wrinkles using mcu

[herrmanniii]

long time lurker here and ive made some nice baits since. i ran out of the epoxy i was using and decided to try an mcu. used dick nites s81. so i know its something im doing because i tested the mcu on jigs i painted with createx. i didnt use any pearl colors. moving forward i am using blank hard plastics and painted similar designs with similar colors, using createx pearls. i have wrinkles in all of them, i allowed them to dry for 24hrs, another for 48 hrs and the last one for a week before applying mcu. they all have wrinkles, and its only when i use pearls. i did see someone mention putting a gloss top on and that did not work. im out of ideas. is it the pearl colors? 

[BobP]

I use Dick Nite MCU over baits painted with acrylic latex (various brands) and don’t have wrinkling.  You didn’t give details on how exactly you apply the MCU, which may be the root of the problem.  I have dipped but usually now brush MCU on. I use a 1/2” brush to quickly flood coat the lures, then hang them to let excess MCU drip off the tails.  I usually go with a single coat of Dick Nite.  When I first started using MCU I rotated the lures while drying because that’s what I was used to doing with epoxy.  Big mistake.  It allowed MCU to pool on the lure for too long, which caused wrinkling.  Just hanging them up is the way to go, IMO.

[herrmanniii]

Applied with a brush and hung to dry. 

[ravenlures]

Using KBS Diamond clear and just let drip no turning, no problems.

Wayne

[BobP]

Ya got me.  If the MCU is not pooling anywhere on the baits, the only other cause I’ve heard of is wet water based paint - which doesn’t exist in your case.

[mark poulson]

3 hours ago, BobP said:

Ya got me.  If the MCU is not pooling anywhere on the baits, the only other cause I’ve heard of is wet water based paint - which doesn’t exist in your case.

Could the MCU need to be thinned?

[ravenlures]

I thin my KBS 10 to 15%

Wayne

[mark poulson]

Did you use a solvent based primer, like a rattle can primer?

[RayburnGuy]

3 hours ago, mark poulson said:

Did you use a solvent based primer, like a rattle can primer?

Used some rattle can Durachrome once and that's the one and only time I've ever had DN wrinkle. Solvents are notorious for not playing well together.

A lot of the procedures we use to make lures is really nothing more than a "witches brew". We use a lot of things in ways that were never truly intended to be used in the way we do. The thing you have to do is isolate where the problem started and don't do that anymore. That's easier said than done a lot of times, but unless you have a degree in chemistry or can afford to employ a lab full of chem techs then it's the only choice we have.

good luck................Ben

[BobP]

It’s easy to assume anyone asking about a build problem did all the prior build steps in the same way and with the same products as you use, which obviously ain’t true.  That mistake leads to a lot of bad advice but it’s hard to avoid on an Internet forum. To make clear, I use epoxy as an undercoating and water based acrylic paint, so there’s never a solvent based coating on a bait before applying MCU.  Epoxy is about   the most chemically inert coating I know for a wood bait.  And I use acrylic latex color base coats.  If you mix solvent based coatings on a bait It’s always a crap shoot whether it will work, so good luck there.