FrogAddict Posted February 3, 2014 Report Share Posted February 3, 2014 My apologies if this has already been discussed. I just made my first few cranks and I'm ready to topcoat with concrete sealer. The question I have is how to dip them with the lip intact? Should I just dip the whole thing? I have dipped many top waters but my addiction is spreading to cranks now. The wife is now quite concerned. She's getting a bit irritated with the amount of time I spend in the bathroom testing the cranks in the tub. Thank you in advance for any help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barr5150 Posted February 3, 2014 Report Share Posted February 3, 2014 I dip just the bait and hang them from the lip or the line tie. I try to keep the sealer off the lip as much as possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nedyarb Posted February 3, 2014 Report Share Posted February 3, 2014 I hang a paper clip on the nose of the bait. Dip it and hang it, wipe out the rear hanger with a rolled up paper towel. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougarftd Posted February 3, 2014 Report Share Posted February 3, 2014 Just dip it up to the bill...(I do not dip the bill)...hang it bill up. I use a disposable aluminum baking sheet to catch the drips. After about 5 minutes I sponge of the tail off. In about 3-4 hours I repeat ( I do this 4 times) and after about 2 weeks you should have a fully cured bait (That is my experience) Humidity and temperature will definitely have an effect on the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted February 3, 2014 Report Share Posted February 3, 2014 Just dip it up to the bill...(I do not dip the bill)...hang it bill up. I use a disposable aluminum baking sheet to catch the drips. After about 5 minutes I sponge of the tail off. In about 3-4 hours I repeat ( I do this 4 times) and after about 2 weeks you should have a fully cured bait (That is my experience) Humidity and temperature will definitely have an effect on the time. Have you tried using a hair dryer to speed up the drying process, once the bait has skinned over? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barr5150 Posted February 3, 2014 Report Share Posted February 3, 2014 (edited) A hair dryer, no. But what I did find is after the last coat has been on for a few hours if you throw the bait in water it helps cure it. Not sure what it does but I know it works. Probably sounds crazy but I do it with every round now. I stumbled across it a couple weeks ago. Basically I had a bait that I screwed up while clearing ( I dipped it then dropped it), being the GST melts into the paint it's real soft. When I picked the bait up I smeared the paint. It wasn't so bad that I wouldn't fish with it but I couldn't sell it. After all the baits in that run were cleared I started messing with hook combinations. I was curious how big of a hook I could run with which split rings and still have the baits from that run float. I grabbed the bait I dropped which was going to be mine anyway, threw hooks on it then into a bucket of water. I figured the bait was already screwed up already so if the clear got messed up who cares. When I took the bait from the water I noticed it was no where near as sticky as it was before it had gotten wet. I repeated the process about a dozen more times trying different hook combinations. It changed my whole process. Now I clear the baits 3 times times waiting 2 - 3 hours minimum between coats. After the final coat has set for 3 - 4 hours ( when I can touch it ) in the water they go. Towel dry, set the rings and hooks and hang for the night. I could easily package them the next day but I like to let them gas off for a few days to keep the smell of the bait down. Also, another thing I found is not to let the baits touch in the bucket. Their OK to touch the sides of the bucket but not another bait. The GST will stick to itself at that stage. Edited February 3, 2014 by barr5150 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougarftd Posted February 3, 2014 Report Share Posted February 3, 2014 I really have not...I am not a commercial painter...Time is not a huge issue...I really like the results if given the time to cure on it's own. In addition, don't really understand the chemistry of the gst and if the heat would be an advantage. Now that you have mentioned it I will have to give that a try next time I use it. I would be careful though...I believe that stuff is flammable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted February 3, 2014 Report Share Posted February 3, 2014 I haven't tried the GST, but the hair dryer cut down my recoat time with water borne urethane from Target to one hour instead of two, so I could get three dip coats on in two hours, instead of four, and fish the lure the next day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A-Mac Posted February 3, 2014 Report Share Posted February 3, 2014 I would not heat the lures. This is a little different order of operations, but I've had some where I dipped right after heat setting the paint (thinking a hot lure may help), the lure bubbled up from under the clear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArdentAngler Posted February 3, 2014 Report Share Posted February 3, 2014 How is this for doing nude baits? Couldn't come across much for wooden cranks. What about taping the lips before dipping? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reelentless Posted February 3, 2014 Report Share Posted February 3, 2014 I would not heat the lures. This is a little different order of operations, but I've had some where I dipped right after heat setting the paint (thinking a hot lure may help), the lure bubbled up from under the clear. X2 A-mac. Made that mistake just the other day but with epoxy! Had bubbles forming near the hook hangers. What a nightmare. I've dipped the lip and all in the past and i've found on some of my older baits the gst crinkled up a bit after time on the lip. It looked real nice the first few weeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougarftd Posted February 3, 2014 Report Share Posted February 3, 2014 (edited) It does really well for lures you want to preserve the grain in. There is one I did in the gallery...The grain really stands out. It was basswood. Edited February 3, 2014 by Cougarftd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobP Posted February 4, 2014 Report Share Posted February 4, 2014 Taping lips before clearcoating - I say don't do it, just dip a little past the nose of the bait so all the paint is covered. If you tape the lip, you have to remove it before the topcoat gets really hard or the tape will be glued to the lip. And handling a not-yet-dry bait to get the tape off is a good way to mar your finish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted February 4, 2014 Report Share Posted February 4, 2014 Amen to that Bob. That was one of the first lessons I learned. The hard way I might add. Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted February 4, 2014 Report Share Posted February 4, 2014 Awe, come on, a nice blue ring around the lip is a great "custom" feature! Hahaha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted February 4, 2014 Report Share Posted February 4, 2014 Awe, come on, a nice blue ring around the lip is a great "custom" feature! Hahaha Mark if that counts as a "custom" lure then I've got a trash can filled with masterpieces. Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrogAddict Posted February 4, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 4, 2014 (edited) Thanks for the ideas. I'll just put some GST in a jar with a larger opening and dip the lures horizontal and upside down. Seems to make the most sense. I've been dipping 3 times with min 2 hours between dips. I just put a fan on the area where the lures hang and leave them alone. I've noticed that when I put on the hooks and hang em back up (after 2-3 days of curing) the hooks sometimes stick to the lure but not enough to mar the finish. One thing I learned is not too mess to much with the hook hanger, just put a small wire on there to help with drips and clean up any excess after the lure has cured.I did have 2 lures crinkle but on both occasions, I was in a hurry when painting and I'm sure I didn't heat set my base coat well enough. They're still usable for sure. Just not pretty. Edited February 4, 2014 by FrogAddict Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
