Faithfishing Posted February 10, 2019 Report Share Posted February 10, 2019 What do you guys use to seal your balsa before painting? Looking to start making some balsa baits. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted February 10, 2019 Report Share Posted February 10, 2019 Runny super glue, two coats. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stretcher66 Posted February 10, 2019 Report Share Posted February 10, 2019 3 hours ago, mark poulson said: Runny super glue, two coats. what mark said Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobP Posted February 11, 2019 Report Share Posted February 11, 2019 I often use slightly thinned Devcon Two Ton epoxy but there are choices as long as the coating is durable, hard, and waterproof. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faithfishing Posted February 12, 2019 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2019 Anyone use polyurethane or sanding sealers? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eastman03 Posted February 12, 2019 Report Share Posted February 12, 2019 I've used polyurethane, minwax wood hardener and spar urethane on cedar wood. They all do a decent job. For a real smooth painting surface though, a layer of epoxy (or superglue) seems to work best. But, I've never used balsa. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted February 12, 2019 Report Share Posted February 12, 2019 I like runny super glue for balsa, because in penetrates into the wood on the first coat, so a two coat deal makes the softer balsa's surface much harder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkSpolarich Posted February 12, 2019 Report Share Posted February 12, 2019 (edited) search this site for propionate, lots of information on it Edited February 12, 2019 by MarkSpolarich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BJBarron Posted February 15, 2019 Report Share Posted February 15, 2019 Thin superglue sand high spots then epoxy. Thats my routine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobP Posted February 16, 2019 Report Share Posted February 16, 2019 Propionate works well but it has some downsides. First, it’s hard to find prop pellets for sale. A couple of TUers sold it years ago but not any more. Prop needs to be dissolved in acetone, onto a fairly thin solution. Then the lure needs to be dipped anywhere from 5 to 8 times to build a sufficient coating thickness, with pauses between dips to allow the acetone to flash off. Afterwards, you should let the coating sit overnight to fully harden. So it’s a rather labor intensive coating compared to most other options. But it does make a nice undercoating. If you are building a batch of 5-6 lures, you can dip lures almost continuously. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skeeter Posted February 20, 2019 Report Share Posted February 20, 2019 All I do is put 2 coates of heavy polyurethane and then sand it smooth. Tis just keeps the paint from soaking down into the balsa and fading your colors. If you clearcoat with epoxy then this is about as good that it is going to get. Sanding a bait sealed with super glue or epoxy to get it ready for paint can be a lot of work. However it does seal the bait well. If you really want to make a balsa bait bulletproof then clearcoat the bait with epoxy, paint it, then clearcoat again. Lacquer will stick well to epoxy. Skeeter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eastman03 Posted February 20, 2019 Report Share Posted February 20, 2019 Hey Skeeter, do you have a preference between oil or water based poly? Do you cut it with anything? I see some makers on youtube using poly and recently bought some for myself to try as well. I'm not to worried about dry times as I just let my stuff hang overnight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skeeter Posted February 20, 2019 Report Share Posted February 20, 2019 I just use gloss Minwax polyurethane. In a pint can. If it gets too old or not seald back correctly it spoils. Skeeter 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
