through a bunch, from rattle cans to epoxies to urethanes. You can probably find me posting on every top coat thread for the entire time I've been a member here, trying to find the right one for me. If I had found Solarez when I first started, I would have saved myself a load of time and money. Solarez is very user friendly. In coating your baits, remember, incandescent lights and regular fluorescent lights don't put out enough UV to initiate the curing in Solarez, so do your coating indoors, and then either put the lures in a UV light or take them outside and let them cure. The smell and fumes are minimal. I work in my garage, with the big door open, and don't use a fan while I coating. I have a hanging area on my work bench, with three layers of paper towels beneath it to collect any drips, where I hang my dipped and brushed lures before I cure them in the UV light. The drips on the paper towels are still soft and gooey the next day, so the interior lighting doesn't have enough UV to make it set. That gives me plenty of time to make sure the lure has stopped dripping, which it does, and to clean up any excess that's built up on the bottom hook hanger, or bottom edge of my swim bait sections. You can clean your brushes, tools, and hands with acetone when you're done. I use a nail light box turned with the mouth facing up. I cover the light box when it's on with a paper towel to protect me from the UV light, and wear UV protected sun glasses when I'm loading and turning the lures if the light is on. This may be overkill, but I have had protein growths in both eyes from working in the sun with no UV protection, so I'm careful. I haven't made any lures for toothy critters for a long time, so I don't know how Solarez holds up for them, but, so far, it's held up to largemouth and big stripers with no problems. I hope this helps you decide to try it, and, no, I am not sponsored by Solarez. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crzyjunyer Posted February 3, 2013 Report Share Posted February 3, 2013 thanks for the tip mark, i am definitly going to keep using the solarez myself too. One thing else i came across just now this morning while putting the hooks on was one a few of them the drips got into the hook eyes and set up in them. This stuff is derfinitly harder than the auto clear i was using. Normally with it i could just use the split point on my split ring pliers and give it a twist and the eye was clear. Today it took a lil more force and a few times it chipped back more than just the eye as well and got into the body some around the eye, exposing my paint some. I had two i needed to retouch up after closer inspection so i just added them to the ones to be retouched up with solarez. Over all still happy with it though and cant wait to fish with it some and see how it holds up on rock sea walls and other rip rap - which is my favorite spring fishing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CedarLakeMusky Posted February 3, 2013 Report Share Posted February 3, 2013 Probably would help to drill the eyes out if they fill up with Solarez. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted February 3, 2013 Report Share Posted February 3, 2013 Probably would help to drill the eyes out if they fill up with Solarez. I agree. I had to drill out some ballast after I coated two swimbaits, and found the top coat added 3 grams. The Solarez drilled really easily, and didn't chip. I have had to clean it off hook hangers, and it is a pain. That's why I hang whatever I coat for five minutes+-, to let whatever wants to drip drip, so I can clean it off with a paper towel and then hang it in the UV lights. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anglinarcher Posted February 5, 2013 Report Share Posted February 5, 2013 I have painted some big swims for a guy but the clear I use never hardens on it had it hanggin for 3 months and still sticky to the touch! I have a suggestion for you. I suggest you watch the last third of this vido. The applicable parts of this are from minute 6:23 through 8:03. Good luck and good painting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atlasstone Posted February 7, 2013 Report Share Posted February 7, 2013 Great thread... I think I'm going to try this as well. For the issue with curing longer baits, one might try using the nail dryers but stack them on top of each other as opposed to having all the bulbs facing each other. You could use something as simple as a childs mobile to spin the bait which would ensure that it was cured evenly and it would allow for the slow curing method mentioned in the thread since roughly half of the bait would remain unexposed (is that a word?) at any given time. When not curing long baits, it would be just as easy to clamp it back together with the bulbs facing each other for smaller cranks. Just a thought... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
biggamefish Posted February 8, 2013 Report Share Posted February 8, 2013 how long are you guys letting the solarez cure? for some reason it's taking longer than 3mins to cure my baits on the GE black light, If I do the 30 secs on each side for 3 mins it still has a sticky touch to it, if i let it sit on the light for 3 mins straight it feels much harder but its still not cured, it takes more like 10-15 mins to cure the solarez with the GE black light, if i lay it out in the sun it cures much faster but takes about 5-8mins or so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matador Customs Posted February 8, 2013 Report Share Posted February 8, 2013 how long are you guys letting the solarez cure? for some reason it's taking longer than 3mins to cure my baits on the GE black light, If I do the 30 secs on each side for 3 mins it still has a sticky touch to it, if i let it sit on the light for 3 mins straight it feels much harder but its still not cured, it takes more like 10-15 mins to cure the solarez with the GE black light, if i lay it out in the sun it cures much faster but takes about 5-8mins or so. Same here, used it for the first time last night , im using the 18 inch ge bulb also. Its Taking at least 15 minutes and its also kinda soft. I'm thinking of making an enclosure around my lure turner And covering the inside with aluminum foil before I break down and buy two of those nail lights. Lights join them together Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nedyarb Posted February 8, 2013 Report Share Posted February 8, 2013 Dries in 2-3 minutes in the nail dryer! Have not tried the 18" light Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brent R Posted February 8, 2013 Report Share Posted February 8, 2013 CedarLakeMusky.....posted on page 11 of this thread that he was using the black light and his was curing in about 3 minutes....might want to check with him to find out just how he is using it...I know the black light is not as strong as the finger nail dryer so you might need to put the bait close to the light...just my guess....like i said ask CedarLakeMusky....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thad Posted February 8, 2013 Report Share Posted February 8, 2013 I got my Solarez two days ago and did some testing. I poured a thin layer into an aluminum dish and used the nail dryer to harden it. When it finished i took it out of the dish and it was obviously not clear. It was clear with an almost marble effect of cloudiness. I tried it on a lure and got the same result. I have been putting it in the nail dryer with 30 second intervals until it is hard. I was so excited for this stuff. Need to figure out what I am doing wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nedyarb Posted February 8, 2013 Report Share Posted February 8, 2013 I tried it on foil too, with the same results! It is not really clear, but it looks better on lures. I just dont like it on black lures, because the waxy look really stands out more. But bright colors I barely notice the waxy look. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nedyarb Posted February 8, 2013 Report Share Posted February 8, 2013 Also, the thinner you put it on the better it looks. If dipping it seems like the longer it hangs, the better it looks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EdL Posted February 8, 2013 Report Share Posted February 8, 2013 I have a favor to ask - when you post about Solarez would you also say which specific product you are trying out? They offer several products and I'm having a hard time figuring out which one everyone is trying. They offer vinyl, poly-ester, clear gloss, etc. Some of you have said which ones you've tried and what you experienced. And that's cool. I can decide if the results are the kind I could use or should avoid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
