Painting Process...worth The Expense

[KelpKritter]

After a bit of a hiatus from building my resin jointed swimbaits for anyone but myself I am back in the game a bit as I have had a good number of requests for the baits to be available again.  With that said I am pouring a good number of baits to offer soon to those who have asked.  Like many of you I am always looking for the optimal painting and top coating option for the home builder.  The saltwater calico bass that we target with these baits have a nasty set of sharp, heavy grit sandpaper like teeth that definitely  leave a mark.  I have used a number of topcoats and inevitably there is always a failure.

 

I have talked to pro-staffers and tackle store owners in SoCal who are intimately involved with some of the major swimbait players and two themes seem to always come up. First, the topcoat is always the biggest challenge for bait makers that are not at a corporate level using whatever it is they use. Second, even the most popular jointed baits have trouble keeping sharper edges at the joints free from chipping and other wear. Both of these are frequently talked about here and we would all wish to avoid these issues.  I have used MCU's, epoxies, etc. over water based acrylics and some baits have held up better than others with epoxy finishes being out, at least for me.

 

Following is a Facebook post and picture of one of my baits finished with epoxy.

 

This is what remained of my Kelp Kritter bait after a recent trip to Clemente. Dave
makes a great bait and after 2 straight hours of non stop 4-6lb fish,
including doubles and near triples, the bait was destroyed yet still
swimming straight and catching fish. Good times!

 

 

I have never had an MCU bait get nearly that beat up.

 

So here is the question and what I am considering after reading up some more here and visiting the local Sherwin Williams Automotive and talking with their paint tech. Using a adhesion promotion product like Bulldog they then recommended a flexible solvent based primer.  The rationale was that they would etch into each other and the adhesion promotor into the bait giving a solid base.  The resin bait is pretty slick even when scuffed first. The use of of the water based acrylics would not be an issue. Finally, I am going to give the solvent based concrete sealer a go and if I am not satisfied will go back to Dick Nites, which has given me the best finished product.

 

The downside to this approach is what seems like a higher cost as the Bulldog runs $27.00 for a single aerosol can and a quart of the primer is $53.00. Probably get a good number of baits from the primer but not sure about the aerosol can of Bulldog.

 

Any thoughts or experience with similar products would be great.

 

Thanks,

 

Dave B.

KelpKritter

[wchilton]

I think you're on the right track.  The pic looks like an adhesion problem onto the resin and not so much a paint or topcoat issue.  I'd first try just the bulldog adhesion promoter on the resin bait and use the same primer/paint you already have.  You might not need the more expensive primer.  Amazon has bulldog adhesion promoter in 1-qt (non aerosol) cans for about $33.