Tank testing

[muskiestalker51]

Well since its getting cold up here thought I'd try my hand making a few lures. Before I go to the trouble of painting just curious your ideas what I need to do to protect the wood while testing them in water. I'm working on monster shad lures for muskies using cedar wood. 

[21xdc]

I like KBS Diamond Clear. 

[muskiestalker51]

What is kbs

[21xdc]

Got GOOGLE? 

 

https://www.google.com/search?newwindow=1&source=hp&ei=mu_xW-LTPIzLjwTsgYvQBA&q=kbs+diamond+clear&oq=KBS+D&gs_l=psy-ab.1.1.0l10.1931.6307..9220...0.0..0.94.374.5......0....1..gws-wiz.....0..0i131.MPIQXS2Apa8

[JD_mudbug]

I use superglue, the regular type, not the gel type. I spread it on the lure with a cheap walmart paint brush. You get 30 small brushes for 97 cents. 

Sometimes I  use Miniwax Wood Hardener instead of superglue. You can use a plastic bottle with the top cut off to dunk the lures in. Just make sure the bottle is clean and dry before putting in the wood hardener. The wood hardener will penetrate deeper into the lure than superglue. The draw back to the wood hardener is that it takes a long time to off-gas. It seems to take one day for every hour the lure is dunked to off-gas. If you don't allow enough time to off-gas, you will get bubbles under the paint.

 

[BobP]

KBS is a coatings company.  Diamond Clear is their moisture cured urethane finish, popular for topcoating crankbaits (or you can also use it to undercoat a bait).  It’s popular because it is tough, waterproof, and non yellowing and you can simply dip lures in it and hang them to dry/cure.

[muskiestalker51]

Is KBS just as durable as Devon 2.  After dipping there’s no need to rotate correct. 

 Sounds great 

[ravenlures]

KBS is good but costly if you have etex around just thin and use that, good enough for a trial run. I am into plastic now I just put the hardware on along with the hooks and test. 

Wayne

[Vodkaman]

I shouldn't really comment on this post as I do not finish lures. Standard superglue (runny) is great for raising the wood grain, allowing it to be sanded down, giving a glass surface for painting. Providing that after sanding you give it an extra coat of glue, the lure will be good for testing. Two birds with one stone.

Dave

[eastman03]

If I'm making a prototype one off bait (which I often do, and always with cedar), I'll shape it as best I can and just dip it in spar urethane mixed with thinner and hang it to dry.  That way I can add weight with a dab of glue or even tape for the purpose of testing.  If I get into super glues or kbs, it becomes more difficult to change its shape or drill more holes for lead.   The cedar is fairly resistant to moisture especially with a thin coat of spar urethane (it's usually not in the water that long for testing).  That gives me room to play with it before I get the right amount of weight and shape and start the finishing procedure (once completely dried out), filling in the lead holes and wire.  At that point I'll sand it smooth and put a coat of envirotex epoxy (or kbs or superglue) and paint and then final finish.    Just the way I do it, lots of different good ways to do it!

[Vodkaman]

Eastman03 - the point of CA glue (super glue) is that it dries in seconds. You can make any mods, add a few drops of glue, and you are good for the next test. CA glue is the perfect prototype tool.

Dave

[eastman03]

Vodkaman - Yea I see what you mean, CA glue would be great for that purpose.  I haven't used it in that case.  Can you slow down the cure time at all to be able to brush it on? Or is it workable as is right out of the tube? (Also, what do you mean you don't finish lures? out of curiousity.)  I don't mean to get way off track here. I feel I'd go through a lot of super glue building 10-14" lures also.

[Vodkaman]

Eastman03 - I don't think you can slow down the cure time, but I cannot remember the need to. What I do know; is that acetone is a solvent for CA glue, useful for clean-up.

I design lures. I love the engineering, the theory behind the action. I do not fish the lures as lures are not permitted on the artificial ponds that I frequent. I do test the lures on these ponds away from competition times. I get ideas, build them, then store in a bag which eventually gets lost in my busy life.

My principal quarry is bawal, a very aggressive predator/scavenger. Here is a pic of a 4.5Kg  (10Lb) specimen (size 10 / 44 shoe for reference).

I do not want to distract from this interesting post, so any further discussion on this side issue should be done by PM.

Dave

[JD_mudbug]

I have made lures up to 12 inches.  I  mostly make 6 to 12 inch baits that range from 2 to 7 ounces. You will have enough time to spread superglue. I smear it on a small area with the tip of the superglue bottle and use a cheap brush to spread it out. You can do a 3 to 4 inch section, then move down the bait and smear it on the next area, spread with the same brush. Overlap the sections with brush and they will blend together. I run a fan when coating a big lure to blow any fumes away.  It spreads really thin so the superglue does go a long way. Wipe the tip of the bottle off with a paper towel before you cap on or you will be using pliers to get the cap off.

The glue is easy to drill through. I have had to add additional weight and had no problems using a  forstner bit on it.  You can use tape or rubberbands to temporarily attach additional weight for testing. I have never tried temporarily gluing additional weight on, but I don't see a reason why it wouldn't work.  I have tried out different lips in a lure's lip slot. I run the tape down the back off the lip onto the body and then put a piece to tape perpendicular to that on the lure's body to more securely hold it. I don't put any tape on the front of the lip. Painter's tape will last for several casts on a big bait  before it starts to peel off. You can also sand off the superglue if you need to modify the shape of a lure. You will only need to re-coat the areas you have modified.

I have used spar urethane and don't like the dry time and the residual smell. When  I do manage to summon some patience, I use the wood hardener because it penetrates deeper into the wood.

I don't know if superglue is the most cost-effective sealer. I do think it is the easiest to use and the quickest to get the bait in the water for testing.

Unfortunately,  on 10-14" baits you are going to use a lot of any product to seal it. 

 

[Vodkaman]

Great post JD_Mudbug, very comprehensive.

I have not tried, but I suspect that an acetone soak over night would make brushes re-usable.

I am very fortunate here in Indonesia; a 15g bottle of CA glue costs about US$0.10. I buy 5 bottles at a time, so many applications.

The fan use is very important, those fumes are nasty.

I like the 'glue the weight for testing' idea, definitely worth trying.

Dave