Thinning Enviro-Tech

[MstormC]

Read something a couple of days ago and didn't save the link

Edited October 13, 2016 by MstormC

[RayburnGuy]

Are you sure it was Etex they were thinning?  It goes on pretty thin as it is. Most builders that use it apply multiple coats to get a thicker coating.

 

Ben

[mark poulson]

Yes, it should be thinned with denatured alcohol, but how much depends on you.  I don't know how much is too much, but you can make a few small test batches to see how much you need to thin it for your purposes, and to see if there is a limit to how much alcohol you can add before it affects the epoxy.

Be sure the two parts are thoroughly mixed before you add the alcohol, or it will combine with the unmixed parts and the epoxy will never set.

Edited October 13, 2016 by mark poulson

[BobP]

I'm with Ben on this. I can hardly imagine one unthinned coat of ETEX being thick enough for any bait except a plastic one. I tried it on wood and it needed at least 2 coats. That said, yes you can thin epoxy with denatured alcohol and it will still cure hard, but with slightly increased cure time. I haven't tried it with ETEX but thin Devcon with it all the time. ETEX already contains some solvent to facilitate flow and release of bubbles. It requires very little alcohol to thin epoxy, so best be conservative. I just dip my brush in alcohol and mix a few drops into the epoxy after it has been mixed. A little dab'll do ya!

Edited October 13, 2016 by BobP

[MstormC]

really wish I would have saved the link but you all know how a Google search goes.....Start out looking for ways to apply ETEX and next thing you know you're buying a motorcycle helmet. 

 

100% positive it was ETEX. 

 

Seems like I always end up with fish eyes when I apply ETEX and was thinking it may be that I apply it to thick, hence the search for thinning it.  I think on the next baits I do I'll put some DA in with the ETEX and apply a couple more coats if needed.

 

Thanks for the input!

[mark poulson]

I used to get fish eyes when I didn't wear gloves, because my finger prints got on the painted baits.

[RayburnGuy]

Fish eyes are caused by contaminants, such as oil from your hands, on the surface of the bait. It has nothing to do with how thick the Etex is. Etex, or any other epoxy for that matter, doesn't CAUSE fish eyes.

 

If you don't like wearing rubber gloves try washing your hands in hot water and Dawn dish washing liquid before handling your baits.

 

Ben

Edited October 13, 2016 by RayburnGuy

[aulrich]

The most I have thinned Etex is 50% so 1 part resin,1 part hardener, 1part denatured. Like Mark says mix well then thin, the first time I attempted it I mixed them all at once, it took 3 days to cure. It takes a bit longer to get to full hard as well, but I have not noticed a delay in the initial set time.

 

I use the thinned version as the first hardening/sealer coat  but one time I did use it as a top coat, When I realized I had more baits than top coat.

 

As a side note thinned etex makes sharpie tiger stripes run.

Edited October 13, 2016 by aulrich

[mark poulson]

The most I have thinned Etex is 50% so 1 part resin,1 part hardener, 1part denatured. Like Mark says mix well then thin, the first time I attempted it I mixed them all at once, it took 3 days to cure. It takes a bit longer to get to full hard as well, but I have not noticed a delay in the initial set time.

 

I use the thinned version as the first hardening/sealer coat  but one time I did use it as a top coat, When I realized I had more baits than top coat.

 

As a side note thinned etex makes sharpie tiger stripes run.

 

I was able to stop the running of sharpies by spraying a coat of Createx clear over the baits before I epoxied them.

[spoonpluggergino]

I have thinned e-tex in the past, for 1 ml i used about 5 drops using an eye dropper, seemed to eliminate some air bubles, had no proble with it

Gino

[mark poulson]

In a two part epoxy, once the two parts have been well mixed, they will still set, no matter how much additional solvent you add afterward.

The problem is too much solvent creates a coat that is too thin to be strong, like a fabric with a really low thread count.

The key is mixing them well enough that both parts are in contact with each other completely and evenly, so they can combine to form the glue molecule, before you add your solvent.

Edited October 15, 2016 by mark poulson

[MstormC]

So I came across some baits that I hadn't got to putting a clear coat on. Would I be able to apply an intercoat clear on it and not end up getting fish eyes after I apply etex?

[mark poulson]

I got fish eyes from finger prints.  Once I started wearing gloves they stopped happening.

If you go over paint that doesn't have finger prints or other contamination, you should be fine without an intermediate coat of clear.  It is the contamination that causes the fish eyes, not the paint itself.

[GrindStoneLures]

I got fish eyes from finger prints. Once I started wearing gloves they stopped happening.

If you go over paint that doesn't have finger prints or other contamination, you should be fine without an intermediate coat of clear. It is the contamination that causes the fish eyes, not the paint itself.

So I think I'm going to add a layer of clear varnish before the epoxy do you think this will help with long storage of the baits possibly being contaminated

I got fish eyes from finger prints. Once I started wearing gloves they stopped happening.

If you go over paint that doesn't have finger prints or other contamination, you should be fine without an intermediate coat of clear. It is the contamination that causes the fish eyes, not the paint itself.

So I think I'm going to add a layer of clear varnish before the epoxy do you think this will help with long storage of the baits possibly being contaminated

[mark poulson]

If you put a layer of clear varnish on first, but handle the bait with your naked hands, you can still get fish eyes.

The only way I found to stop finger print fish eyes was using nitrile gloves.  You can get them at the drug store, and they're cheap.

Edited November 3, 2016 by mark poulson

[RayburnGuy]

Doesn't varnish tend to yellow over time?

 

If you handle your baits you have two choices to avoid getting fish eyes. You can either do as Mark suggested and wear gloves or you can thoroughly wash your hands in hot water (as hot as you can stand it) and Dawn dish washing liquid. I prefer the latter as my hands sweat profusely when wearing any type of rubber or synthetic glove and I end up with a glove full of slime. Have not had a single fish eye in several years of painting since I started washing my hands prior to every bait building session.

 

If your painting plastic cranks it also doesn't hurt to make sure your baits are clean before painting. There's no telling how many times plastic blanks have been handled before they get to you and no telling what was on peoples hand when they were handling them.

 

just my

 

Ben

Edited November 3, 2016 by RayburnGuy

[TrophyFishR]

I keep getting fish eye with Etex & D2T. I wear gloves 100% of the time.

In my case, I believe it's the auto air gem ruby paint. Something about color shift chameleon paint that reacts with the epoxy. D2T gets minimal fish eye but Etex is covered in fish eye.

I never have this problem with standard createx paint. But I haven't used the intercoat over the createx before spraying gem ruby over it. The lack of inter-coat might be the real culprit. That's what the tech guy at coast air told me today.

[mark poulson]

I keep getting fish eye with Etex & D2T. I wear gloves 100% of the time.

In my case, I believe it's the auto air gem ruby paint. Something about color shift chameleon paint that reacts with the epoxy. D2T gets minimal fish eye but Etex is covered in fish eye.

I never have this problem with standard createx paint. But I haven't used the intercoat over the createx before spraying gem ruby over it. The lack of inter-coat might be the real culprit. That's what the tech guy at coast air told me today.

 

In the past I've shot Createx Gloss Clear over paint before I top coated it to prevent any interactions with the top coat.  Just be sure to clean your air brush right away and thoroughly, because that clear sets up like concrete.