Finishing basla poppers

[salty fly 0]

I need some help with poppers.I have been making poppers with balsa,I like making the bodys,they are comeing out good.I am haveing a hard time with finishing them.I see so many very nice ones here.I could use help with paint,clear coat or epoxy. I just dont know how to make them look good and be tough. The last ones I made the paint cracked off the first time out. any help would be cool. The top water bite in on fire right now so Gota hit the water.

Keep on chuckin'

Bryan a.k.a. 'Salty fly'

[catmanclark 0]

i also build my own poppers by hand sanding balsa bodies.. What i do, which is easy and duriable and never had any trouble with is..

 

build the body.. mount the hook with epoxy and of course thread on hook also, once dry i apply a base color and then two other coats of the same afterwards.. LIGHTLY sand the base color to get the roughness off then i apply an all epoxy coat over it to seal it.. I use an 8hr epoxy to get the most out of the curing and they wont turn foggy/white.. When dry i use Sharpie markers, paint, whatever you use to "decorate" with right on top of the dried epoxy.. Then once done (and dried) i mix epoxy with a couple of drops of isopropyl alcohol mix it well and paint that on to seal it.. tied hair after sealed then dunk it in your favorite fishing hole and have fun.. eat fish, get fat...

 

I love making poppers, i can really only stress the type of epoxy you use.. and careful for using markers with the alcohol cause the alcohol with make it run and turn to shit quick...

 

 

Thanks for the post.

[kelkay 0]

You can use Sally's Hard As Nails, a uv cured resin such as Bug Bond, or Clear Cure Goo. I am epoxy challenged, so I prefer Bug Bond.

[smokinprice 0]

You could also try Delta Ceramcoat Gloss Exterior/Interior Varnish. I use this on mine and I havent had a problem. You will need probably three or four coats. You can buy this at most Michaels and A.C. Moore stores.

[Kirk Dietrich 0]

i also build my own poppers by hand sanding balsa bodies.. What i do, which is easy and duriable and never had any trouble with is..

 

build the body.. mount the hook with epoxy and of course thread on hook also, once dry i apply a base color and then two other coats of the same afterwards.. LIGHTLY sand the base color to get the roughness off then i apply an all epoxy coat over it to seal it.. I use an 8hr epoxy to get the most out of the curing and they wont turn foggy/white.. When dry i use Sharpie markers, paint, whatever you use to "decorate" with right on top of the dried epoxy.. Then once done (and dried) i mix epoxy with a couple of drops of isopropyl alcohol mix it well and paint that on to seal it.. tied hair after sealed then dunk it in your favorite fishing hole and have fun.. eat fish, get fat...

 

I love making poppers, i can really only stress the type of epoxy you use.. and careful for using markers with the alcohol cause the alcohol with make it run and turn to shit quick...

 

 

Thanks for the post.

 

Do you use those for target practice? Man, they sound bullet proof!

 

I toughen up my balsa bodies by applying the penetrating/thinnest CA over the bug, the outer layer of the epoxy soaks it up and makes it pretty tough. Nothing compared to what yours sound like though.

 

Kirk

 

[salty fly 0]

Thanks for the tips everyone i will keep all of that in mind.any tips on painting, applying ,type, how-tos any thing will help.Thanks lots.

Keep on chuckin'

Bryan a.k.a. 'Salty fly'

[salty fly 0]

Here are some bodys that I made last night,so far thay have one sanded coat of epoxy thinned with isopropyl alcohol, 70% thats all I could find. Great tip by catmanclark ,thanks. Now the first coat of epoxy is on, it has been sanded smooth.I am ready for the first coat of paint.The last group of poppers I made, I painted them with Testors enamel.I hear some guys say enamel and some acrylic,I guess it's what you like, ya like.I have to put in all this hard work,painting them all nice,dressing up with fur and feathers and flashy stuff,just so I can get them all chewed up by big fish.

