Tuna Posted February 1, 2018 Report Share Posted February 1, 2018 Anyone tried applying devcon while wearing a throw away latex glove? I may try it tomorrow afternoon. There's got to be a quicker way to apply than stroking with a cheap watercolor brush. My plan is to mix up the epoxy, then, 1. Dip my two fingers and thumb in and quickly work it about the contours of the bait, 2. set bait down and remove the glove, 3. use a cheap watercolor brush to hit the tight areas, 4. position for curing. Hoping to speed up the process and get a thinner coat on the bait. Is this a crazy thought? (careful now) Otherwise, is there a chemical to retard the devcon drying time. What about denatured alcohol? Ended up using flexcoat for some 5"+ baits due to the quick thickening of devcon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anglinarcher Posted February 1, 2018 Report Share Posted February 1, 2018 24 minutes ago, Tuna said: Hoping to speed up the process and get a thinner coat on the bait. Is this a crazy thought? (careful now) ROFLOL You set yourself up on that one, but I am not going to bite. I am sure that I have a padded room reserved for me and it is a private room. 26 minutes ago, Tuna said: is there a chemical to retard the devcon drying time. What about denatured alcohol? Yes, some. The denatured alcohol is an epoxy thinner, so it will allow a thinner coat, but too thin and fish eyes develop (surface tension of the material pulls the material away from a spot, leaving no epoxy and a round void that looks somewhat like a fish eye). It retards drying time some, but not a huge amount IMHO. Still, never tried the glove thing. I await the results. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwfflipper Posted February 1, 2018 Report Share Posted February 1, 2018 best way is the brush. Tried the glove thing years ago and it wasn't pretty! the epoxy was too thick even when thinned. Don't make it harder than it is. The epoxy sticks to anything it comes in contact with. Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tuna Posted February 1, 2018 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2018 Unfriggin' believable! I will never coat devcon with a brush again! I think I read on this forum a couple months ago someone cutting off the fingers of latex gloves to coat baits. Absolutely!! Here's how I mixed using a digital postal scale; 1. set a 2oz plastic shot glass on scale, set the tare, 2. add 75gms of both parts of Devcon and mix for 15 seconds, 3. add four drops of denatured alcohol and mix again for 15 seconds. To apply; make , 1. remove clamp devices from bait, 2. using cut off fingers of a latex glove, put one on my index finger, dip in epoxy, 3. hold the bill with the other hand and spread epoxy with finger (you can get in tighter places than I originally thought), 4. with middle finger and other free fingers attach clamp device to middle hanger, 5. while leveraging edge of bill with thumb spread epoxy over both sides of bill, 6. put on rotisserie. I was able to do 7 wart sized baits in 13 minutes and the epoxy was just starting to set up. Background, about three years ago now I wrapped guides on a fly rod with a white silk thread and used a similar mixture (flexcoat) so the wraps would become transparent. That came out great too! Have not noticed any difference from others done conventionally in resulting finish. Photo of redone WW an hour ago, done with this process. All paints used were Apple barrel @ 50 cents each at wally world. Bought 30 - 1 ounce flip top plastic bottles and mixed my own colors using distilled water and pledge (thanks red dragon) then jotting down the recipes into a spreadsheet. I'm satisfied. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anglinarcher Posted February 2, 2018 Report Share Posted February 2, 2018 I see that I am going to have a bunch of gloves with one finger removed soon. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tuna Posted February 2, 2018 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2018 I used all the fingers and thumb. Cut them off before I started. I did six 1.5 size baits with one mix. Way better than one or two baits before the epoxy normally sets up. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gone2long Posted February 2, 2018 Report Share Posted February 2, 2018 Well lets hope ya'll don't forget and go pick your nose 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MonteSS Posted February 2, 2018 Report Share Posted February 2, 2018 Good tip. ty You should use slightly more resin than hardener if using a scale. You should also stir longer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tuna Posted February 2, 2018 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2018 What is slightly, 5% ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anglinarcher Posted February 3, 2018 Report Share Posted February 3, 2018 Actually, this depends on the epoxy. I mix by volume and that is 1:1 either way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted February 3, 2018 Report Share Posted February 3, 2018 Use a syringe, and measure by volume, 1:1. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tuna Posted February 3, 2018 Author Report Share Posted February 3, 2018 I only have the big bottles. I guess next time I purchase it will be in syringes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anglinarcher Posted February 3, 2018 Report Share Posted February 3, 2018 You know, this will get me in trouble here, but I just don't find I have ever needed it exact. For the few I do before it starts to harden, I can just do it by eye. But, did I ever say I get in trouble on this site once in a while. LOL 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted February 4, 2018 Report Share Posted February 4, 2018 7 hours ago, Tuna said: I only have the big bottles. I guess next time I purchase it will be in syringes. I bought a pair of epoxy syringes like these from Barlow's: https://www.barlowstackle.com/Flex-Coat-Color-Coded-Syringes-P1905.aspx Their tip is tapered, so I drilled a snug fitting hole in the top of each component of the epoxy, and leave the syringes in the tops of the bottles. When I want to mix some, I hold the syringe tight against the bottle, turn the bottle upside down, and pull out as much as I need. Then I turn the bottle back over, and remove the syringe from the bottle top. Once I squeeze the first component into my mixing cup, I put the syringe back into it's bottle, and do the same thing with the second component. That way I never mix up resin and catalyst syringes, and they last forever. It makes getting the exact same volume of components easy, and allows me to buy the bigger bottles of epoxy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Young Posted February 4, 2018 Report Share Posted February 4, 2018 It is not necessary to use the syringe. My experience is that they are not that accurate and you have to verify volume visually. I but the 8.5 oz bottles and use small "Nyquil" cups to mix in. I apply two equal size beads in the cup. I also use the volume of the bottles to verify by setting them side by side and comparing the two meniscus. That serves as a guide after the fact, telling you if you have been erring on your measurements. You can then make adjustments. The lines on the bottle are useless as each printing varies. You have to miss by quite a bit to mess up the results. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Young Posted February 4, 2018 Report Share Posted February 4, 2018 As for applying epoxy with a gloved hand - please excercise caution. A gloved finger can act as a squeegee, resulting in thin or even dry spots. That lure looks great! But one lure is not a guarantee of future success. A thin, fine. but wider brush is speedy and much more consistent. Try thinning out a 5/8" fine hair brush. When you get it right, you can clean it with denatured alcohol and reuse it hundreds of times. The right tool allows us to do a better and more efficient job. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tuna Posted February 4, 2018 Author Report Share Posted February 4, 2018 Thanks everyone for your opinions and guidance. Mark, no issues so far with scale mixtures after doing 4 - 150-160gm application sessions. Coated 26 baits. Chuck, I'll get some of those brushes for doing the bills after the finger rubs. I do like the result of a bit thinner coat that I can "feel" as I apply. I'm shooting another batch of 30+ underwater buzz baits during the next couple days and I'll post honest finishing results either way. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tuna Posted February 19, 2018 Author Report Share Posted February 19, 2018 Chuck, the wide brush is working nearly as well as the finger method, plus it keeps my applying hand free for repositioning during application. I still like the finger technique since I can feel the amount I'm applying, then use the brush for touch up around hangers and tight lips. Finished 41 baits by 6:00pm yesterday. Examined many of them this morning. Great coverage and have hardened to where I could handle, but letting them cure another couple of days before starting a new painted batch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
