LnkrHntr Posted October 24, 2014 Report Share Posted October 24, 2014 Can a hair dryer be used to accelerate the curing/drying time of Devcon 2 Ton epoxy topcoats, or are the fumes too flammable for the heat source? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaw Posted October 24, 2014 Report Share Posted October 24, 2014 Epoxy cures and hardens due to a chemical reaction between the two parts the hair dryer will only blow the epoxy around causing an uneven finish although I have used one to get rid of some air bubbles when the epoxy is gasing off but others who have more experience at using d2t should have a more detailed process Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bass100 Posted October 24, 2014 Report Share Posted October 24, 2014 When I use to use D2T I put them into a hot box I made. I won't say that heat speeds up the cure but anything below 80 degrees slows down the cure. I tried above 80 degrees and it turned my epoxy into water. Buy some insulation board at Lowes (about $13 for a 4' by 8' sheet) and get a $20 mini heater at Walmart. Make sure you can get a heater that you can turn the fan on or off. Make a box and put everythin in it. I use the insulation board that has the aluminum foil on both sides. The nice thing about a hot box is once you get your times down you know exactly how long it takes to cure your baits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobP Posted October 24, 2014 Report Share Posted October 24, 2014 Heat is the only thing that speeds epoxy cure and you need to rotate the baits while they are being heated or the epoxy will drip and sag. Since D2T only takes about 5 hours to become hard enough to lightly handle, i've never felt the need to acclerate. Its cure. But guys who do say that putting the lures in a box with a hundred watt light buld (are those still sold?) while under rotation can half that time. To me, it just makes more sense to let it cure at room temps. The more "tricks" you try in lure building, the more likely you are to screw it up. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cadman Posted October 24, 2014 Report Share Posted October 24, 2014 I will agree with BobP. let it cure at room temp. It will cure in 24 hours if you used the correct proportions and mixed it well. The only reason I would warm not heat the epoxy is to be able to spread it on easier and that would be to warm the epoxy before it is mixed. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HAWGFAN Posted October 24, 2014 Report Share Posted October 24, 2014 Can a hair dryer be used to accelerate the curing/drying time of Devcon 2 Ton epoxy topcoats, or are the fumes too flammable for the heat source? Have you had any curing issues? I'm with the other guys on this. I see no need to speed it up. Provided you get the ratios correct, and mix well, D2T is pretty fast. It really only needs to turn on the wheel for an hour or so before it's set and won't sag. If the results we've mentioned aren't what you're seeing, the issue isn't in the epoxy itself. I'm sure you had a reason to ask the question. With a little more info we might be able to provide more help. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LnkrHntr Posted October 24, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 24, 2014 Thank you, guys, for your responses. This is the first time I've tried lure making and the topcoat has me pretty nervous. I've not used epoxy before, so I don't know if it runs like regular super glue (which I used as a sealer before priming) or if it is more like super glue gel. I used the hair dryer to help dry the seal coats and my paint. I am not sure about the epoxy, though. Also, thanks to the threads here, I found that brushing is the preferred method of application and to clean my brushes with denatured alcohol. Once I get my first two lures topcoated, I'm sure the ones that follow will not be as nerve racking for me. I just don't want to ruin my first ones! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wchilton Posted October 24, 2014 Report Share Posted October 24, 2014 D2T is not as runny as super glue but more runny than the gel. The things to be most careful about when using it are to start with equal portions of the two parts (by volume), then make sure and mix it COMPLETELY. Secondary consideration is to make sure the lure is clean before topcoat. If you've touched it with hands, just wipe with DA and let it dry off for a minute or so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bass100 Posted October 24, 2014 Report Share Posted October 24, 2014 If your winters are as cold as mine here in PA then you will find the heat box will be a big help. Without the heat box it can take over a week for my baits to get hard in cold weather (my work space is usually in the low 50's in the colder months). Like I said before heat will not speed up your cure time but cold will slow it down. If you are coating your baits inside a nice warm place then no box is needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted October 24, 2014 Report Share Posted October 24, 2014 I'm not sure about D2T, but it says on the bottle of Bob Smith slow cure epoxy that it MUST be cured above 70 degrees. Don't know if that means it won't cure or if cured below the suggested temp it doesn't reach full strength. I have an idea that D2T would be similar. Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JBlaze Posted October 25, 2014 Report Share Posted October 25, 2014 (edited) I have found that after taking lures off the drying wheel then placing them in an open faced box and placing a small fan forced ceramic heater a couple of feet in front of it so that it just warms the lures that they are hard as nails after about 12 hours. This is for jigs, I would be afraid that for wooden lures it would cause them to gas off and create air bubbles in the finish. John Edited October 25, 2014 by JBlaze Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobP Posted October 25, 2014 Report Share Posted October 25, 2014 If you build wood lures, heating brings the chance that it will expand the air in the wood and cause a bubble in your finish. Been there, done that. It's one reason I pay lots of attention to the undercoat I put on lures to make sure it's durable and has complete coverage so it can withstand a little heating when I use a hair dryer on the paint as I apply it. Once you get a bubble, it's almost impossible to make it disappear. You can't really talk about one finish step or one choice in finish product without considering all of them together and the specific procedures you use in applying them. D2T is the fastest curing 30 minute epoxy I've tried and will give you excellent results if you measure and mix it really well. To me, more steps in a finish process = more chances for something to go wrong, so it pays to keep it as simple as possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musky Glenn Posted October 25, 2014 Report Share Posted October 25, 2014 BobP times two. Wood does some strange things. They used to say for air drying lumber that it took one year per one inch of thickness to completely air dry lumber. That would be two years for a 2x4. Then it would only dry it down to about 13% moisture content where kiln drying takes it down to around 5-6 %. If you let that 6% kiln dryed piece of wood lay around exposed to outside air then it will quickly pick moisture from the air and climb back up to what ever the moisture content of the air is in your region. Side Bar- Lumber is cut fairly straight and true. Crooks, twist, bows, cups are the result of removing moisture from the lumber. This allows internal stresses on the cell walls to deform the board. Take a board with 100% moisture content, meaning it can't hold any more moisture, and start drying it. Down to about 29 % it only looses moisture in the cell cavity and no shrinking takes place. From approx. 