[Roccus]

Here is my method of finishing with epoxy... I've had my share of bumps and bruises along the way, just like you beginners,, here are some of the things I do to make life alot eaiser....

1) warm your epoxy.... I Use the light bulbs from my spinner but placing the bottles in warm water for 10-15 minutes accomplishes the same thing, this allows for an easier more accurate pour and much easier and through mixing..

2) I find that pouring the hardener first is the best way to go, adding the resin to the hardener is the recommended way to mix epoxy.. scrape the spoon thoroughly after each measure, I use a plastic tongue depressor, the round end is for scraping the spoon, the flat end is for mixing.

3) I use a small container that electrical tape comes in, it allows for lots of surface area and the flat straight side allow me to scrape the sides as I mix, it easily holds 6 teaspoons of liquid ( 3 each or hardener and resin) this is enough for 6 medium sized plugs and just to right amount to work with before it gets cranky

4) prepare your bush, I've tried all sorts of brushes, foam, chip brushes and artist brushes, none IMHO work as well as a modified 1/2" acid brush... I add a bead of super glue around the base of the brush, this secures the hair, I also blow off the brush with compressed air to remove any hair dust made in the cutting process..

5) mix the mixture until it is gassing freely and begins to clear, be certain to scrape the side of the container and reverse direction, whipping the mixture is the best way to mix it..

6) when you apply the mixture dont be bashful, lay it on thick, a thick coat is much easier to see and less likely to leave dry spots, after the entire plug is coated , excess can be brushed to one end of the plug and redistributed to another plug or the container..as the gas bubbles come to the surface gently exhale on them, the carbon dioxide in your breath will break up the bubbles... or see 7


7) this step is not necessary, but provides the utmost smooth finish... I heat treat the plugs with a torch, keep the torch approx 8" away from the plugs, this does two things, it breaks up the gas bubbles, but it also allows you slightly heat the epoxy to smooth out any areas that may not be covering well, you van repair bad spots for up to about an hour by carefully heating the epoxy and touching it up with the brush... just dont get too close or you will have a flame out...

8) the plugs must be rotated to keep the epoxy from building up at one end, I built a pair of custom spinners that have closed doors, heat and timers, but a simple square frame with eye hook will do the trick, attach the plugs in between the frame rails with small springs or bungee cords, flip the rig every few minutes until the epoxy sets, this will take 2 hours or longer depending on the tepeture...

 

[Mark P]

Re: Coatng with e-tex

Great info for us newbies. I know you have shared all this info in the past throughout other threads but to have it staring you in the face step by step is really helpful. I have definitely had some difficulty with the epoxy process and I know others have as well because of recent posts. Thanks for passing it on.

 

[jimi4290]

Re: Coatng with e-tex

gret post roc. there has been a lot of epoxy questions recenty, hopefully everyone will read this and understand what to do. nice addition with the pics too.thumbsup.gif

 

[Roccus]

Re: Coatng with e-tex

gret post roc. there has been a lot of epoxy questions recenty, hopefully everyone will read this and understand what to do. nice addition with the pics too.thumbsup.gif

thats why I put it up...

 

[Ed White]

Re: Coatng with e-tex

Nice job roc, I just took 6 more plugs off the spinner just now, I think that aside from catching fish with them, taking shiny etex'ed finished plugs off the spinner is one of my favorite steps in the plugbuilding process.

To add my 2 cents, I'll repeat what roc said above, no matter what type of container you mix in, or how you measure, using a square stir stick you must scrape the sides and bottom of the container while you are mixing, making sure that none of either part remains unmixed, this is what will lead to soft or sticky plugs.

 

[8137]

Re: Coatng with e-tex

awesome post,thanks:a_goodjob:

 

[Mark P]

Re: Coatng with e-tex

Sweet plugs!

 

[mully537]

Re: Coatng with e-tex

Sweet plugs!

i second that. cool little trick with the torch too. will try that for sure next time ,thanks:a_goodjob:

 

[10337]

Re: Coatng with e-tex

Great walk through Roccus :a_goodjob:. Love that plug spinner. I duplicated yours last year when you put the pics up, it works great and offers a large capacity. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and work.

 

[jerseystriper]

Re: Coatng with e-tex

Great thread Roccus and thank you for all the info.
I can see by the pics above that you use E-Tex Brand. I can tell this by the box, I have used Parks Superglaze in the woodworking field. How do you find the durability of the Etex epoxy. Have you ever tried and of the other epoxies like Zap, Dubro Devcon, or Parks? I quess from what I have read most folks prefer Envirotex but some don't. Just really want your input on it. Do you find it better to spin then flip flop the plugs?

One or more other things is what type of airbrush do you use and what type of paint. I find for me the bombs are just not what I'm looking for in detail/finish but maybe I need to try harder. The bombs are ok for some of my turned stuff but I want more detail for hand carved lures

Thank you for all your info

 

[Roccus]

I use E-tex because It works grate for me, I can obtain it locally where as the other products you name are un available here... I'm happy with it, and have figured out how much to mix and how many I can cover per mix... why change a successful formula...

As for paint.. I use mostly Delta cerama coat... it's cost effective and comes in a variety of colors... I can buy a quart of it for the price of one small bottle or createx.....Anita works great also...

