Krylon workable fixatif

Questions about Making Your Own Lures

Krylon workable fixatif

Postby RhettWheeler » Sun Feb 25, 2018 8:08 am

Stumbled upon a new topcoat for plastics.
I was in Walmart and noticed this spray while picking up a few things. I read the can and it’s used to put a “topcoat” on graphite, charcoal, and chalk drawings. Basically it puts a coat over it to keep your lines and chalks from smudging. It’s a type of lightweight varnish if you will.
I continued to read and it said it can be used on plastics, metals, etc so it got me thinking. If this works on chalk and graphite drawings but the paper still remains flexible I wonder if it’ll work on soft plastic baits. It’s for protecting and waterproofing drawings after all.
Purchased the can for around $6 and went home to experiment.

My initial worries were “will this react with the plastic causing it to melt?” “Will it make the plastic rigid?” “How waterproof is this” and last but most importantly “what will saltwater do to this?”
I made a few 8” whiggleys for the sake of experimentation and first tried just powder pigments to see if it would work and not cause any runs or other issues.
The can says hold about 12” Away and put on a light coat. So I hung the bait with some brass wire and put on a light spray coat. Let it set up and cure for about an hour and much to my chagrin the powder didn’t rub off whatsoever. In fact it was fixed on better than when I paint the inside of the molds. https://photos.app.goo.gl/aVie7JRMMbOONb253

Next I made another whiggley and used a combination of alcohol marker and powder. Repeated my process and checked it about an hour later and it also worked with alcohol marker too. I was pumped and started trying it on all types of soft plastics and it worked just fine.

A couple things I learned before you try-
-Make sure your alcohol marker dries for about 15 minutes before trying to do a coat. I had one side of one bait show some signs of running and I realized it was because I wasn’t patient enough to let th alcohol dry.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/iwJHpIYTIIMPtuWr1
- definitely hang the baits and let them cure for half a day or so after spraying. If you spray and let it dry for say an hour - then lay it on paper. Your bait is basically going to be glued to the paper. Let it set up.

This isn’t the “perfect” topcoat but it’s cheap and easy and seems to work. I brought a whiggley with me to experiment and fished with it for about 5 hours and the finish held up very nicely. We’ll see what saltwater does to it and report back. . Even had a monster smallmouth follow the bait in and spooked last minute. Very excited to paint some baits up in mackerel patterns for the season.
"Fear not the man who knows 10,000 kicks but has practiced them one time. Fear the man who knows one kick and has practiced it 10,000 times."
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Re: Krylon workable fixatif

Postby RhettWheeler » Sun Feb 25, 2018 8:13 am

Forgot to mention- the can says to store it at room temps and to let whatever you spray dry and set up for 24hrs. I’ve taken them down after just a few hours and layed them on some wax paper just so they wouldn’t stick. The longer the better though.
"Fear not the man who knows 10,000 kicks but has practiced them one time. Fear the man who knows one kick and has practiced it 10,000 times."
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Re: Krylon workable fixatif

Postby dahlberg » Sun Feb 25, 2018 6:22 pm

Thanks for the insight. Finding an odor-safe, really good clear coat is the holy grail for soft plastic painters. I've also used clear PVC cement, but the vapors are not good at all and linger for a long time.
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Re: Krylon workable fixatif

Postby RhettWheeler » Fri May 04, 2018 4:20 am

Fixatif is holding up just fine in my saltwater testing- only draw back is the varnish can make the bait a bit tacky- I.e. baits can stick when stored together, especially two baits that have been sprayed- my solution just throw a little worm oil in the bag- no more sticking- they just slide off of each other. :idea:
"Fear not the man who knows 10,000 kicks but has practiced them one time. Fear the man who knows one kick and has practiced it 10,000 times."
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Re: Krylon workable fixatif

Postby dahlberg » Fri May 04, 2018 10:17 am

Thanks Rhett, I'll try it!
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