Devcon2T Questions From A Beginner

[Timp2]

I am new to lure making and in the process of finishing up my first jointed wake bait. I have several questions regarding devcon as sealer. First of all is it sufficient by itself in sealing my basswood wake bait? Also do I need to do a first coat before adding hook eyelets and the bill? And lastly, how many coats do I actually need to apply all together? I appreciate any help, like I said I am a beginner and I have no problem forming good looking lures but have no clue how to seal them.

[mark poulson]

When I made wooden baits, I would shape, add the bill, hook hangers and line tie, and then seal the wood, so I could float test it for my ballast testing.  That way, I got an accurate reading of what my lure would actually be like in the water.  

I would put on the trebles and all the split rings, float it in a bucket of water, add split shot or egg sinkers to the tines of the trebles until I got it to float or sink like I wanted, then drill ballast holes in the belly of the lure and epoxy in my ballast.  I would bondo over the ballast holes and sand it smooth, and then paint and topcoat.

Remember to subtract anywhere from 1 to 3 grams of ballast to allow for your paint job and top coat, depending on the size of your lure.

If you are using D2T as a sealer, try adding a couple of drops of denatured alcohol to it AFTER it's completely mixed, to thin it a little so it penetrated more into the wood.

[fishon-son]

marks right...good luck young gun..nice bass   post that picture of your bait.

[BobP]

Seal the wood with one coat of epoxy before painting the lure, so the wood grain will not be raised by your water based paint.  I use D2T slightly thinned with denatured alcohol for this.  One coat of D2T should be fine as a topcoat.

 

When to add the hardware is player's choice.  I put in the ballast, hook hangers, and line tie just after the final sanding, then seal/undercoat and paint the lure, then mount the lip, then topcoat everything.  I use a piece of scrap lip material as a "false lip" by which I handle the bait with locking forceps while applying the finish.  It's handy and keeps sprayed paint out of the lip slot - and you don't have to tape off the lip to prevent over spray.  Drill the accumulated paint out of the line tie and hook hangers with a micro drill bit in a Dremel tool after the lure is topcoated. 

[Timp2]

I was considering staining it because I am making a rat wake bait, would that change the process at all?

[mark poulson]

I was considering staining it because I am making a rat wake bait, would that change the process at all?

If you want to stain your lure, you'll need to do it before you seal the wood.  The sealer will prevent the stain from reaching the wood.

Finish sand your lure, and then stain it.  If you use an oil-based stain, that will provide a little sealing, but not as much as D2T.  But wanting the grain to show through requires some compromises.  There are some stains available that are also supposed to be a sealer, so the grain is locked for future sanding and smoothing.  I find that wet sanding with fine sandpaper and some of the original stain as the liquid, after the first coat of stain is dry, works to replace any stain that's removed during the sanding.

I'd suggest you make a test lure that you can use to figure out lip angle, amount of ballast and position, and hook hanger locations.  That way, when you make your "real" lure, you can eliminate all the trial and error that would ruin your final stained lure.

Good luck.

[djhaddix]

Not to hijack this post, but I have a question for BobP.  After you add all of your hardware with the exception of the lip, and then undercoat the lure, are you concerned about getting D2T into the lip slot when there is no lip?  Is this something you have worked out where you know that a certain width of lip slot plus the D2T makes for a snug fit for the final lip installation, or do you just not put D2T into the lip slot on your initial basecoat?  I would love to start doing lures without installing the lip when I do my hardware for a cleaner presentation, just never could figure out how to go about doing it.  Thanks and sorry for the hijack (if any!).