For air brushes I use mainly Iwata BCS.. I also have a pair of Bagers.. a 175 Cresenda ,, which I spray all my pearlized paint... a 150.. that is crap.. It's a spitting hunk of @^&*...

I prime with an Automobile style spray brush using zinsser oil based cover stain....

I prefer spin..using both spinners, I can spin 24 plugs at once... I set the timers and forget about them...

 

[jerseystriper]

I had just asked about the Parks Superglaze as they sell it at home depot. I have used it on tables before and it worked great, but this is a whole different animal. The Parks at HD goes for around $20 for 32oz. and it is water proof. I had read on another site that it may be harder than etex which may cause it to chip more, like when striking a rock or bottom and some other guys swear by it. I was just hoping someone may have tried both as I can also get both locally. What made me think of it(Parks) is the box for etex states the same thing as Parks something about equaling 60 coats of varnish similar picture also. Parks also makes Zinnser.

The Iwata you use, that's the Eclipse line? No? Is it bottom feed(suction) I do have a hvlp spray gun I could use, I would only use it for large volume though as I have a few rattle cans of BIN or Zinnser. I quess I will see how the turning goes as I'm going to be turning on my drill press. I'm making (welding) an attachment with a rest to turn on the press. I'll have to see how it works, just hope I don't get to much vibration. I have access to several lathes but they are all metal cutting and have way to low an rpm(1200 highest I think), it sucks as they are automatic too.

Thank you for your help :thu:

Parks box

 

[Mark P]

BTW 1200 RPM is not awful. I spin at 2000 now but when I started i was spinning at 1200 and the Chip out wasn't awful with sharp tools

 

[Sudsy]

The torch method woks well for clearing the bubbles but it's not very forgiving - make a mistake and yer screwed (I've made a few mistakes)

I use a hair dryer and breath into the back of it = warm C02.
Works well and there's no chance of messing up with a torch.

Be sure there's no lint build up on the dryer screen or you'll have lint in your epoxy.

 

[jerseystriper]

The torch method woks well for clearing the bubbles but it's not very forgiving - make a mistake and yer screwed (I've made a few mistakes)

I use a hair dryer and breath into the back of it = warm C02.
Works well and there's no chance of messing up with a torch.

Be sure there's no lint build up on the dryer screen or you'll have lint in your epoxy.

That's a great idea with the hair dryer. Why does the CO2 matter? I do have a sheet of hepa filter from 3m that I custom cut for my window unit A/C. Originally I was going to use either a micro torch or a heat gun. The heat gun is similar to a hairdryer but much hotter, although it does have 2 heat and 2 speed settings.

I have a question on using the lathe I have access to. It is only like 1200rm at the highest speed.-Should I use regular gouges or use the tools that we have with the lathe that fit in the chuck. All the bits are super sharp but most are pointed or flat-similar to parting tools. I don't think we have any that are cupped like a gouge. Ah what the hell I quess I just try them and take very light passes

The other thing I'm going to weld up is like the attached picture. I will use a chuck on the bottom so I can attach different items to it. I may also just make a homemaid lathe if I don't or can't get the Shopsmith I'm going to look at.

 

[JakeF]

Why does the CO2 matter?

It is primarily Co2 that pops the bubbles, the heat just helps to thin the epoxy a little to aid the process. Either a flame (which produces Co2) or your breath will do the trick.

 

[jerseystriper]

It is primarily Co2 that pops the bubbles, the heat just helps to thin the epoxy a little to aid the process. Either a flame (which produces Co2) or your breath will do the trick.

Thank you for that info :a_goodjob:

 

[8733]

I have been given a Badger 250 airbrush as an X-Mas gift....I have a few blank plugs I want to try and paint and have decided on color patterns...all that is to decide is the following:

what kind of paint should I use for painting my blanks???......acrylic??...an oil based apint as it is more durable?.....Im thinking of the salt water enviroment..........acrylic seems weak ?...

Also what do you use to pre-seal your plugs prior to painting??....linseed oil>>????....how many coats should I apply....sand between coats.....??...

Oh yes....what is it you guys are using to create the scale look on the plugs??

thanks for any input

 

[13160]

I'm a relative newby and recently used epoxies for the first time to top coat plugs. Two weeks ago I tried LocTite (Home Depot) 5 minute epoxy but the results were unsatisfactory due to the material clumping on many of the plugs giving them a somewhat lumpy texture. Last week I bough E-tex to try out and the results were great - perfectly smooth coating. I didn't use a torch, but opted for a heat gun which helped set up the epoxy with only minimum (5 mins or so) turning by hand.

 

[Roccus]

I'm a relative newby and recently used epoxies for the first time to top coat plugs. Two weeks ago I tried LocTite (Home Depot) 5 minute epoxy but the results were unsatisfactory due to the material clumping on many of the plugs giving them a somewhat lumpy texture. Last week I bough E-tex to try out and the results were great - perfectly smooth coating. I didn't use a torch, but opted for a heat gun which helped set up the epoxy with only minimum (5 mins or so) turning by hand.

this is a good lesson for you... five minute epoxy is too fast setting, aside from that, it tends to yellow.... stick with epoxies with a minimum of an hours dry time... but remember this.. the longer the cure.. the more durable the product..