Well I thought I would share my more recent lure painting findings. I tried two overcoats lately. One is called Helmsman, it's a varathane type thing. Here is what I found with Helmsman on my Generic Trout

1. After a few days of drying it gets a very amber tint to it. Not good.

2. After two coats and long drying periods between each, I threw my Generic for about 100 casts. Two big chunks of the Helmsman and the original clear coat came right off.

3. This stuff basically sucks.

Pat, who wrote that very excellent write up on plug re-painting, got me hooked up with some two part Aristocrat expoxy. This stuff is a very clear, very hard epoxy designed to put over antiques and wood and stuff like that. I did two coats and here is what I have found so far.

1. The stuff is pretty easy to work with, the only annoyance is that with a heavy coat on, while the lure is drying it will drip and form little half droplets on the end of the underside of the lure. On my Generic that meant there were little drips on the ends of all the fins. I cut them off with an exacto knife and it looks fine.

2. The stuff dries thick and very clear. Bubbles are not a problem at all. Just blow on it a little to get them out.

3. The end results seems to be really good. A thick clear coat that seems to be very hard.

4. I haven't thrown my Generic with the Aristocrat yet, but I think it's going to be really good. I will post when I have a chance to give it a good chucking.

Where did you find the Aristocrat?

You can minimize the drips by alternating the hanging of the bait. I hang the bait first by the line tie screw eye. Then turn it around and hang it by the tail end. I leave the tail pins in when I'm refinishing so they don't plug up, and also to have something to hang the bait tail-up. How often to rotate the bait will vary, but every 15 minutes for the first hour makes for a good start. Then rotate as needed from there. Also, applying the finish duing the warmest part of the day will help control the drips.

Rob,
Have you taken a good look at some of the Rapalas? They seem to have a clear shrink tubing finish over the color coat. Any idea where clear shrink tube is available?
Bill

I still haven't thrown my Rago bait yet. I've been kinda holding out, unsure as to whether I should strengthen that finish before I get it wet, scratched or possibly *thrashed*!

How did you apply the stuff? With a rag, brush, smear, or what?

(p.s. if you have a bunch left over, think maybe I can mooch some off ya? I'd be more than willing to share your costs. I'd just like to avoid having to buy some excessive amount for myself, where it'd probably just go bad on me, over time. Lemme know! Otherwise, maybe you could suggest a good source for this goop?)