# A great shiny base, method.



## Husky (Dec 19, 2007)

Hi To some of the best builders, anywhere.....

I stumbled on this method while working on a Shiny finish for my FoTins. Here goes.

Mix some D2T. Cover one finger with the finger from a plastic glove or a plastic bag. In a pinch, you can use plastic wrap to cover the finger. Apply a thin coat of D2T on the lure with your finger tip and immediately apply .008 glitter. When that sets, apply another "finger" coat of D2T to lock it in and give a nice base to paint on. When the 2nd coat sets, you can add whatever finish you want over it. It's quick, easy and gives a great effect. When done painting, Top Coat.

I have been using the "finger method" to apply epoxy coats rather than brushing. It is a great method. Give it a try. I'm sure you'll be pleasantly surprised.

And that's what I learned at "*Hammer Mechanic School*" this week.


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## JamesT (Jul 22, 2005)

thanks for the heads up Husky. I love trying out new techniques. I've got some older Poes cranks that are glittered sides and bottom which look really nice. I'll give it a shot one of these days with my official "non 0.008" glitter.


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## Husky (Dec 19, 2007)

JamesT said:


> thanks for the heads up Husky. I love trying out new techniques. I've got some older Poes cranks that are glittered sides and bottom which look really nice. I'll give it a shot one of these days with my official "non 0.008" glitter.


Hey James, 
I used the .008 because of it's fineness. Once coat of D2T covers it smoothly. A coarser "non 0.008 glitter" will need more coats to smooth out.


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## JPMYERSLURES (Dec 31, 2009)

I've been using the finger application method too for a long time..I think it works far better than brushes & no need to closely inspect for errant brush hairs either!.. I mix my fine glitter directly into the epoxy topcoat and that works great also.. The glitter seems to "sink" , so it cant be felt on the surface.. Afterwards I give it a couple more coats without the glitter.. Never tried painting over the glitter coat, have to give that a try to see what the effect is.. Thanks for the tip Husky..
Jp~


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## Husky (Dec 19, 2007)

JPMYERSLURES said:


> I've been using the finger application method too for a long time..I think it works far better than brushes & no need to closely inspect for errant brush hairs either!.. I mix my fine glitter directly into the epoxy topcoat and that works great also.. The glitter seems to "sink" , so it cant be felt on the surface.. Afterwards I give it a couple more coats without the glitter.. Never tried painting over the glitter coat, have to give that a try to see what the effect is.. Thanks for the tip Husky..
> Jp~


I couldn't have asked for a better person to affirm the method. Your work speaks for itself.
Doing it the way I said makes for a solid, highly reflective base. I can't wait to see what the Magicians here do with the process.


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## JamesT (Jul 22, 2005)

I'm really looking forward to trying this!

Any thoughts on doing a silver belly/body from silver glitter, then using black glitter on the top for the back? I think I'm going to try this and not use any paint.

These bodies are from "refurbed" (cracked paint, cracked lips, bent hook hangers, etc) deep diving bagley killer b2's. I'm going to change them into shallow divers. Before I glitter, I will glue in lip.

And yes, Martha Stewart in da House!


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## triton175 (Feb 21, 2006)

I, too, have been mixing my glitter with the epoxy and it works pretty well. I'll have to try this new method to get a shiny base.
I'll also try the finger method of application, I've never used anything but brushes.

I got a pack of 24 glitter colors (Martha Stewart) from JoAnn fabrics. I'm not sure of the size of the glitter, but it's pretty fine.


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## ShutUpNFish (Apr 17, 2007)

Can you supply an example photo of this please, I'm very curious!

~Paul


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## TIGGER (Jan 17, 2006)

Neat idea Husky! 

I have been mixing some heavy bodied glitters of late to the lures. I was trying to get the same look as the gold monster shads. The problem is if you put to much glitter the epoxy will not set right. Man did I open a can of worms with that one. The epoxy was tumbling around the bait. I had high and low spots that I had to sand down. I finished some in the last couple of days. I will try to post some later. I want to try Huskies method this weekend.

