How to Epoxy Seal Wooden Baits

[chefchris]

I always get a couple messages about heat epoxy sealing wooden baits when I mention it. So I wrote up this detailed how to. I’ve sent to a few guys here already but wanted to make a full post. It’s a long read/pics, but tried to be as detailed as possible. Hope this helps. Any questions please ask. Enjoy! 
-Chef
 

always wear a dust mask/respirator of some sort when working with epoxy/DA. Some guys get bothered by the fumes very easily, work in a well ventilated area and make sure to dispose of all unused mix properly. I put all my used paper towels in one of the mixing cups and then pour the excess epoxy mix over it and let it cure. Never pour it down a drain. 

Epoxy Sealing Wooden Plugs & Swimbaits

Procedure 

Materials needed: 

2 part epoxy (Etex or similar)

8-16oz clear plastic drinking cups ($1 store) 

Mixing sticks (Popsicle craft sticks or similar, $1 store) 

Denatured alcohol (home depot/hardware store)

Gloves (home depot/hardware store)

Lint free paper towels (brown craft style work great, (home depot/hardware store))

Cardboard/drop cloth material to cover work area from drips/spills

Toaster oven (size based on amount of baits you want to seal, I use a smaller one as I feel I have more control over baits heating up properly) (I got mine at a second hand shop for $10) 

2-Cookie trays/baking pans (metal or disposable) 1 for soaking the baits, 1 for a drip tray (if you have a cookie style cooling rack (finer mesh) you can put inside the drip tray pan that’s a plus) ($1 store) 

Directions

I start by soaking my two epoxy bottles in HOT tap water. I let the water get as hot as it can and fill a large mug/mason jar ½ way with water and place the bottle in it. This will heat up the epoxy making it thinner which makes it easier to measure and mix and penetrate the baits. 

While the bottles are soaking in their hot water bath, I get my work area ready. I use a piece of old cardboard as a work area. You will get drips/splashes/spills no matter how clean/neat you work. 

I rip a bunch of pieces of paper towels before I start and have a little pile to work from so once your hands are covered in epoxy you’re not handling the whole roll. 

I use a loaf or 1” baking pan for my soaking station, size all depends on how big/how many baits you’re sealing. I have a few different ones that I reuse. 

I set up my other tray with a cookie cooling rack in it. This will allow your baits to drip off the excess sealer while you continue to seal baits. This isn’t needed if you’re only doing a few baits, but it’s a nice thing to have for batch work. 

Once I’m set up and turn the toaster oven on, set it to 200-225 degrees. The baits need to heat up till they are warm to the touch, they shouldn’t be red hot (too much heat will cause the wood to split) depending on the size of the baits they take 10-20 minutes at 200 typically, but all toaster ovens will vary. 

I then place the baits on the rack, enough room for them to heat up evenly and so that they aren’t touching any of the heating elements. 
 

I grab my epoxy bottles; wipe the water off the bottles. 

As far as amount of epoxy its going to vary based on the number of baits being sealed. It goes a long way especially seeing its cut with the DA. Get two clear cups set up side by side, on a level surface. I usually pour to the first line on the cup; pour the resin and hardener into their separate cups. Then pour one into the other, making sure to scrape the edges and bottom as best as possible. Mix thoroughly for 2-3 minutes, you don’t have to worry about bubbles so you can mix more aggressively. Then pour that mix into the first cup and repeat the process, mix for 2 minutes more. 

you must mix the epoxy first, like you would normally, I’ve had people just mix all 3 parts together at the same time and it doesn’t work and makes a mess/doesn’t harden. 

You can see I’m using the Etex for sealer (can be bought at most craft stores). Also note the toaster oven in the background set to 225. 

As far as ratio of MIXED epoxy to DA, you can go 10-50%. I prefer to do an equal amount of mixed epoxy and DA. I’ve done some experiments as far as penetration/absorption and saw no difference so I get more baits sealed doing a 50/50 ratio. 
 

mixed ready to epoxy on the right (yellow arrow) and equal amount of DA on the left (red arrow)

Pour the DA into the other cup that was used for the epoxy; stir it around in the cup as it will mix the extra epoxy into itself. Then slowly pour the DA into the mixed epoxy cup while stirring the whole time. It will look like they are not mixing and get cloudy, just continue to mix and it will go back to being clear. It should be slightly thicker than water consistency, like a light syrup (will also change based on how much you cut it). Once mixed together you are ready to start sealing the baits. 

The DA will sit on top of the epoxy, just start mixing it until it is all thoroughly mixed and one consistent color/texture. 
 

The whole process should be enough time to properly heat the baits up in the toaster oven, but it’s a good idea to check on them throughout the epoxy/da process to make sure they aren’t too hot. Too cool is better than too hot and cracked/split baits) you can always add more time to heat them up. 

I then place my baits into the first tray. If you’re doing multi piece baits I like to do one bait at a time to make sure the pieces all stay together. Then slowly pour the mix over the baits. Ideally you want them completely covered, but as long as half the bait is covered you are good. You should see small air bubbles coming from the bait, which is the epoxy soaking into the bait and pushing the air out. I soak mine for at least 3 minutes a side if half covered, then flip the bait in the tray, soak the other side, you want to ensure the whole bait gets soaked, these means pre drilled screw eye holes, eye sockets, pin locations, etc. Make sure the whole bait looks wet and no dry spots. Once you feel the bait is properly sealed I let it drip dry for a few seconds and then place it in on the cooling tray pan and allow it to drip dry, while working the other pieces. 

