Instructions

Applying Vinyl Paint

Ventilation
Our vinyl paints are considered flammable, so always be aware of your surroundings. Extinguish all sources of ignition, such as pilot lights or open flames. Ventilate the area where paint is being applied by allowing fresh air to circulate. Open windows or use an exhaust fan with a motor designed to be operated in a hazardous atmosphere. For personal protection, use a NIOSH/MSHA-approved respirator designed for use with paint solvents or organic vapors. See can label for more details.

Surface preparation
Surface to be painted should be free of oil, dirt and moisture. Remove all release agents from cast jigs by rinsing with a strong soap solution or solvent, such as CS Coatings’ Thinner. Highly polished surfaces like nickel, chrome, or silver may require a base coat of clear powder paint or etching to allow for proper adhesion. Paints should be applied between 70–80° F in an area of low humidity.

Priming
All Vinyl Paints should be undercoated with our White Vinyl Paint, which is specially formulated to act as a primer and a reflective base for fluorescent colors. Where a white base coat is undesirable (e.g. highly polished surfaces), a cured coat of Clear Pro-Tec Powder Paint can be used as a primer.

 


 

Dipping Vinyl Paint

The main advantage of dipping is the ability to get true one-coat coverage with most of our vinyl colors. The secret to achieving one-coat coverage is to avoid thinning and when necessary, thin very little.

Step-by-Step Instructions

  1. For best results, make sure the paint temperature is between 70–75° F.
  2. Use a wooden stir stick to thoroughly mix in pigments from the bottom of the can. A wooden stir stick prevents the can’s protective lining from being scraped off and contaminating the paint. Electreflects should also be stirred to achieve proper viscosity. Do not shake paints to mix. If paint still appears excessively thick, warm before thinning.
  3. After stirring white base coat, dip jig and hang. Paint should drip off without leaving a long string. If a string does form, a small amount of thinning is required. Start with approximately 5% thinner and stir thoroughly. Remember, more thinning means less coverage so keep to a minimum.
  4. After 2 or 3 drips, a round drop will form at the bottom of the jig. This can be removed by dabbing the drop with a small piece of stiff paper about 20 seconds after the final drip. This process will leave a small space on the bottom of the jig that will fill in as paint continues to flow down. If another drop forms, you may have dabbed too soon.
  5. Allow at least 15 minutes between each coat of paint. Fluorescent vinyl colors dry flat and require a coat of Clear or Epoxy for a high gloss finish. For best results when two-toning, dip entire jig in lighter color first, then follow with a darker color.
  6. Always allow jigs to “cure out” for at least 2 to 4 days — depending on humidity, number of coats, etc. — before allowing lures to come into physical contact with one another. This prevents the solvents trapped under the “flashed” surface of the lure to re-soften the paint and cause the lures to stick together. Solvent drying time can be reduced by exposing painted lures to mild heat. For example, 8 hours at 130° F will completely cure most lures. Remember to always provide air movement to carry away solvent fumes. DO NOT use an open flame as heat source. Heat lamps or electric baseboard heat work well.

 


 

Spraying Vinyl Paint

All of our liquid paints and top coats can be sprayed with an airbrush or larger automotive spray gun. Always try to spray when the temperature is between 60–80° F with a humidity of less than 75%. Under highly humid conditions, the wet coat of paint may “blush” (pick up moisture from the air), resulting in a poor finish.

This occurs because the rapidly evaporating solvents in our paint cause the surface temperature of the lure to drop, which, in turn, promotes condensation.

When used in conjunction with lower humidity, our Retarder Thinner (09R) will help eliminate blushing. Retarder Thinner also helps reduce “cob-webbing,” which occurs when paint dries too quickly out of the tip of the gun in extremely warm conditions. Many manufacturers choose to use Retarder Thinner in their operations all year long.

Thinning for airbrushing can vary from 30% to 50% depending on tip size and air pressure used. It’s important to remember that the more you thin, the more coats you may need to get desired coverage. Always try to thin as little as possible.

When spraying our Electreflect colors, be sure to ask for our special Spray Formula. It allows for better coverage when thinning. If you are spraying our Glow Paints, make sure you shake your gun every few seconds to keep the extremely heavy glow particles evenly mixed. Also, do not thin more Glow Paint than you are going to use at a given time. Any thinned Glow Paint that is left unused will settle rapidly, forming a lump of particles at the bottom of the container that may not be reusable.

For best results, especially in critical spray applications, always use CS Coatings’ Thinners.