aydensdad82 Posted March 17, 2014 Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 FYI post - So I bought some Solarez last week and have dipped a few lures with success. Like everyone else has mentioned before I saw a huge difference in the glossy finish I am accustomed to from Bob Smith, D2T, etc and the satin/matte finish provided by Solarez so I got curious about how to bring out some shine out. I spoke with the guys at Solarez this morning after another TU member (Mark P) had recommended picking their brain. The rep I spoke to immediately mentioned the fly tying version uses urethane instead of resin and gives a Dick Smith type finish in seconds. Well the problem is a 4 oz. bottle is close to $40, yikes. In order to bring a shine to the polyester resin version the rep mentioned buffing the bait with Maguiers #5 auto polish. There is actually a link on their site that shows how to do this with a surfboard. Same process for lures just downsize equipment to a rotary tool with a felt wheel. Here is the link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ow-Gwr6mLwU . I am going to give this a try later in the week and will let everyone know how it goes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nathan Posted March 17, 2014 Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 Somebody else here mentioned that after applying Solrez and curing it they give it a single dip in one of the concrete sealers to give it a shine...Nathan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobP Posted March 17, 2014 Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 I guess we've become accustomed to seeing high gloss crankbaits but after topcoating a few cranks with Solarez, I decided satin gloss is OK. At least, OK enough that I'm not gonna start buffing baits with auto wax. I had a miserable time trying to dip baits in Solarez - runs, sheeting, and white haze where the wax migrated to the tail of the baits when I hung them up to drip off the excess finish. What worked for me is to brush it on, then put the baits on a rotator for a few minutes to level out the finish and allow the wax to come to the surface of the topcoat. Then I either cure them in a nail salon UV light or just sit the rotator outside to cure while it's still running. I'm a patient guy but the thought of applying concrete sealer and waiting weeks for it to cure hard is beyond me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted March 17, 2014 Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 I guess we've become accustomed to seeing high gloss crankbaits but after topcoating a few cranks with Solarez, I decided satin gloss is OK. At least, OK enough that I'm not gonna start buffing baits with auto wax. I had a miserable time trying to dip baits in Solarez - runs, sheeting, and white haze where the wax migrated to the tail of the baits when I hung them up to drip off the excess finish. What worked for me is to brush it on, then put the baits on a rotator for a few minutes to level out the finish and allow the wax to come to the surface of the topcoat. Then I either cure them in a nail salon UV light or just sit the rotator outside to cure while it's still running. I'm a patient guy but the thought of applying concrete sealer and waiting weeks for it to cure hard is beyond me. X2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aydensdad82 Posted March 17, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 For my own lures I am fine with the satin finish from Solarez. The sexy gloss finish catches the fisherman though not the fish. My friends and people I have traded tackle with have been hooked by the high gloss finish and not the satin. I am going to try buffing a few but if it is as tedious as it sounds it defeats the purpose of using Solarez for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bass100 Posted March 17, 2014 Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 A bench grinder with a buffing wheel would probably only take less than a minute per bait and it would have no problem getting in all the small spaces. I do have some of these buffing wheels and the good ones that won't fall apart can get a bit expensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tritonchin Posted March 17, 2014 Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 I find that if I brush on solarez it does have a satin finish but not the haze I then spray a light coat of rattle can auto laquer on lure to make it shine they turn out real nice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inrll Posted March 18, 2014 Report Share Posted March 18, 2014 (edited) I first dipped in Solarez then buffed on a polishing/grinding wheel and that looked fairly good but as described above there was a good bit of haze built up at the tail of the bait which required extra buffing. Doing this worked fine but it would leave the bill of the lure with a blueish haze no matter the amount of buffing. I moved to brushing it on and this helped in getting a good thin coat all over without getting it on the bill. After curing the brushed on solarez I dip the whole thing in concrete sealer, bill and all, and it gives the Solarez a wet glossy look while also glossing out the bill getting rid of all the little scratches and scuffs. Before I picked up the grinder I tried a dremmel with a felt wheel on the slowest speed and it would sort of burn/melt the solarez no matter how careful I was to keep the wheel moving. Edited March 18, 2014 by Inrll Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bass100 Posted March 18, 2014 Report Share Posted March 18, 2014 We know that it can be buffed to a very glossy finish because we have a video showing us. I don't care about the shine so I won't figure it out but they do show in the video they are using a glaze polish. Maybe that is the key to keep the buffing wheel from burning the finish. It took him no time at all to put a beautiful shine on that whole board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inrll Posted March 18, 2014 Report Share Posted March 18, 2014 Totally agree Bass 100. I just wanted to caution against using a Dremmel. The angle grinder in the video or a bench grinder will do the trick though. As he said in the video, lower rpms are the key to not burning through it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted March 18, 2014 Report Share Posted March 18, 2014 Once upon a time, I had some cloth polishing wheels for my bench grinder. Are they still available? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobP Posted March 24, 2014 Report Share Posted March 24, 2014 BTW, something I noticed today about Solarez. If you pop the top of the jug and look inside, you'll see a bunch of very small wax flakes floating on top. The flakes rise to the surface in the jug and they do the same thing when you apply Solarez to a lure; in fact they are necessary for it to cure hard. They also cause the cured finish to have a satin versus a gloss finish. If you want a higher gloss finish, stir the Solarez up before applying it. You'll get fewer wax flakes and correspondingly higher gloss. There will still be enough wax to suffocate the chemical reaction and make for a hard slick finish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aydensdad82 Posted March 24, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 24, 2014 BTW, something I noticed today about Solarez. If you pop the top of the jug and look inside, you'll see a bunch of very small wax flakes floating on top. The flakes rise to the surface in the jug and they do the same thing when you apply Solarez to a lure; in fact they are necessary for it to cure hard. They also cause the cured finish to have a satin versus a gloss finish. If you want a higher gloss finish, stir the Solarez up before applying it. You'll get fewer wax flakes and correspondingly higher gloss. There will still be enough wax to suffocate the chemical reaction and make for a hard slick finish. Interesting. I will try that this afternoon as I have a couple to seal. I have noticed the flakes before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloomisman Posted March 24, 2014 Report Share Posted March 24, 2014 I have some that I can not get to harden. Even in Sunlight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted March 25, 2014 Report Share Posted March 25, 2014 One of my kids is home for a few days, on his way to grandma's house in O.C., and he and I just did some repair work on his surf boards with solarez. Worked like a charm. If you have some that won't harden, add a couple of drops of MEKP to help it set up. The best thing to do is to call Solarez/Wahoo Int., (760) 476-3559, and ask them for help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishnart Posted March 26, 2014 Report Share Posted March 26, 2014 I don't know man, sounds like Epoxy's a lot easier hahaha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobP Posted March 26, 2014 Report Share Posted March 26, 2014 Fishnart, we're just talking about the little tricks to get the best results from Solarez, as with any topcoat. There are a bunch of other tricks that apply to epoxy. Which is easier? I gotta say Solarez and it's also super fast since you can go from bare paint to ready-to-fish lure in 5-30 minutes, depending on how you cure it. No measuring, no mixing, no worry about it setting up too fast to brush, no waiting 24 hrs to harden, and hopefully no yellowing. But in the final analysis, all these topcoats we talk about will be judged on how they make a lure look and for how long. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inrll Posted March 26, 2014 Report Share Posted March 26, 2014 ....and hopefully no yellowing.... I hadn't thought about Solarez yellowing. So I just checked a few of my lures that I coated in Solarez almost a year ago and good news, no yellowing that I can see! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