29% on down to about 6% is where the board starts loosing moisture in the cell WALLS and this causes deformation, twist etc. Sorry for the dry lecture, I slipped back into the classroom for a moment. Musky Glenn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skeeter Posted October 26, 2014 Report Share Posted October 26, 2014 The more "tricks" you try in lure building, the more likely you are to screw it up." ..... AMEN. Devcon will cure and be ready to fish in 12 hrs. on its own. I like 24 but if you have to you can do it in 12. Best working temperature is 70-72 deg. It will cure below that just fine. If I were you I would use acetone to clean you brushes. In my opinion, the number one cause of lures not turning out as well as we expect is a "lack of patience." So when you are done with the work go have a bourbon and enjoy it. Get it all in the morning. Skeeter 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cadman Posted October 26, 2014 Report Share Posted October 26, 2014 The more "tricks" you try in lure building, the more likely you are to screw it up." ..... AMEN. Devcon will cure and be ready to fish in 12 hrs. on its own. I like 24 but if you have to you can do it in 12. Best working temperature is 70-72 deg. It will cure below that just fine. If I were you I would use acetone to clean you brushes. In my opinion, the number one cause of lures not turning out as well as we expect is a "lack of patience." So when you are done with the work go have a bourbon and enjoy it. Get it all in the morning. Skeeter This says it all in a nutshell, if you follow this you will get perfect baits/jigs all the time. Including the bourbon. Well said Skeeter 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ctenn Posted August 27, 2015 Report Share Posted August 27, 2015 I may be wrong, but I believe that the reaction that cures epoxy is exothermic which means that the reaction gives off heat. If the reaction has to give off heat to cure, then adding more heat will only make it cure more slowly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobP Posted August 27, 2015 Report Share Posted August 27, 2015 I've topcoated baits with D2T in a 50 degree garage with no problems and they still cured hard overnight. Same for the summer when temps are in the 90's. Yes, epoxy curing is an exothermic chemical reaction but how exothermic depends on the hardener being used. The quick 5 min epoxies put out much more heat than the slow cure varieties which we use for topcoating. You can definitely speed up the cure time with moderate heating, I just don't do it because I'm not in a hurry and don't want to introduce new variables into the process that can mess it up. Patience: if you don't practice it yet, building crankbaits will teach you all about it, especially the cost for its lack. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vodkaman Posted August 27, 2015 Report Share Posted August 27, 2015 I may be wrong, but I believe that the reaction that cures epoxy is exothermic which means that the reaction gives off heat. If the reaction has to give off heat to cure, then adding more heat will only make it cure more slowly.That is an interesting hypothesis, however, incorrect.You must think of the reaction as giving off energy in the form of heat. No matter what the temperature of the start of the reaction, the same amount of energy is going to be given off, shared over the time of the reaction. Secondly, the temperature at the start of the reaction controls the speed of the reaction, the warmer the start temperature, the faster the reaction. This results in the same block of energy given off over a shorter period of time, which results in more heat and NOT less. Dave 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sonoman Posted August 27, 2015 Report Share Posted August 27, 2015 If it were me I would experiment just a bit with something else prior to coating your lures, maybe on an old lure or something and do a trial run, D2T imo is about the most forgiving stuff and works really well, just mix up a small amount once you have something ready to coat and see what she does, I add a drop of denatured alcohol to mine so that it thins a lil bit and the bubbles come out way quicker, the main thing is just getting the feel as to how to coat everything evenly so that the turner can do its job, you can apply some heat from a hair dryer or heat gun to flow it out a bit...it doesn't need much, too much heat the stuff will bubble up and mess up...so practice on something....maybe do several, put different amounts on...apply different amounts of heat just to watch what it does...its def a feel kinda thing, you can watch what rod builders do with epoxy on youtube...it all applys, good luck 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted August 27, 2015 Report Share Posted August 27, 2015 I have found heating the two parts before mixing cuts down on the working time, but I don't think it speeds the cure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted August 27, 2015 Report Share Posted August 27, 2015 (edited) d'oh Edited August 27, 2015 by RayburnGuy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bois d'Arc Posted September 10, 2015 Report Share Posted September 10, 2015 Using plastic lures like you can buy online. Apply D2T and rotate the lure for about 15 minutes to level any heavy spots. Pop the lure into a dehydrator set to about 105f /41c or a bit higher . The lure is ready for hardware to be attached in about an hour. D2T is a wonderful thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick08 Posted September 24, 2015 Report Share Posted September 24, 2015 Well I am still very new to all this but I had read somewhere that you can heat it up before putting it on will get most of the air bubbles out where u don't have to after well its a lie but I did get 30in epoxy to cure hard in about 3-4 min it also made it yellow an I thought I had done something wrong in that batch so I tried a gain with same thing anyone know why Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vodkaman Posted September 24, 2015 Report Share Posted September 24, 2015 That sounds like you have 5 min epoxy there. Dave 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Travis Posted September 24, 2015 Report Share Posted September 24, 2015 I skipped this one initially. I have to ask what is the rush? I have never understood why so many have this strange need to slap something together in some sort of breakneck speed...some sort of strange instant gratification so common in today's society I guess. If you have to have a bait on day x make it the week prior. Seams so many lure makers process is to use poor planning, poor methods, or poor product selection. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