If you look closely at the pieces you’ll see the air bubbles leaving the baits as the epoxy mix soaks in. 

The working time on the epoxy mix is pretty long 60-90 minutes so you can take your time making sure to get the baits done right. 

After the pieces have been drip drying on the rack, I wipe them down with the craft style paper towels. You want to make sure to get any areas where it could possible pool and cure hard or in a drip, like the eye sockets, tail slots etc. Once the baits/pieces are wiped down and you’re happy with them place/hang them somewhere dust free (as much as possible) I use my heated drying box, not necessary though. 

They will take 24-48 hours to cure/dry properly. You want low humidity and temps 60-70 (or higher 80-85) degrees. When you sand them they should make a fine dust and not gum up the sandpaper, if they do then they need more drying time. 

The results from epoxy sealing are above beyond what you get with spar/urethane, boiled linseed oil or bin sealer. The wood will be much harder without adding much if any weight. This is great for softer woods like cedar and pine. The wood is sealed better overall and you get a better canvas to start painting. It also is the only way I seal hardwoods like maple and birch. The tighter denser grain is penetrated better by the epoxy mix and you don’t have to worry about the excess sealer leaching out which is common problem with spar/urethane on hardwoods. This works really well to seal in color stained/burned accents, etc too. It also gives the wood a better knocking sound which is always a plus. 

It is more work, time consuming, messier, more expensive and more labor intensive but the end result is far superior on all levels. For me and a number of other wood builders this is the only way to seal wood baits.

Another point if you’re doing say red cedar and pine together at the same time do the lighter colored wood first as sometimes the darker color will bleed out color changing the epoxy color and tinting it. Not a big deal if you’re going to bait everything but if you want natural wood colored baits that could effect your results. 

Hope this helps some builders out and was helpful. Tight lines! 

[El_Weruso]

Very nice detailed description on this sealing process Chris, Thanks for the info. 

[danthefisherman]

Great writeup, Chris! Thanks for sharing!

[surfk9]

Thanks for your time Chris....will help us all, at some point....michel....Go Fish!!!

[Rogervang]

This is solid information!

how much does the sealer affect the sink rate of the bait? Just wondering because  that's a good amount of sealer that gets penetrated into the bait. 

When I do use an epoxy finish, that's a huge amount of weight added and I had time where I have to adjust the weight accordingly to the amount of epoxy used. 

Edited October 29, 2019 by Rogervang

[BrhodesBassin]

On 10/29/2019 at 1:09 PM, Rogervang said:

This is solid information!

how much does the sealer affect the sink rate of the bait? Just wondering because  that's a good amount of sealer that gets penetrated into the bait. 

When I do use an epoxy finish, that's a huge amount of weight added and I had time where I have to adjust the weight accordingly to the amount of epoxy used. 

I dont use epoxy so take this as you may.

But if you drill the holes for your ballast weight before you seal it then pour your lead in afterwards you can adjust the sink rate without having to worry about the epoxy adding weight and messing with your balancing.

[chefchris]

On 10/29/2019 at 2:09 PM, Rogervang said:

This is solid information!

how much does the sealer affect the sink rate of the bait? Just wondering because  that's a good amount of sealer that gets penetrated into the bait. 

When I do use an epoxy finish, that's a huge amount of weight added and I had time where I have to adjust the weight accordingly to the amount of epoxy used. 

I would say it adds .01-.03 oz to the bait. Size of the bait factors in. It’s so little that I really don’t factor that added weight in. 

top coat epoxy is another story of adding weight. 

[BrhodesBassin]

@chefchris have you ever cut something you sealed in half to see how far it made it into the bait? 

I did it with polyurethane a while back and found it can take quite a while for it to make it a decent ways past the top layer of grain.

 

 

[LUV-2-CATCH'EM]

Excellent man-Thanks Chris!

[chefchris]

20 hours ago, BrhodesBassin said:

@chefchris have you ever cut something you sealed in half to see how far it made it into the bait? 

I did it with polyurethane a while back and found it can take quite a while for it to make it a decent ways past the top layer of grain.

 

 

Yeah I’ve cut a bunch of baits up,  anywhere from about a 1/4-1/2” depth of sealer into the baits. On thru wire baits you get a lot more cause it’s soaking in from bothering areas. On swimbaits I make sure all my holes are predrilled to get the maximum amount of soak in as possible. 

[BrhodesBassin]

I'll have to give this a second try. It takes hours for polyurethane to get 1/4" deep. The humidity in texas makes epoxy hard to work with and I gave it up along time ago.

[VolunteerSwimbaits]

Since we are on the topic, I like sealing with extra thin super glue, then putting a coat of polyurethane. This way I get penetration, and the smoothness of the poly coat. Of course sanding before and after each ensures a really smooth finished product. 

Im using basswood 90% of the time, and the super glue seems to penetrate similar to what chris is referring to. Even on some thin baits, I can see the glue penetrate to the other side, and it becomes rock hard.

Thanks for the write up @chefchris As always some solid information!

[Bmurr7]

Man this is killer info. I don't mean to interrupt this great write up with a noob question but has anyone on here used a penetrating epoxy as a sealer such as Git Rot or similar? Wondering how that would soak up/seal.