help for home made lure finishes

[deepfried]

Hi all,
I have just poured a lot of metals for tailor spinning and am after ideas and products that others have used to add a bit of bling to them. I have used a gilding type product with limited success but am keen to experiment with other finishes. Also what type of epoxy is suitable for finishing of these. Once i get a few different finishes done i will put up some pics of the final outcomes.

Cheers
Scott

[Kleyny]

a few things i have seen from a mate which seem to work for him.
Day glow sticker stuff, nail polish, kids bright book covering.

If you head down to your local spot light store your head would spin with the stuff they've got in store.

To make them a little hardier give them a spray with some clear paint from super cheap.

neil

[oldboot]

Wattyl super etch would be a good primer to use.

Some of the metalic car paints are worth a look

Spray chrome and spray gold are options.

If you want to dip epoxy.....west system or boatcoat would work very nice.

stirig some glitter into the epoxy is worth thinking about... but you need to put on a base colour first.

foil from lolly wrappers is an option ( worked for laurie rapala)

cheers

[deepfried]

thanks oldboot i was hoping you would reply. I looked for west system but couldnt find a retailer. Any ideas where to get it.

I have got some of the silver and gold spray paints and they have produced results already.

Cheers Scott

[oldboot]

carbatec at coorparoo and glasscraft marine stock west system.

Boatcraft pacific at loganholme make and stock boatcoat.

cheers

[trymyluck]

Hi
I'm guessing that they are made of lead, Not sure how it would go it should be possible to electroplate them, give me a pm if you want to try either a bronze plate or chrome plate. Should polish up ok.

Mark

[deepfried]

Hi Mark,
Thats exactly what pommy is looking into now using his chemistry background. Very interested. I did some up with metalic blue and red finishes and some where just sprayed with a chrome spray can. They all worked well but electroplating them sounds very good.

Scott

[trymyluck]

PM sent Scott

[Gordie]

If you go to your local signwriter he may give you some scraps of self adhesive vinyl. They use all the colours and now and then gold and silver.

Cut out patches and apply to the flats. Not as good as chrome but it will add a flash.

As someone above mentioned Spotlight. Cut out patches of their fabric and stick on. I would try a spray on clear lacquer, lay the fabric on to a wet coat then when dry spray again to lock it in.

Good luck. Gordon

[Damned67]

Not sure if it's exactly what you're after...
I wanted to 'spice' up some Maniacs, so went down to Bunnings (but I suggest you support your local 'neighbourhood' hardware), and picked up some 'stained glass' paint.
Came out great, as the chrome still shone through. With home made lead slugs, you could always 'shine' them up with some 1200 grit wet and dry or 0000 steel wool.. then paint?
Cheers

[deepfried]

Thanks Damned that sounds interesting. I will have a look at it. Would make it fairly simple to add a bit of colour to them.

Thanks everyone that has responded. Over the last fews days i have been a lot of advice that will really help. So far i am looking to electroplate them or if that doesnt work go with a silver spray then add some colour with the stained glass paint or a reflective tape with maybe a light clear gloss coating over that if needed. I will try the other ideas over time. I will stick some photos up when i get them finished unless i loose them before that like what happened to the first ones i did. I loose them that quickly that i have had to give making them myself a go or mortgage my house.

Cheers
Scott

[oldboot]

Electro plating is both expensive and dangerious, the only plating process that is at all practical in the home work shop is nickle plating....I looked into that some time ago for restoring cap irons on hand planes ....yeh it is possible but to set up will cost $200 plus and is a real fiddle.

I would not be keen at all about sanding lead even hand sanding......the risks are much greater than thay seem.

see the thread on home made sinker issues.

using some sort of etch primer/ undercoat like superetch would be a good base to work with.

If you were going to go with an epoxy.... you can easily apply a smear coat, then apply your glitter, foil, fabric or whatever and rub it down wet.
Wait overnight for it to set up properly , the go a dip coat.
The modern marine epoxies are quite slow to go off if you use the right hardner so you have planty of time to work...... just don't leave it as a mix in a beaker or you will have a thermal problem and the mix will go off premiturely and or unevenly.

after 2 or 3 days this stuff goes off very hard.

cheers

[Damned67]

Very good point on sanding the lead. Didn't really think of that one.....

