tassiedevil Posted February 15, 2014 Report Share Posted February 15, 2014 Hi can anyone help please, some opinions would be great. I have got a couple lures out of about 20 that have formed a bubble on the side and it looks like it is under the paint. The lures did get exposed to some sun and heat on my last fishing trip. but it was only 2 lures that formed the bubbles on the side of each lure. This is how i make my lures. After carving the lure i sand and seal with super glue then sand smooth. now i seal the lure in pc-clear epoxy and let set hard for about 3 days. when the epoxy has gone off hard, i sand it to make sure it is smooth and the paint has got something to take to. Then i paint with auto acrylic paint. Once the paint has set hard i then clear with 3 coats of envirotex lite epoxy. I'm not sure what could be causing the bubbles. could it be the pc-clear epoxy im using and it has lifted from the balsa, should i change to just using the envirotex epoxy after i seal with super glue. Or could it be that i didnt prime over the epoxy before i started painting. Has anyone els had this problem and what steps do you take to not get these problems. Some help would be great thankyou Regards Adam. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassguy Posted February 15, 2014 Report Share Posted February 15, 2014 The only thing that may have made this happen, is possible oil from your fingers on the surface of the bait. It may have kept the paint from adhering to the epoxy. It may be a stretch, but a possibility. Good luck Adam. Jerry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobP Posted February 15, 2014 Report Share Posted February 15, 2014 I would get a blade under the bubble and see where the finish delaminated from the lure. If it's between the auto acrylic and the epoxy undercoat, the paint might not have been completely dry when topcoated, or you may have an underlying fault in the epoxy undercoating where the lure tried to expand and forced out air, creating a bubble. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted February 15, 2014 Report Share Posted February 15, 2014 The paint not being fully dry is the first thing that came to me. Ben 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tassiedevil Posted February 15, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2014 Thanks for your help guys. The paint not being fully dry was my thought to. it only happend to the last batch i finished and i was in a rush to finish them, so that could of been the problem. Also do you put primer on the epoxy before painting the auto acrylic on. I have never done it before and had no problems. But just a thought it might of had something to do with the problem to. Like jerry said it could of been oil off my fingers but i normally have gloves on all the time. I think it just comes down to me rushing the last batch of lures. I might just have to sit back and do this and wait LOL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vodkaman Posted February 15, 2014 Report Share Posted February 15, 2014 Your system is very good, about as good as it could be. You did not mention heat setting the paint, which would make life easier for you at the painting stage, as well as improving the integrity of the paint. You say that it only happened with this batch and that you did expose this batch to the sun. I think that you have nailed the problem right there. The pressure build-up due to heating will be very high. The fact that the bubbles appeared on the side of the lure, is more evidence to this cause, as the flatter side surface is the weakest part of the lure when exposed to internal pressure. The seal coat of epoxy is very hard and inflexible. I believe the two lures that failed may well have cracked under the pressure. You could test out this theory by doing a 24 hour soak test of one good lure and one failed lure. Weigh both on an accurate gram scale before and after. If the bubbled lure increases in weight more than the 'good' lure, then the seal coat has cracked. Sealing with Etex would help prevent this happening in the future, as it has more flex than other epoxies. The best solution however, is to keep the lures out of the direct sunlight. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted February 15, 2014 Report Share Posted February 15, 2014 I never use a primer after sealing with epoxy. There's really no need to and it adds another step to the process. All you have to do to give the paint something to "bite" to is lightly scuff the epoxy with 400 or 600 grit sandpaper. This will rough up the surface and make the paint adhere better. Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tassiedevil Posted February 15, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2014 What is the best way to heat set my paint. I normally spray a light coat on the lure then hang it up in front of a fan heater on low setting and move onto the next lure and so on untill i get back to the first lure and repeat untill i have fully coated the lures. Then i will leave the lures hanging up for about 2 days before i put top coat epoxy on. Also do you recommend that i use envirotex epoxy instead of the pc-clear epoxy to seal the lures in. Adam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted February 15, 2014 Report Share Posted February 15, 2014 (edited) I use a two "speed" hair dryer, on the lower setting, on each coat, to get the moisture out before I shoot the next coat. If you're happy with the PC-clear epoxy, there's no reason to switch to Etex, which has to be turned for at least 8 hours before it sets well enough not to sag and drip. Edited February 15, 2014 by mark poulson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobP Posted February 15, 2014 Report Share Posted February 15, 2014 Anytime I get an air bubble in a finished lure, my first assumption is that it was caused when my undercoat failed to stop air from escaping into the paint when the underlying wood was heated. Missing a spot, sanding too much epoxy away, or applying it too thinly might be the culprits. Alternatively, if you heat an epoxy undercoat enough, it can cause the epoxy to soften and an air bubble to form beneath it if the epoxy has not adhered well enough to the underlying wood. That's why I recommended cutting into the bubble to find out where the failure occurred. When you do, the problem and its solution should be more apparent. As far as Etex versus other brands, there once was a lot of controversy on TU about Devcon Two Ton (D2T) versus Envirotex Lite (Etex). I've used both. Etex contains solvents, is thinner viscosity, and takes much longer to cure. Its fans say it is more resistant to cracking and chipping than D2T. Probably so, but JMHO, there's not enough difference among epoxies after they're cured to quibble about, especially when used for undercoating. The critical thing in undercoating is to insure you get complete encapsulation so there are no areas where air can be forced out when the lure is heated during normal use. A coating of D2T, only slightly thinned, has worked fine for me - and it cures much faster than many epoxies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted February 16, 2014 Report Share Posted February 16, 2014 (edited) If you continue to have problems try heating your lure blank before applying the epoxy. This will cause the air inside the lure to expand before the epoxy is applied. This will also make the epoxy easier to apply since the heated lure blank will thin the epoxy somewhat thus making it easier to apply. Obviously this only applies to wooden lures. Ben Edited February 16, 2014 by RayburnGuy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tassiedevil Posted February 16, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 16, 2014 Thanks for your help guys. I think i found what the problem was. I had sanded the epoxy to thin which in turn caused it to lift under the paint when it was in the heat. Because there was a couple of lures that when i was sanding the epoxy getting ready to paint i remember thinking to myself that it looked very thin, but did nothing about it and went onto painting. I should not of been so slack and just put another coat of epoxy on the lures. Guess i will just remeber that for next time when im not happy with something (fix it) But on a good note i caught 15 trout in the one day on the lure that had the bubble on it LOL. Thanks again for your help. Adam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vodkaman Posted February 16, 2014 Report Share Posted February 16, 2014 Good job posting the result - we all learned something Dave 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
