Loon Thick or Thin UV to secure eyes?

[Felder]

I’ve been using Loon’s UV clear fly finish THIN to coat and secure my swimjig and bladed jig 3D eyes after sticking them on. I’m finding the coating insufficient at times as the eyes are breaking loose every now and then. Thin is awesome on the threads as finishing cement, but I’m wondering if UV THICK would be a better choice to finish the heads/eyes. 
 

Any experience with both to confirm I’m thinking correctly? 
 

thx!! 

Edited January 25, 2020 by Felder

[smalljaw]

What is probably happening is the UV resin is breaking loose from the socket. There are 2 ways to fix the issue, the first is to do the entire head in the UV resin. The second is to apply the UV resin to the eyes and cure like you have been doing and then go over the eyes and entire head with Sally Hansen's clear nail polish. I tried the UV resin and it is ok but it has a tacky feeling after it is cured so I found if you go over it with clear nail polish it would get rid of the tacky feeling and make the finish even harder. Now the first option isn't great because the UV resin is expensive, it is why I no longer use it, so try the clear nail polish over the head and eyes after the UV resin and see how that works.

[Felder]

Good idea and one I had considered actually (always nice to hear confirmation!). I was using some Germ-X to remove the tacky feeling (works great, btw) but applying SH’s is another great option. I was also already coating the whole head... which is why I was surprised when the eyes broke loose... it should have been a complete seal. 
 

Options... options...! I guess that’s part of what makes it fun, trying different fixes! 

Thx again!

[mark poulson]

Dollar Store clear nail polish works, too, and it's only a buck.

 

[smalljaw]

4 hours ago, mark poulson said:

Dollar Store clear nail polish works, too, and it's only a buck.

 

The only issue with the dollar store nail polish is the smell. SH takes a little longer to set up but sets up pretty hard but the smell isn't as strong and is gone after a few hours. I tried this L.A. Colors stuff from Family Dollar, 3 days later and it still stand and I only used it to coat some thread on a hair jig. 

[mark poulson]

On 1/26/2020 at 12:33 PM, smalljaw said:

The only issue with the dollar store nail polish is the smell. SH takes a little longer to set up but sets up pretty hard but the smell isn't as strong and is gone after a few hours. I tried this L.A. Colors stuff from Family Dollar, 3 days later and it still stand and I only used it to coat some thread on a hair jig. 

The Dollar Tree near me carries LA Colors Rapid Dry topcoat, and I think it is very low odor.  Maybe it's because it's rapid dry.  Or maybe I just don't smell things very well anymore.  Hahaha

[Fishermanbt]

I’m wondering if the uv epoxy is shrinking or expanding some following the cure and the adhesive backing on some of the eyes are not strong enough to maintain their bond. Thus, lifting the eyes up?  Just thinking out loud. 

[mark poulson]

If the UV cure is under the eye, maybe it's not getting any UV light to cure it.

 

[Felder]

All good comments. Admittedly I was not using superglue to bond the eyes first as I was getting an white haze every time I used it (see my other recent thread about the issue, now resolved). I was hoping the “stock” adhesive combined with loon resin would do the trick, effectively: use the stock adhesive to hold them in place while I apply the resin, but the resin is really what keeps them on. On some, that’s been the case, but when running my finger over the head/eyes I can tell the coating it thicker around the eyes on those that seem to be holding up. Those that have failed not only failed at the eyes but even saw peeling in the whole head. 
 

Right or wrong, my logic of moving to UV Thick was to replicate a thick, epoxy/UV clear coat on a crank bait, applied after the eyes are glued in. That stuff is so thick you have to give it drip-time, but it seals everything well. If I can accomplish a similar effect with UV thick, and further improve the durability of the head, that’s a winner in my book (and maybe even worth the extra cheddar :). 
 

Thx again for the comments!  Very helpful. 

[mark poulson]

Maybe you're using too much super glue to hold your eyes on.  I put a small drop in the middle of the eye socket, use a piece of wire to spread it around, and then apply the eyes.  I never get any white haze.

If I'm applying eyes to a bait without an eye socket, I use a fine file to make a flat area for the eye to sit on, and the put a drop of superglue onto that.  It does take longer for the glue to hold enough to do the other side, but it works.

 

[Felder]

Good idea. I have to remind myself that you can use deceptively little superglue to get the job done... eyes and weed guards! 

[mark poulson]

On 1/29/2020 at 12:57 PM, Felder said:

Good idea. I have to remind myself that you can use deceptively little superglue to get the job done... eyes and weed guards! 

For my eyes I also put some runny super glue on a piece of blue painter's tape on my bench, and then use a piece of spinnerbait wire to add a drop to the center of the eye cavity.

[Kasilofchrisn]

I don't use the Loon products but I do use AlumiUV to secure the eyes on my jigs.

It works great for me.

I do find if my powder paint isn't completely flat I can sometimes get some lifting that doesn't seal under the AlumiUV.

If say when I dip in my fluid bed and one corner of the eye socket is paint heavy one of the edges will lift.

Sometimes if I don't catch it then the UV has cured and the eye isn't sealed.

So I make sure the eye socket is flat or the eye has been glued down properly with the glue set before adding the UV and it isn't an issue.

Also I have had issues where I was adding an eye that was too big and had similar issues.

So I also need to make sure I'm adding the correct size eye for the socket.

Hope this helps.

[mjs]

On 1/29/2020 at 3:57 PM, Felder said:

Good idea. I have to remind myself that you can use deceptively little superglue to get the job done... eyes and weed guards! 

I just learned that myself. Less superglue is actually stronger than more.