Envirotex lite 30 min epoxy mixing

[Rnd101]

Hey guys I have been having trouble with my 30 min. Envirotex lite  brush on epoxy. I put the lures on my bbq rotisserie motor lure turner for about 2 hours  and they are still tacky after that. I have the lure turner inside my house where it is 68 degrees. 

[DoubleT]

In my experience with etex it will remain tacky for 8  hours of so. After 12 hours I could handle/touch it but it wouldn't be fully cured for 24 hours. Also, make sure you are mixing it at a 1 to 1 ratio by volume. 

[mark poulson]

8 hours to recoat, 12 hours to handle, 24 hours to fish.

[DingerBaits]

You can speed up times by having a non-open heat source in the area where you are drying. A matter of 10 degrees will speed it up significantly. I have a light bulb on a baseboard thermostat in my drying/rotary box. Kicks it up to about 80-85 degrees and does wonders. 

[DoubleT]

1 minute ago, DingerBaits said:

You can speed up times by having a non-open heat source in the area where you are drying. A matter of 10 degrees will speed it up significantly. I have a light bulb on a baseboard thermostat in my drying/rotary box. Kicks it up to about 80-85 degrees and does wonders. 

 

great info

[Rnd101]

Thanks guys for the info! I came home today after work and they are a little harder. However it doesn’t seem that they dried very evenly. There are uneven spots on the bait. Anyway in the future that I can avoid that?

[Anglinarcher]

First, Etex, and epoxies in general, do not dry, they cure.  It is a chemical reaction that takes place and the right amount of chemicals need to be present to make this happen.  

If you have spots after 12 hours that are not tack free, then either you did not mix equal parts of both the resin and hardener, or you did not properly mix them.  They must be well mixed, but done slowly enough that you mix as little air in as possible.

When that happens to me, and yes, it happens to all of us at least once, I recoat with a properly measured and properly mixed coat.  It seems to cure the undercoat while giving me the proper cure on top.

[BobP]

Etex also contains a solvent to help it level out on flat surfaces.  Being much thinner in viscosity than glue type epoxies like Devcon Two Ton, it will tend to develop fish eyes more quickly if applied over a grease spot or finger print.  Suggest you read the tutorial by Fatfingers on “achieving the perfect finish”.  I recommend measuring epoxy exactly with syringes and mixing the heck out of it.  You need to get the molecules of all the resin and hardener in contact for them to chemically cure as designed.

[Chuck Young]

Great comments. We all mess up the mixing process at times. And the second coat of epoxy does a good job of repairing things. But only if you don't try to clean the tackiness off somehow. 

Interestingly, fiberglass boat builders use a special epoxy that remains tacky when layering fiberglass or glueing joints. It lacks a wax that would otherwise cause it to cure without tack. So the tackiness does not mean that the epoxy did not cure. Nor does it imply that the final coat of resin will not bind. 

[Rnd101]

I am not happy with how the baits are swimming due to I’m guessing epoxy in the bills. Any way to get this epoxyy to coat more evenly?

[BobP]

The only way to remove cured epoxy is to scrape/pry it off or sand it off.  Either method will leave the lip scratched or cloudy from sanding.  You can fix that by dipping the lip in urethane finish, preferably MCU, afterwards, unless it is a polycarbonate (aka Lebanon) lip to which clearcoats don’t adhere very well. 

[BobP]

Damned Apple autocorrect!  Lebanon should have been “Lexan”.

Edited March 24, 2018 by BobP

[Chuck Young]

I just started using E-tex. It tends to draw away from sharp edges - I can deal with that by rounding them a little. It seems clearer than D2T.  Mixing extremely well makes a lot of sense. It is thin enough that bubbles work out well with a brush. And you don't want to have any doubts when it takes a full day to cure. 

