| Mr Pogie's Epoxy Plug Finishing - Applying Envirotex |
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The Guide to Custom Fishing Lure Building – Mr Pogie’s Plug Finishing – Applying Envirotex Epoxy Finish. How to apply, dry an epoxy finish to a custom fishing lure to protect plug and enhance the color. I have my pictures ready to upload on applying envirotex. There will be six pictures and text to go with them uploaded consecutively. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank my brother Captain Bottom for his help in this venture. It takes at least three hands to do this and I only have two so...he was the third hand. ...mrpogie  This is a close-up of the attachment I use to spin my plugs. I purchased the motor from Cabela's for $21.99. Any slow rpm motor will work; this one is a 4-rpm, which is good because I apply the finish while the plug is spinning. I assemble my plugs with weight, swivels and wire before I do any painting or finishing because I don't want the paint carved up while the plug is clamped in a vise twisting off the thru wire, even with rubber pads on the jaws. I hold my plugs by the tail loop of wire with vice grips during the painting process. The attachment was made by a friend out of aluminum but I'm sure one made out of hardwood would be fine. It's about 3/4" square and 2 1/2" long with a bandsaw kerf run 1" into the middle. A small nut and bolt applies the pressure to hold the plug.  This is all you will need to finish a plug with the exception of paper towels and a little rubbing alcohol. The mixing cup and stick are made by Flexcoat and are available wherever you can get rod-building supplies. The scuff pad is made by 3M and is available at hardware stores. Get the gray color it is finer than the red. The brush is an acid swab brush. I get small boxes of envirotex, usually the 8 oz. kit. That will do 25 - 30 plugs. Enough for a while, you don't want to keep the stuff for a couple of years it will go bad. The 8 0z kit is about 5 or 6 dollars. One more thing, whatever motor you use spend a dollar and get a thumbwheel switch for the electrical cord, much easier than pulling the plug when you want to stop the motor while you're applying finish.  When I'm done painting a plug I put a couple of thin coats of clear on it to protect whatever spots, stripes, etc I put on the plug from being rubbed off during the scuffing process. I like to give the envirotex something to grab onto. The picture on the left has clear on it, notice the shine. The picture on the right has been scuffed with the pad, just enough to dull the shine. Now attach the plug to the spinner and turn it on and bend it so it spins fairly level. Before I start applying finish, I dampen a paper towel with rubbing alcohol and wipe the plug in one direction only as it spins until I have cleaned the entire plug. The paper towel should only be damp to the point that you can watch the alcohol evaporate right behind the towel as you wipe. Too saturated and it may start to eat into your paint. This is to remove oil from your fingers and dust from scuffing.  When you mix envirotex in the cup I use equal parts in the cc column. I find that 5 cc and 10cc are about as small as you want to go and get accurate measurements. That is 1/4 of an ounce. I've coated two 3 1/2 oz. poppers with that amount but when I'm only doing one plug I still mix that amount and don't feel like I'm wasting it. Mix it slowly for approx. 5 min. with a round stick. Round sticks will not introduce as many air bubbles into the cup as will a flat stick. When you begin to stir the cup the envirotex will become hazy, you must keep stirring until it becomes clear again. I usually go 5 min. whether it needs it or not to be sure. Flick the acid swab brush against the palm of your hand a few times and pull on the end of the bristles to pull out any loose ones. I usually find a couple in each brush. This saves you from picking them out of your plug. Right before I start I blow on the plug with my breath to remove any dust particles that may have settled on it. I brush on a fairly heavy coat starting at the tail and working my way forward while the plug is spinning.  When I get to the grommet on the bottom I stop the motor for a minute and apply finish up to but not on the grommet. Envirotex will not flow where you don't put it so it will not go into the hole with the swivel. Conversely if you miss a spot on the plug it will not flow over it and cover it up, that spot will always be there. When I'm finished at the front of the plug I look into the plug and highlight a fluorescent light to look for any missed spots. If you find any just dab on a little on that spot, it will flow in. I don't do the face of the plug, I don't know why I just never saw the need  At this point it will be time to remove any air bubbles in the finish. I used to use a lighter but now only my breath. Hot breath works better than cool breath. It's not the heat of the lighter but the carbon dioxide in the lighter or your breath that pop the bubbles. If you are going to use a lighter the picture shows about how close you can get without burning anything. Move it back and forth at a pretty good pace about that far away. When you see the finish start to run over it self as it spins you'll know the finish is very warm and thinning out and it's time to quit. Don't worry the finish will flow back out. By the way the lighter was a prop, I took the bubbles out of that plug in the picture with my breath. The finish will flow for probably an hour, I've gone back and fixed a spot 20 min. later and it looked awful at the time, but flowed out fine in the end. After 8 hours or so you can hang up the plug to finish curing. You may leave a fingerprint or two but amazingly they will disappear. I have fished them as soon as a couple of days but now is the time to do plugs because they have plenty of time to cure. I have some friends who put envirotex on factory plugs just to protect the finish. I hope this helps ...mrpogie  |
Secrets of Surf Fishing at Night
Speaking of Winter Reading...
Re-released for 2010 - Secrets of Surf Fishing at Night
Available at Saltwater Edge, SRI, and River's End
