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This Rebel Jumpin' Minnow is a long time favorite top water lure, for both freshwater and saltwater anglers alike. While it has a metallic finish beneath its shell, the lure is beginning to show signs of old age. With a new textured foil finish, this lure can be transformed into a unique, one of a kind secret weapon. Begin the foil coating process by removing the hardware. |
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Sand the entire surface with 220 grit sandpaper. The Jumpin' Minnow has small eye protursions. Go ahead and shave them with a razor knife and sand flat. The eyes will be later upgraded to give a "MirrOlure" look in Chapter 3. |
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A foil texturing tool must be created. Here are a few examples, all with knurled "diamond" patterns: a pocketknife, a micrometer and razor knife. Use your imagination. Take a look at common objects like metal files, burr bits (rasps), knurling tools, etc. You can easily find a unique pattern that will work out well. |
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This micrometer drum has been selected because of its pronounced diamond pattern, and the fact that it is made of hardened alloy. |
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A "rolling pin" type tool has been made from the micrometer drum. A simple bolt through the drum would work also. Use a foam or felt strip below the rolling pin as padding (foam should be about the same durometer as a rubber band - at your local hobby shop). You will need to work on a flat surface. |
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Cut a 1" strip of aluminum foil. Recomended foil to use is ordinary Reynolds Wrap - Heavy Duty. Note that this foil has a shiny side and a dull side. Lay the strip of foil with the shiny side down. Gently slide a smooth object such as a plastic pen along the length to "iron out" the wrinkles. |
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Secure one end with tape, and with force roll or press the diamond pattern onto the foil. Be sure to use the foam or felt padding. |
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It takes a little practice and experimenting to produce a flawless pattern with home made tools. |
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Now you have two strips ready to be bonded to the sides of the lure. Use a "superglue" for this process. An accelerator can be used to speed the curing time of the glue - but can lead to lumps under the foil. Preference to use an accelerator comes by trial and error. Contact cement, such as sold by Loctite™, also works well. You may have to experiment to find your adhesive of choice. |
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Apply glue (or contact cement) to the foil and place on the lure side. You will have a minute or so to position it in place. Start bonding the foil first in the center of the lure, along its length. |
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Then gently with a sliding motion of the fingers, work the foil to bond at the edges. Some wrinkles are inevitable. You can cut the foil in special contours to avoid most wrinkles, but in this example, most of the wrinkles will be covered by paint. |
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Here is a look at one side with foil bonded. A few wrinkles can be seen. That can be fixed to an extent by reforming the diamonds. With a pointed object, press down the areas between each diamond. Again, don't be too concerned with wrinkles in the areas that will be painted over. With a little practice, you can get a nice foiled coating. |
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The top and bottom at this point are neglected, and quite an eyesore. That will all be fixed when it is painted. |
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Apply the first epoxy coat as instructed in Chapter 1. After curing for 24 hours, lightly sand the top and bottom, especially sanding flat the edges of the foil. The high spots are leveled with this operation. It will be important to have a smooth, lump free epoxy coating over the foil when it comes time to paint. At this point, the lure will probably look like a project that should be abandonded - but we will soon do something with this ugly duckling. It begins with one more top coat of epoxy. |
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Now that you have applied the second coat of epoxy, the lure is ready for painting. it is recomended to post cure this coat with heat lamps, as shown in Chapter 1. |
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Remove the excess epoxy from the eyelets (Chapter 1), and this lure is ready to be transformed by painting (see next Chapter). |
| Next Chapter - Continued! Custom painting to match your area forage. Go To CH3 | |
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(since 11/29/03) |
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- Presented for Alamo Area Anglers - |
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Copyright © 2003 River City Tackle Crafters. This copyright grants reproduction for personal, non-commercial use only. |
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