 

Thanks

Keep on chuckin'

Bryan a.k.a. 'Salty flt'

[gpd4 0]

Up to now, I've been part of the school of fingernail polish & sharpies for color and HAN or CCG + HAN as a topcoat...but I just picked up one of those Copic airbrushes and thought I'd try to make a 'pretty' one. Wow - what a difference. I took a raw balsa body (turned on my dremel), cut the slot, mounted it to the hook and gave it two coats of white acrylic paint. Let it dry much longer than I wanted to let it dry and hit it with the airbrush - yellow on the bottom, sky blue on top, and a red mouth. My son wanted more color, so it got a grey dusting on down the edges and a little red overspray - but it still looks good. I mixed up a small batch of 30min epoxy and globbed it on all over and set it in my homemade fly turner (jacked up BBQ rotissery + styrofoam) and let it spin all night. Wow. I'll take pictures once it's dressed, but I've never had one come out so shiny.

 

My original plan was HAN over the Copic marker, but it does not work - and I'm glad!

[Dart 0]

I just ordered some CCG to test out. I went out on the water yesterday and tested some poppers. Balsa bodies and wapsi perfect popper bodies coated with the DecoArt DuraClear Varnish (4 coats) lasted about 20 fish. Once it starts to go, it peels fast. If I'm going to put the time into prepping a body and painting it and dressing it, I want it to last as long as possible.

 

I can NEVER find the 30 minute epoxy around here, so decided to try the CCG. If anyone has an online source for Devcon 30 minute epoxy, let us know. It appears they no longer make the 90 minute.

[Stippled Popper 0]

Here are some bodys that I made last night,so far thay have one sanded coat of epoxy thinned with isopropyl alcohol, 70% thats all I could find. Great tip by catmanclark ,thanks. Now the first coat of epoxy is on, it has been sanded smooth.I am ready for the first coat of paint.The last group of poppers I made, I painted them with Testors enamel. I hear some guys say enamel and some acrylic,I guess it's what you like, ya like. I have to put in all this hard work,painting them all nice,dressing up with fur and feathers and flashy stuff,just so I can get them all chewed up by big fish.

 

Thanks

Keep on chuckin'

Bryan a.k.a. 'Salty flt'

 

 

It is not precisely about what you like. It has to do with which coloring materials play well with which clear protective coatings and what devices you are using to apply them.

[catmanclark 0]

I seal mine with two layers and they last a long time.. i usually end up losing hair instead of anything going wrong with the body.. I use the Devcon type epoxy the longest they make, the better..

[Kirk Dietrich 0]

...If anyone has an online source for Devcon 30 minute epoxy, let us know. It appears they no longer make the 90 minute.

 

Dart, look for a mom and pop hobby store in your local phone book. Both the hobby stores in my area carry the 30 minute set stuff and if you add a little rubbing alcohol, you will extend the working time by double - triple. The brand they carry is not Devcon, it is "bsi" Bob Smith Industries but it works just the same.

If you don't have a hobby store, do a search on-line for Devcon or bsi; I think Amazon even carries it. BSI may be cheaper too.

 

Kirk

[Stippled Popper 0]

Local hardware stores are the places where I usually obtain my Devcon 30 minute epoxy. They most often carry the double syringe type. The WalMart, Lowe's, and Home Depot locations in my area only seem to carry the 5 minute variety. To my mind 5 minute epoxy is not suitable for coating poppers.

[perchjerker 0]

I second what both Stippled Popper and Kirk both say. with respect to where to find 30 minute (=2-Ton) epoxy. Every model shop will have it, usually with their Shop name on it. Don't worry about this, they are all the same.

 

As I have posted here numerous times in the past, I dilute mine 1 part Resin : 1 part Hardener : 1 part 70% rubbing alcohol and mix thoroughly. It will turn milky; BUT does dry gin clear!! Been doing this for close to 30 years now with absolutely no problems. It does take a little longer for it to dry, as the alcohol apparently has to evaporate out before it completely dries.

 

I have not found thinning to extend the 'working life' ('pot life'), but the increased speed with which one can coat a bug sure makes it seem like the 'pot life' is longer!

 

Perchjerker

[Stippled Popper 0]

A question for Perchjerker:

 

Does it need to specifically be 70% rubbing alcohol?

 

Or can it be 70% or greater rubbing alcohol?