[pommy]

Greetings Oldboot!

As a Chemistry teacher I have access to a power pack, variable resistor and multi meter. I also have Nickel (II) chloride solution and nickel sheet.

I don't have a recipe but was going to put the lures as the cathode with nickel sheet as the anode in very dilute nickel chloride solution. I understand the go is to run a very low amperage of 0.1A or lower to get a firm and even coating.

Any recipe that you can pass on?

Regards, Rob.
Ballina.

[oldboot]

Do a bit of reaserach into nickle plating and you will find there is s bit more to it than that.

There is a vast difference between science room electroplating experiments and achieving an even and durable result.

There are several steps involving preparation of the base material.

It has been a few years since I investigated the process and the details are a but fuzzy, but we are talking at least 3 baths in the process.

Consider also that all 3 baths and all the chemicals are considered hazardous and clasified as toxic waste.

the best option is to purchase one of the nickle plating kits which will give you all the information and chemicals required.

It is also not something that you want to undertake once, as the chemicals can be refreshed for quite some time........

Now also consider that nickle has a very low resstance to corrosion and is considered more a cosmetic process than a protective process.

Chrome plating.....well that is another story and uses a more complicated process and very much more dangerous chemicals.

Consider also that the current required is proportional to the surface area and the voltage required may be relativly high if you bath is large and your electrodes are small.

If you want to achieve an even film of plate you may also have to run a number of source electrodes evenly surrounding the work piece

In my view paints and epoxies are a far more viable and durable option..... and relativly safer and arguablely less damaging to the environment.

There are a couple of very good high shine "spray chrome" and "spray gold" products out there.

This nickle plating process is quite popular among car and motorcycle restorers, but for a disposable item like tackle.....nup.

cheers

[deepfried]

Thanks for all of the info oldboot. I have dropped of some off my metals to get done professionally to see how they go. I do think though that a spray can job will be the way i go in the future for the reasons you have stated. Like you said they are a disposable item and i do seem to loose a lot of them.

Scott

[trymyluck]

Do a bit of reaserach into nickle plating and you will find there is s bit more to it than that.

There is a vast difference between science room electroplating experiments and achieving an even and durable result.

There are several steps involving preparation of the base material.

It has been a few years since I investigated the process and the details are a but fuzzy, but we are talking at least 3 baths in the process.

Consider also that all 3 baths and all the chemicals are considered hazardous and clasified as toxic waste.

the best option is to purchase one of the nickle plating kits which will give you all the information and chemicals required.

It is also not something that you want to undertake once, as the chemicals can be refreshed for quite some time........

Now also consider that nickle has a very low resstance to corrosion and is considered more a cosmetic process than a protective process.

Chrome plating.....well that is another story and uses a more complicated process and very much more dangerous chemicals.

Consider also that the current required is proportional to the surface area and the voltage required may be relativly high if you bath is large and your electrodes are small.

If you want to achieve an even film of plate you may also have to run a number of source electrodes evenly surrounding the work piece

In my view paints and epoxies are a far more viable and durable option..... and relativly safer and arguablely less damaging to the environment.

There are a couple of very good high shine "spray chrome" and "spray gold" products out there.

This nickle plating process is quite popular among car and motorcycle restorers, but for a disposable item like tackle.....nup.

cheers

Your right, electroplating is not something suitable to a backyard operation. We currently do chrome, bronze, nickle and zinc plating and the chemicals used would scare the pants off most people. Sulpuric, hydrocloric acids. Copper and potassium cyanide to name a few.
Chrome is not corrosion proof by a long shot although there is a couple of processes to improve it, if better resistance to corrosion is required then we nickle plate first and then chrome plate.The processes can be complicated, we made plenty of bronze sheet when trying to perfect bronze cladding to refurbish underground hydraulic components, as soon as we tried turning the bronze it would peel off in big sheets, sticks pretty well now though.
Mark