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| What do you guys do to get the best results from Envirotex? Iv heard gentle heat can help, and a drying wheel , any other advice? |
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| Make sure to mix it well and acurate. I just pulled one off the wheel that wouldnt set up . Put too much heat and when I came back it was brown and smoking ! HA |
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Location: Verona, WI | I generally work on lures in the basement which is cool and tends to have high humidity. Because of that I keep a small electric heater under my lure rotator which keeps the temp about 75 degrees. I also run a dehumidifier to keep the moisture out of the air. Both of these have allowed me to speed up the curing time on the clear coat.
Shane |
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Posts: 141
| Thanks but what about that flawless look? I take it you put plenty on, keep the room temperature up and keep turning, anything else?
Edited by DaveG 11/13/2009 11:43 AM
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| flawless look LOL |
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Location: Verona, WI | Nothing gets you flawless all the time as there are many variables - how you prepared the blank, proper mixture, etc. Another thing I do is use a denatured alcohol burner which I bought from Cabelas. The by-product of burning denatured alcohol is carbon dioxide which helps to eliminate bubbles from epoxy. Obviously there are some precautions that need to be followed when dealing with carbon dioxide.
Shane
Edited by ShaneW 11/13/2009 12:40 PM
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| musky slut - 11/13/2009 12:12 PM
flawless look LOL
Within reason of course  |
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| Thanks Im not looking to get perfect every time, just better..
I sometimes get an uneven wavey finish, Iv found that applying a varnish first before the e/tex gives good results and wondered what others did.
Edited by DaveG 11/13/2009 12:46 PM
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Posts: 501
Location: Norway | Get C&W Lureepoxy from Wolfcreek. It degasses itself alot better than etex, with the use of heat only(from a heat gun or similar) It also has, in the instructions, how to mix it by weight, which is, in my opinion 10 times easier, especially on smaller amounts/batches. After I went from etex to C&W, I will never look back to e-tex again.
All baits in this thread is with C&W: http://muskie.outdoorsfirst.com/board/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=50...
Michael |
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| A dehumidifier works great. I keep one running when I'm drying lures and it helps the cure. I don't think measuring is as a big deal as guys make it. I use plastic containers of different sizes. I pick one and throw in one of each into a bigger container and that's it. I'm happy with ETex. It's not too hard, so it doesn't chip, but no matter how thick you make it, teeth still get through.
Michael, what's Wolfcreek? Can't find it on the web.
Edited by Beaver 11/13/2009 4:17 PM
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Location: Oregon | It is possible to get a flawless look with Etex once you learn how to use it.
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Location: MN | English version didn't work unfortunately
http://www.wolfcreeklures.com/produktion.php
Edited by psv 11/13/2009 8:06 PM
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Location: Norway | Sorry forgot to put up the link to the website... Jed, sure one can get perfect results with etex, but I found it easier with c&w. And besides, in the period c&w came on the market, most of etex in Scandinavia, where from the crappy batch, that was oily and sticky. They are very similar to work with, a tad longer potlife on c&w and as mentioned airbubbles escapes easier, Ive never used co2 only a heat gun.
BTW I remember that top lure, Jed
Michael |
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Posts: 141
| RiverMan - 11/13/2009 7:20 PM
It is possible to get a flawless look with Etex once you learn how to use it.
Are you going to tell us how Riverman?
Nice, how many coats on those babies?
Edited by DaveG 11/14/2009 2:36 AM
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Location: manchester,england | My wifes finally had enough and banished me to the garage so i've just made a box with 2 lure turners built in that is heated with a light bulb to help speed up the process and the first runs through it have made a difference to the finish,i'll post up some pictures later on when i get home from work |
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Location: manchester,england | heres a picture of my drying/turning box hopefully the picture saves a thousand word's,the lefthand disc is fixed and the right one moves for different sized lures up to 12 inch's, it is powered via microwave motors.With a 60watt light bulb it raises the temperature in the region of 15-20 degrees celsius above ambient temperature
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| Thanks Mark the light bulb is a good idea, nice set up. |
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Location: Oregon | DaveG - 11/14/2009 2:34 AM
RiverMan - 11/13/2009 7:20 PM
It is possible to get a flawless look with Etex once you learn how to use it.
Are you going to tell us how Riverman?
Nice, how many coats on those babies?
