Fish 30acre Posted November 16, 2015 Report Share Posted November 16, 2015 Ok, so, I manufacture fishing lures for a living; mostly larger, hard bodied swimbaits. I have been using a two-part automotive clear for years now, but, for the sake of living a long healthy life, I need to stop using it!! I am looking for advice on what would be my better alternative... It will need to be applied via airbrush over both water based and oil based paint, hang dried (no rotating), and obviously be very strong and durable. I love how easy and efficient automotive clear is to apply and it has a quick cure time, so I want something similar. I am open to it being UV cured, as well. I've researched some, but hoping you guys can help with speeding up my process in this transition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish 30acre Posted November 18, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 18, 2015 Anything guys??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vodkaman Posted November 18, 2015 Report Share Posted November 18, 2015 This is difficult to answer because apart from the extreme hazardous nature of the automotive clear, it was the ultimate, perfect topcoat. Hardly surprising, being developed by a multi billion dollar industry for a specific job that just happens to have the same requirements as the fishing lure: spray-on, fast drying, hard, tough, resilient, scratch resistant, UV resistant, etc. Of all the lure topcoats available; epoxies, resins, acrylics etc. The only one that ticks nearly all the attribute boxes are UV curing acrylics. These are the only topcoat that will give you the speed. Unfortunately it is a dipping process, not a spray on. There are several on the market and they have been discussed many times in TU threads. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hazmail Posted November 18, 2015 Report Share Posted November 18, 2015 Hav eyou tries dipping it. Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted November 18, 2015 Report Share Posted November 18, 2015 Lately I've been spraying DN S81 moisture cure thinned with acetone. Like auto clear it goes on thin and provides a tough, durable coating that can be hung to cure. The only drawback to your objectives is that it takes a few days to reach a full cure although it is "dry" to the touch in about an hour. Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted November 18, 2015 Report Share Posted November 18, 2015 Look at Solarez gloss UV cured resin. It is strong, and fast. Since it is dipped (at least that's how I do it) if your swimbaits are jointed, you will have dip them before you join the pieces. I'm sure you could brush it on, and then let it hang to even out the coating. Do it inside, where the sun's light is blocked, and you can just hang you baits over the dipping container and let it drip back into the jar. It won't hurt it, as long as you keep sunlight, even reflected sunlight, away from the hanging baits, until the dripping stops and you're ready to cure them. Once they're stopped dripping, blot the last bit off the bottom with a brush, close the dipping jar and cover it, unless it's the black plastic jar my first Solarez came in, and either hang you bait in a UV nail light for three minutes, or take it out into the sunlight. It will even clear on an overcast day. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish 30acre Posted November 18, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 18, 2015 (edited) Lately I've been spraying DN S81 moisture cure thinned with acetone. Like auto clear it goes on thin and provides a tough, durable coating that can be hung to cure. The only drawback to your objectives is that it takes a few days to reach a full cure although it is "dry" to the touch in about an hour. Ben What is the ratio of acetone you use? And thanks everyone, I've been up and down scanning the archives here, but still can't quite nail it down. I will have to do some trial and error testing myself with a few of these and see what I like best, I guess. In the meantime, toxic automotive clear it is!! Edited November 18, 2015 by Fish 30acre Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheHammer Posted November 20, 2015 Report Share Posted November 20, 2015 I really do not think there is such a thing....if you're looking for "non-toxic" without hardeners to spray through a brush; you are really not going to find anything that is "strong & durable". If I were you, I would seriously consider epoxy coatings....there is NOTHING more durable IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted November 20, 2015 Report Share Posted November 20, 2015 I've never actually measured the ratio of acetone to DN. If I were to approximate it would be in the neighborhood of 1 part acetone to 2 or 3 parts DN. It's fairly forgiving as to the ratio. I shoot mine through a Paasche VL with the mid-sized nozzle with around 20 psi. air pressure. If your spraying through a smaller tip you may have to adjust the mix to get it to spray like you want it. If your spraying with something like an HVLP gun then you may not need to thin it nearly as much if any. You could also contact Dick and see what he suggests since he's the one I first heard talking about mixing with acetone. Ben 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
