Muskie plug refinish advice

[Bfish]

Bought a box of muskie lures.  In the box was two plugs that have some hook rash going into the bare wood.  Should I sand down then coat with Devcon 2-ton, or can I just skip the sanding?

I assume two coats will be needed. Should I wait till the first layer is complete dry or just tacky?

[gaspergou]

A light sanding will roughen the existing finish to get good adhesion. One coat is probably sufficient, but two would be better. The longer cure stuff (30 min) works better because you can mix more thoroughly without all the little tiny bubbles-- if you care about that -- but you want to dry on a wheel to keep it even (I use the 5min stuff to patch chips from hitting rocks on wayward casts). There's also a guy out of Pigeon Forge that does incredible custom paint jobs and doesn't charge too much... might be easier just letting him have a go at it. PM me for his contact info.

Sounds like a good score -- what else was in the box?

[Bfish]

Go ahead and pm Stan's contact info.  I don't need it now, but I might in the future.

I think I got the box for $60 shipped (it was a year ago).





Plus 5 or 6 quart sized ziplocks of various grubs, flukes, and a couple paddletails.

I think I did okay

[Steve H]

You scored.

[Striperfishin]

You definitely scored a killer deal.

I make lures out of plastic and wood and have done so for years. I used to sell a line of striper and big bass lures in CA.

For the final finish I liked a product called liquid glass or one of the generics. It is a two part epoxy clear finish that dries very slow and leaves an awesome coating on the lure. you can also use several light coats of Urethane, which works pretty good and is a lot easier. You can always spray another coat to fix damage.  You can suspend a little glitter in either to add flash if you would like too.
  It is always best to seal bare wood with a mixture of mineral oil and shellac or some other wood sealer. Hopefully the lures you bought were already sealed that way. If not the wood absorbs water through any small hook mark or crack and will swell up and split the rest of the lure.
  A super cheap quick way to repair wood lures in clear finger nail polish on any little cuts. It is not fancy or very manly, but very fast and keeps the lure from losing any more finish.

I just got done making some smaller glide baits in the 6.5" range.  I may try to get out and test them out this week.

Good fishing,
Brian

[Bfish]

I have heard of the bar top epoxy, just not any name brands.  I assume your dipping?

One of these days I plan to pick up another hobby (rod building, soft plastic, wooden, and blade bait making (I already tie a tiny bit), or boat building).  I just don't know which one yet. 

I have some SHAN, should have thought of that.  Devcon2Ton should work fine, it is just a couple arced spots where the hooks have been rubbing.  Yeah I have had wooden lures go bad after water gets into the wood, hence the topcoat.

[Mike Hill]

Be sure not to keep them in your vehicle overnight.  My Muskie box got stolen from my truck 2 or 3 years ago now.  Its amazing how many $$$ you can sink into one. 

[Striperfishin]

I have heard of the bar top epoxy, just not any name brands.  I assume your dipping?

One of these days I plan to pick up another hobby (rod building, soft plastic, wooden, and blade bait making (I already tie a tiny bit), or boat building).  I just don't know which one yet. 

I have some SHAN, should have thought of that.  Devcon2Ton should work fine, it is just a couple arced spots where the hooks have been rubbing.  Yeah I have had wooden lures go bad after water gets into the wood, hence the topcoat.

Brush on and spin. The stuff self levels, you just have to put it on a low RPM motor or turn by hand every 10-15 minutes until it sets up. I used to put a small electric heater near them too, to drop the humidity and allow for clearer, faster bubble free finish. Once set I still wouldn't touch them for a couple days while they hung and fully cured.

You seem to be on the right track to fix the hook rash Arches.


Brian