The lures above have three coats and are made from WRC. Important to keep your drying area very clean. I seal the wood with two coats of sanding sealer, let dry. Then apply one coat of etex, let dry. Prime, paint, then two more coats of etex for the perfect glossy coat you see above. I only use this process when coating WRC because it is very grainy. If you like a more grainy look, don't apply a coat of etex before painting.
These monster gliders I made from poplar, they have two coats of sanding sealer, primer, paint, then two or three coats of etex. I generally don't like to use more than two coats of etex unless it is abolutely necessary. The gliders I build run best with no etex at all so I try to keep it at a minimum needed for protection. If you look at the bottom photo you will notice you can see a tree in the reflection of the lure..........it's very glossy. It is just like anything else, the more you do it the better you will get.
After applying, run a torch lightly over the lure to remove bubbles and smooth out.
Mike..........I haven't tried the product you are referring to but the finish is beautiful.
Jed
Edited by RiverMan 11/14/2009 3:57 PM
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Posts: 141
| Thanks for the tips Jed, i`ll work on it..
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| I've made a lot of baits over the years and used E-tex for most of them. The key is sealing your wood and keeping the moisture down to 30% or less!!! I now use EX-74 made by the same folks that make E-tex. I use a propane torch to get the bubbles out! Heat will speed up the drying time! |
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Posts: 235
| Hi there, I've been using Etex for several years without any problems. From what I have gathered from various sites is the one big draw back is measuring & mixing Etex. To measure Etex I use two disposale syringes that I bought from a veterinary clinic @ $.40 per syringes. The first time I use a new one I rinse alittle thinner through the syringe. This is very accurate. You need to mix Etex very well & then let it sit for a few minutes to degas itself. Also alot of guys apply a light heat to remove the bubbles but EZ does it. Too much heat will cause problems. Any questions please feel free to ask & I hope this happens. Ken |
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| Agreed with the heat Ken. A torch or heat gun may be great for getting bubbles out, but get a little too close and you can watch the Etex thin rapidly and run right off of the lure. I do all of my clear-coating in the basement, and right now it feels like the basement is about 45 degrees. I'd have to run a heater for a day to get the temp up, but if you warm your Etex by bringing it upstairs, bring up the lures that you plan to coat too. Funny things happen when you try to combine things of different temperatures. Take it from someone who found out the hard way....as usual.  |
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Location: N.E. Ohio | I just used E-tex on 5 lures with a wheel in my kitchen last night... I have a fireplace insert so its very dry and warm... It was 75 during the process.. I left the E-tex on the table over nite so it could get warmed up and only mixed a 1/4 of medicine bottle up, then I waited 10min and started applying.. I didn't have any bubbles- (other problems with my drying wheel) but no bubbles... tonight I'll be putting 2nd coat on. I had them on the drying wheel for 2 hours as the E-tex seemed pretty solid and not sagging anymore...
I hope to post pics next week.
Edited by BaddFish 11/19/2009 3:24 PM
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Posts: 4266
| Another great reason to have a fireplace or woodstove. Dry heat. Sounds like a great set-up. My 2 cents......let it cure for another day before you put on the second coat. I usually wait 2 days between coats. That's just me. Opinions?
Beav |
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Location: Oregon | Because it is a chemical reaction you can apply the second coat immediately with no negative effect. In fact, the bond between coats is stronger if you apply the second coat before the first has fully cured.
Jed
Edited by RiverMan 11/19/2009 8:02 PM
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| Really? I always waited for some reason......maybe because I'm Polish |
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Posts: 480
| I enclosed my lure dryer (12 bigbaits capacity) and added a 25 watt light bulb for heat. I left 1 inch at the bottom panel open for air exchange. It keeps the air around the lures warm while drying and dust free as well. |
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Posts: 162
Location: Bemidji, MN | I have been playing with Flex Coat fishing rod finish. I don't think it is as hard as the envirotex, but it seems like it stays on better, and doesn't crack as much due to expanding/contracting wood. Plus it is easier for me to get a smooth finish. Otherwise treat it the same as the envirotex. |
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Location: Stones throw away...finally!! | I'm a real novice at bait finishing, but doesn't anyone breathe on envirotex to get the bubbles out. That's the way I was taught and seemed to work pretty well on the handful of baits I have refinished. It's probably just that I don't do many, so never had the need to streamline the process. Those bait boxes are a nice addition. Hell, I hang mine from a string. Haha. |
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