Fishing DIY: 3D printed lures prep for the water (water sealing)
Spring Is Coming.
Well, this week is the first week where temps will be above 0 degrees F. We might get "lucky" and have one final "Snowpocalyse" between now and April, but I doubt it. 10 days of above zero temps is the first sign of spring.
I'll give it until mid-March before I begin to check lakes and rivers for melted, exposed water to start fishing in.
This temp change is only more motivation to continue my craft and prepare for fishing, which is the purpose of this post here. A lot of my lure prep involves 3D printed lure parts, and lures themselves, which is covered on my YouTube Channel.
However, there is a lot of talk about "making 3D printed parts waterproof if exposed to water." Face it, there's no easy answer to this, but PLA in general by itself is good enough. If a lot of my parts were just bareboned 3D printed, then yes I would say i'm good and fish with it. Unfortunately, that is not the case, as I print the part, paint the part, put reflective stickers on the part, etc.
With PLA being hygroscopic by itself (absorbing water from the air) and hydroscopic (absorbing water in general), once a fancy 3D printed lure/lure part is submerged in water for an extended period of time, or repeatedly dipped, exposed to sun, current ripping past it in a murky river - mother nature - the lure takes its toll, loses its durability and just crushes, crumbles, breaks at layer lines, and now your lure is trash.
Waterproofing, the way of Mr. Jon.
Last year I did an extensive lure project where I printed turbine lures for the river, slapped some paint on them, some reflective tape, and learned rather quickly after one day on the water they needed waterproofing.
After doing some research, I found that if you think in terms of a woodworker when you look at your 3D printed lures, then your doing something right. So I dug into the treatment of wooden lures and found several videos that explain lure methodology, prepping the lure, sanding, coating, blah blah blah blah.
I took what these YouTubers have done and applied as much as I could to 3D printed parts. Here is what i've learned. It's really simple.
THREE COATS OF POLYURETHANE IS ALL YOU NEED!!!
With the PLA being as absorbent as it is, that first coat will absorb most of the polyurethane and the micro gaps between the layers will seal up. It will also give a surface for the second layer to stick to as well, sealing it up even more, and then the third layer even more. After the third layer dries is when I put on split rings, hook up and dress the lure.
So here are the steps:
1. Prep the lure however you want so that it can hang to dry. I prefer to put a wire or fishing line loop on both ends of the lure. Some people have, buy, or make "fishing lure bows" and "fishing turn dryers." I also make sure that I know where i'm going to hang said lure. I don't use my garage door very often, so i will hang the lures from the metal runner... so i don't need a "turn dryer"
2. My method is to use a cheesecloth and rub Polyurethane onto the lure. I do it this way as I learned the beginning of last year that a brush will leave hairs on the lure, which urks the hell outta me when i'm working with any model. I don't like it when the paint brush does that, so I avoid it with more tacky substances.
3. I apply one coat, then I let it dry for at least 12 hours. This time not only gives it time to dry properly, but it also gives me time to work on other projects with significant amount of attention to detail without having to worry about the drying lure. I like to call this back and forth the "laundry syndrome" and I avoid it when dealing with Polyurethane. Its best to just let each coat dry.
4. After the first coat, I check for drip marks on the lure itself, and clean them up with 220 grit or 400 grit sandpaper, depending on the size of the drip. I make sure its a wet sand and not a dry sand for dust and moisture control. I repeat this after the second coat.
5. After the third coat, I use a 1600 grit polish sandpaper (800+ grit at least) and wet polish the lure. I had some significant time in the military during the "boot shining days" so that third layer I treat just like i'm wet polishing a pair of boots, just without the boot shine. Using the 1600 paper I give it a once-over, then I use the cheesecloth and wet polish with that, giving it a once-over.
In general, its about 3 days of prepwork, but it brings the durability of the lure in the water to a massively excellent proportion.
Its 2022 though....
With it being 2022, I decided that i'm going to attempt to do an Epoxy Topcoat this year. I watched up on some YouTube on how to do this, and the concept is fairly simple.
1. Get yourself some clear 2-part epoxy. It needs to dry clear. It can be 5 min, or 2hour. Doesn't matter, so long as it dries clear.
2. Prep the lure - sand, sticker, paint, etc.
3. Mix the epoxy in a small cup. Mix slowly to avoid bubbles. NO BUBBLES.
4. Using a toothpick, gently apply the epoxy to the lure. Do this gently to avoid bubbles. NO BUBBLES. Bubbles in the epoxy compromise the integrity of the epoxy in the water, or so I'm told. (On this note, I would love to read some comments about this one. Does bubbles in your epoxy compromise the integrity of the epoxy on an object?)
5. Same hanging method as before, but this time put a wire hooked to the lure on the ground side. This does two things - it gives the lure counterweight so it doesn't swing, and it gives the epoxy something to drip to in case it decides to run afterwards.
NOTE: I plan on using 5 minute Crystal Clear Coat Epoxy, so i don't think i will need to worry about run-off.
6. Allow the Epoxy to final cure for at least 24 hours.
7. Polish with a soft cloth as needed.
Conclusion:
I don't know about this new epoxy method, but i'm going to try it with one lure and see how it goes. Meanwhile, I will do the three layers of Polyurethane method that is tried and true to me in the past.
I hope this post was meaningful to you.
Reference Links:
Will PLA dissolve in Water and will it decompose? – 3D Solved
Comments
Post a Comment