Top coat for 3d printed resin lures

[Seele]

What do you guys use for 3d printed resin lures? Normal 2K paint? Should be easy to apply on more than just 5 lures and durable. I want to coat topwater lures, for that not too much additional weight would be nice.

[aulrich]

I have not done a resin lure yet myself only FDM till now I mostly use resin for DnD miniatures it's my experience that the stuff takes paint great (at least the ABS like stuff I have used so far) so I don't think there should be any compatibility issues with any of the normal top coats. 

One possible issue could be off gassing IDK if the curing process fully driven by UV  as I understand the process the UV breaks a chunk off of the resin molecule which triggers hardening and considering how bad the resin smells as it is curing it clear something is off gassing. I just trued UV clear coat for the first time and that stuff stunk for at least 24 hours but did eventually go away. 

I think it is safe to say a resin printed lure should be treated like a cast lure, either heated to 150f for an hour or two or left for a few days to finish curing.

The UV topcoat(craft store) was easy to put on in a thin layer it had OK toughness (nothing really stands up to pike teeth) if you are after bass or something else not toothy  it would work fine and you already have a uv curing light.

What kind of resin are you using the ABS like stuff seems brittle.  

 

 

[Hand Crafted Angling]

I never made it to far with the resin printed lures. Any resin at a reasonable price point was to brittle for my liking. Regular airbrush paint should be fine but for a clearcoat I would definitely do something that blocks uv. The paint may I'm not sure but the longer that uv resin gets exposed to light the more brittle it gets. I use the chepo amazon craft resin for (not the printer kind) for my topcoats and it works out very well. I would also assume that since it absorbs uv light to cure it cant let much through.

[aulrich]

I wonder if a good primer would be enough to stop the over cure?

Here is an odd thought for UV protection I wonder how much UV reactive powder you would have to add to a topcoat for it to act like sunscreen.

The other option is blending resin I have not done it yet myself but it’s common practice for miniature makers to mix in 10% flex resin into standard resin to make a tougher miniature. I have a thing for clear/ translucent bibs,  I was hoping to use the resin printer for printing them, so toughness has been running in the back of my mind. I just got myself a vat heater so I can start using the fancier resins.  My first try will be with Siraya Tech blu which is supposed to be on the tougher side already.

[Seele]

At the moment I use normal ABS resin and it works without any coating. But of course this is nothing for a durable lure, a UV blocking top coat is mandatory. But I think it is possible to use resin printers for cheap lures.

[aulrich]

I have no doubt it can be done, finding the right resin and dealing with cavities are the big ones in my mind. But once that is worked out the ability to print a tray full as fast as you can print one will be a game changer.  As the resin printer get more popular folks will figure things out.

I am assuming you have seen this channel  https://www.youtube.com/@WMBayouLures 

For me the first fishing projects for the resin printer will be soft plastic molds.

The first lure will probably be ice fishing jigs

 

 

 

[aulrich]

One thing that could be a game changer with resin lure is if someone figures out how to make non-pia 2 piece construction.

What I mean by PIA assemble is that invariably assembling two annoying since the half tend to warp and its difficult to keep things properly aligned.

I am thinking some sort of snap connection. This is the workflow that is spinning in my head.

Print your two halves.

post process (I am not sure if I would finish the cure at this step or not)

assemble the lure hardware in one half

Snap the other half on (IDK if this step would be better if the halves are soft, fully cured  or somewhere in between

seal the seams with CA glue

Full cure if you did not before

 

 

 

[Hand Crafted Angling]

On 7/20/2023 at 12:12 PM, aulrich said:

One thing that could be a game changer with resin lure is if someone figures out how to make non-pia 2 piece construction.

What I mean by PIA assemble is that invariably assembling two annoying since the half tend to warp and its difficult to keep things properly aligned.

I am thinking some sort of snap connection. This is the workflow that is spinning in my head.

Print your two halves.

post process (I am not sure if I would finish the cure at this step or not)

assemble the lure hardware in one half

Snap the other half on (IDK if this step would be better if the halves are soft, fully cured  or somewhere in between

seal the seams with CA glue

Full cure if you did not before

 

 

 

I kind of do that. I print the lure in 2 equal haves. I use figure 8 hook hangers for attaching hooks and line. These are the same used in commercial lures and they act like alignment pins. For glue I would try resin welding. If you can get the whole joint to cure it should be much stronger.