Another little thing to try. My daughter was coloring at the kitchen table and I noticed she had these glitter glue pens. It has a clear water based glue mixed with glitter. You can apply this to certain areas like gill plates and such. It will dry and hold after about 2 hours. I want to try this with painting walleye blades this winter. The next clear coat holds it in place.

John


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## rjbass (Aug 1, 2007)

I like your idea Husky....

Tigger, funny you should mention those glue pens, I have been using my wife's "stickle pens" from her scrap booking stuff for a while now and they are great for gill plates, etc....here is a link for the metallic ones I use...

http://www.orientaltrading.com/ui/b...c63a31&sd=Ranger+Stickles&#8482;+Metallic+Set


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## Husky (Dec 19, 2007)

ShutUpNFish said:


> Can you supply an example photo of this please, I'm very curious!
> 
> ~Paul


Here goes. It's hard to take a good picture of a highly reflective surface.
It won"t go dull when coated.
FWIW, I pour the glitter over the Epoxied lure, catching the over flow on a piece of paper. Then I return the excess to the jar. POUR SLOWLY as the glitter is quite fine.


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## TIGGER (Jan 17, 2006)

Husky those look great! They sure sparkle in the sunlight.

Rod those are some nice bottles of glitter. My daughters crayola set is limited on the colors. I may have to try them out.

Triton, I saw the Martha's stuff at Wallyworld. I will have to go back a look some more.

This is a body that I used gold glitter from the craftstore. This first couple of tries I had to much glitter with the epoxy. It did not even out very well. 

I painted a gold base first and then did an application of a lighter mixture of glitter and it worked just fine. It looks like a Ranger boat. I was trying to copy a gold foil monster shad in some way.


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## Husky (Dec 19, 2007)

TIGGER said:


> Husky those look great! They sure sparkle in the sunlight.
> 
> Rod those are some nice bottles of glitter. My daughters crayola set is limited on the colors. I may have to try them out.
> 
> ...


Wow, another Buckeye Beauty! 
The first epoxy coat I use is very thin. As long as the lure has a thin coat you're good to go. The .008 glitter is very fine and any excess can be gently brushed off after the epoxy cures. Also, you can hit the glitter with clear to lock in any loose glitter. 
Applying the epoxy by the finger method allows me to have a better "feel" to the plugs surface.

Surely, this is just one way to skin that cat, and if anyone can tweak the method, you guys can.


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## JamesT (Jul 22, 2005)

I am finally getting around to this and really like it! 360 degree BLING!!!

In the first pic the glitter has been applied to one of the baits (it is the silver bait I posted in an earlier post). 2nd pic the darker bait has a single layer of slightly thinned etex over the glitter- it is still rough. In the future when doing this I will not thin the epoxy that goes as the first coat on the glitter. The silver bait has the glitter but no epoxy over it. If you haven't tried this, I strongly recommend trying it, super cool and very BLING! Thanks Husky!

put a piece of paper with a crease in it under the glitter when you sprinkle it on so you can reuse it(have 2 pieces of paper so you can keep reusing it until you are done). Otherwise you will go through a fair amount of glitter.


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## Hetfieldinn (May 17, 2004)

Michaels craft store sell some very fine glitter. They have a card with about a dozen different colors in plastic packets for about two bucks.


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## JamesT (Jul 22, 2005)

New one, 5" balsa- Glitter is on 2 coats of lightly sanded etex. This thing has some bling! On the back I first put the medium glitter then the fine gunmetal glitter. The belly is just the medium silver glitter on paint. I'm guessing 3 more thin coats of etex (light sand bw coats)and it'll be good to go. My next "color" is going to be "disco ball" lol...fun stuff


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## JamesT (Jul 22, 2005)

thanks again Husky. This technique is now part of my standard operating procedure. I used the coarser glitter to imitate fish scales and am very pleased with the outcome. I put it directly on the balsa (no foil or paint)and ended up doing it 3 times (and 2 clears over that, I'm pretty sure) with sanding in between layers. Oh yeah the name of the top "color" is "disco ball" (even though the glitter isn't square shaped lol)...


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