[BigDean]

Guys I just watched a video and why the heck I never thought of this after all of these years of squirting a 3 second amount in a pill cup and I have never had a big issue with it curing and etc or tacky with devcon 5 min epoxy. This guy was using a scale you know the grain scale like the ones you use for reloading or your broadheads, you can get them off ebay for hardly nothing. So you tare your pill cup and let's say you pour 10 grains then you tare the scale back to zero then put the 2nd part at 10 grains or etc. It would amount to the most perfect 1~1 ratio you could get. I have a scale already, I just ordered some of the e - tex lite I have never tried it I have always used devcon. Guys also use hair dryer to warm up any epoxy against the bottle and when your done coating I always hair dryer the whole lure then put it in turner, if you might have added to much the heat will level it out. Plus I only put enough epoxy to coat the lure without having a dry spot also have a bendable light were you can put it close to lure  with a pair of hemostasis clamped to bill it's easier to coat the lure that way and I turn it in the light to check for dry spots. I even use the hemostasis with zip ties in bbq turner and clip to bill instead of alligator clips or using wire to hook eyes or etc. Hope this helps I seen the scale thing and had to share...

 

[BobP]

I don’t think epoxy resin and hardener weigh exactly the same by volume, which means if you measure by weight, you are not really measuring them according to the manufacturer’s instruction.  It’s not a big difference, obviously, since some guys do it and it seems to work.  But to me, if the manufacturer says to measure equal volumes, that’s what I do to insure the most consistent results.  I’m sure you can figure out a “correction weight” for the components by weighing the full bottles when you buy them (assuming the factory filled the bottles correctly), but it seems simpler to just use a set of epoxy syringes to get equal volumes.  Epoxy cures by a chemical reaction at the molecular level and if there are excess molecules of resin or hardener present, they remain unbonded.  Far enough out of kilter, and the end result is tacky epoxy, or at least a coating that is not as strong as it could have been, or a coating that will yellow faster than otherwise.  That’s why we keep stressing measuring exactly and mixing it thoroughly.  

Edited April 20, 2018 by BobP

[jcromerangler]

stop using it! I only use diamond clear. expensive however dip three coats and solid as a rock. 

[benton B]

Let e-tex sit for about 8 min and it won't be so runny when you brush it on your baits, brush off the excess also.   You will need 2 coats anyway.

 

[FishCandy]

Ditto, mix it good, slowly and scraping the sides of the cup.  I believe the package says mix for two minutes. Also scrape off the stick on the lip of the cup once in a while. Lit sit a few minutes after mixing, bubbles come to the top. Breath on top of the etex in the cup before you start brushing to release a bunch of bubbles. If your brush has long hairs, cut them shorter so you don't load up the brush too much. After applying etex, hit it with some heat to release any bubbles caused by the brush, especially if it's begun to gel a bit. I keep reading not to use a wood mixing stick, or a flat one. I do both, doesn't seem to matter. I usually do ten lures at a time, and mix two smaller batches, rather than a larger one. It's easier to properly mix smaller amounts, and it avoids having to deal with trying to brush on thickening epoxy on the last lures. 

[bonepile]

hmmm? what's the reason to not use a wood mixing stick? i'm the same, I use a flat, wooden stick to mix mine, has never been an issue. I like how the flat edge scrapes the sides of the cup really well. I have read that a round mixing tool is better though, as it won't create bubbles as much when mixing. haven't heard about wood being bad before though. 

I just ran into issues on my last two batches of lures. have never had problems before, except the odd pinhole where a specific type of glitter repels the etex, and a second coat always fixed that. but, now suddenly, my last two sessions of coating, the etex has completely tried to repel it seems. not simple pinholes, but more areas not covered than covered. and I have done nothing at all different than any other time. this batch of lures last night, I was extremely careful to not touch them at all. so i'm pretty sure it's not an oily finger issue at all. my paints haven't changed. I have never heard of etex going bad, and this batch is maybe a year old. starting to wonder if it was in my mixing, like was mentioned earlier in this thread, but I did it the same as always. i'm really hesitant to add a second coat, especially if it's going to do the same. 

will probably just leave them as they are and fish them like that. I know the fish don't care, and i'm not trying to sell them anyway. still bothered by what the issue could be lately though.