[Seele]

On 7/20/2023 at 5:12 PM, aulrich said:

I have no doubt it can be done, finding the right resin and dealing with cavities are the big ones in my mind. But once that is worked out the ability to print a tray full as fast as you can print one will be a game changer.  As the resin printer get more popular folks will figure things out.

I am assuming you have seen this channel  https://www.youtube.com/@WMBayouLures 

For me the first fishing projects for the resin printer will be soft plastic molds.

The first lure will probably be ice fishing jigs

 

 

Yeah I know this channel, but he's doning a lot of moulds and is sponsered by Siraya Tech.

At the moment my lures are doing well without coating, but I don't know what is in 3 months....

 

 

 

 

[aulrich]

 

Another channel I just ran into https://www.youtube.com/@yauckoutdoors I think the guy must do CAD as a living, to my eyes he makes Fusion sing. His Fancy bluegill is going to be the basis for my whitefish soft plastic. But he is Also more of a mold maker.

My printing temperature problem is solved, I go a vat heater and at about 75% power the resin got to 30c in my 20c basement (we are having heat here too and I don't have AC).

Up until this year I have been doing OK with PLA lures but this summer  i did notice one go soft but it did not warp.  There is still a lot of real world testing and tuning to go. I think now that there are more folks taking the concept serous the issues will get identified and hopefully solved.

For me I think resin printed lures will be next winter's project, 

 

 

[Hand Crafted Angling]

15 hours ago, aulrich said:

 

Another channel I just ran into https://www.youtube.com/@yauckoutdoors I think the guy must do CAD as a living, to my eyes he makes Fusion sing. His Fancy bluegill is going to be the basis for my whitefish soft plastic. But he is Also more of a mold maker.

My printing temperature problem is solved, I go a vat heater and at about 75% power the resin got to 30c in my 20c basement (we are having heat here too and I don't have AC).

Up until this year I have been doing OK with PLA lures but this summer  i did notice one go soft but it did not warp.  There is still a lot of real world testing and tuning to go. I think now that there are more folks taking the concept serous the issues will get identified and hopefully solved.

For me I think resin printed lures will be next winter's project, 

 

 

I highly recommend this fillimate. 

It’s a poly carbonate petg blend that prints like petg except much stronger. I make all my hardbaits out of it. I also prototype all my soft plastics in it as it can handle the heat and is much cheaper than resin. Can’t beat the price either.

https://www.amazon.com/Transparent-Filament-Dimensional-Accuracy-Polycarbonate/dp/B075SY4YRD/ref=mp_s_a_1_7?crid=5YF49QRNN9Z7&keywords=polycarbonate+filament&qid=1690203804&sprefix=polyca%2Caps%2C167&sr=8-7

[aulrich]

Do you need to have your printer in an enclosure, that has been something I have been avoiding/procrastinating. 

if yes, do you have the power supply and electronics outside or inside the enclosure, I got this thing against running electronics unnecessarily hot.

But that does highlight the one thing FDM has VS resin a bigger variety of filament

  

[Hand Crafted Angling]

1 hour ago, aulrich said:

Do you need to have your printer in an enclosure, that has been something I have been avoiding/procrastinating. 

if yes, do you have the power supply and electronics outside or inside the enclosure, I got this thing against running electronics unnecessarily hot.

But that does highlight the one thing FDM has VS resin a bigger variety of filament

  

I run an ended 6 now. So it is a stock  enclosed printer. I did a few prints on my ended 3 with no warping but I’m not sure how a lure would work out with no enclosure.

[aulrich]

It's probably time the enclosure floated up the project list, it's not like building a box is hard. Even PLA warps on me on bigger prints so I can anticipate problems when trying to do a big mold and keep things flat. 

On a happy note it looks like my local print shop has a PC blend filament in their house brand if it is a PC/PTEG blend then I'll give it a try. Your filament is available on Amazon.ca but I do like supporting the local guy if possible.

[Seele]

Normal FDM printing is not an option for me due to the slow speed regarding small batches and also the qualtiy is much less than with an SLA printer.
But you are right, PC is a nice material for lures.

[aulrich]

Speed has never been an issue for me,  set up a print and after work or when I wake up they are done. 

I get rid of most layer lines with a coat of CA glue and a bit of sanding so in reality I am just trading post processing tasks. 

Leave it to The Handmade Fisherman to come up with clever ideas but I think my first resin lure will be knocking this concept off.  I love the use of the grub screw as ballast it solves a couple of issues the biggest being cleaning the cavity of uncured resin. Using the old school hook hanger was a nice touch too.