[gliders]

Hey bonepile, I also use wood stir sticks. It does not add bubbles or any other issues. I don't think it's bad Etex either. I also use a lot of glitter, I have found like yourself that certain glitters repel E-tex more than others. Personally I find the next coat catches it fine , however I'm considering cleaning the glitter that is most prone to this in soapy water. I wonder if it may be down to the actual surface finish of the glitter though, I'm going to clean the glitter most prone to this and see if it makes any difference in a day or two,  will give you a shout with result.if it is contamination then this will solve it. I have some pics in gallery of glitter perch patterns , the gold glitter one's use the glitter I have found most prone to this. I'll stick some pics of other patterns using different glitters up later. 

[mark poulson]

Try adding the glitter to Createx transparent base for your last paint coat, before you epoxy.  You can brush it on, as long as you have really dried your paint scheme first, and you don't overbrush it.

[bonepile]

I may have found a culprit. I went out to the paint-desk last night and painted another lure. between colours, waiting for paint to dry, I looked at everything and broke down my previous painting session. I was sure everything was the same as usual, but you never know. then, yup, I spotted something. 

recently, I have done some foil lures, and a couple using metal flake. my plan wasn't to use the etex on these anyway, assuming it wouldn't adhere well. but I had bought a Vallejo gloss varnish recently, planning to use it on the metal flake to seal it before hitting it with a spray clear that I sometimes use. after that last batch of lures were good and dry, for some reason, I then used that varnish on them as well. i'm guessing I decided to try it since the previous batch of lures had some issues. but I think that previous batch was maybe more due to glitter, I will have to closer inspect. but the last batch were glitter-free, removing that from the equation. then they really had a repelling issue, like never before. it HAD to be from that new gloss varnish. 

so last night I coated a test board that I test paints on. I will now try etex over it and see what happens. pretty sure it will be the problem. the lures actually looked pretty good with just that gloss varnish on them. nothing like an etex layer, but not bad. but I doubt it's a strong clear that is designed to hold up to fishing rigors. 

live and learn. that's what it's all about. trying new things is how we find what is best and what is not. I do really want to try the KBS, but it's not really available up here in canadaland, from what I have been able to find anyway. I tracked down a company in alberta who brings it in though, so I may try to see if they can ship over to bc. 

but I will probably always use etex for some lures. when it works right it is so awesome. just frustrating when it's always performed well, then suddenly things just don't go right. and when one looks closely, they'll probably usually find it was a mistake on their part. in fact, just writing this, I now have realized I also used a stir-stick that was used previously. now that probably wouldn't/shouldn't have contaminated it, but, not a good idea. I have a package of new, clean ones and should have never used an old one.

[gliders]

Mark, I've used a similar method-clear acrylic through airbrush over glitter with decent results . Bonepile, hope that's your problem solved. In my case it only happens with one glitter, and like I say I catch it no problem with next coat. I'm surprised vallejo gloss caused it, was it 100 percent cured ? P.s you can E-tex over foil fine...glider

[bonepile]

on closer inspection of my previous batch of lures, a couple of them were quite poorly coated as well. so that might rule out the Vallejo gloss, as I hadn't used it before. so it may be back to thinking that I didn't mix the etex thoroughly enough. but it looks more like the etex reacted with the lure, like say the lure was handled too much and contaminated with oily hands. even though I was very careful, doubly-so with the last group. something clearly touched them I would say. more attention to cleaned lures prior to coating in future sessions. 

yes, the Vallejo gloss was definitely cured, a couple days sitting I think. I wasn't sure about the etex with foil, so I used a spray instead. I will try the etex next time, over the foil.

I used to just do one coat of etex, but a fairly generous one. that always seemed to work well. but then I was having the occasional lure that would have a messed up action. I learned that my thick layer of etex was changing it. my lures have a cup-face for their action. so I then switched to two thinner coats on the lures, and leaving the cup-face with only one thin coat, so the action wouldn't be affected. 

[gliders]

Hopefully you'll get to the bottom of it bonepile, for sure touching the lure will create fish eyes, with oily hands its guaranteed.....glider