The topcoating of the decoys

The topcoat is the final glossy or matte coat, which coats and protects the material, the primer, the paint.

It is also the translucent coat that makes the pearl pigments or glitter shine and sparkle.

A decoy topcoat must be shiny to reflect light and be visually appealing, it must be water and salt resistant, it must be hard or flexible depending on the type of decoy, and it must be tough and thick to resist the teeth of fish.

The grip : It is very important to avoid peeling off in case of shocks or bites. The adhesion on the bottom or the paint, is not ensured by the topcoat, but by the sanding.

We must therefore have a background or a paint properly sanded to 320 or 500 maximum. Or we can apply the topcoat directly on the fresh paint, with the benefit of the cohesion effect "wet on wet".

To topcoat a decoy, we recommend epoxy resin 4000, in the case of application with a brush or by dipping,

or ceramic topcoat, for application with a gun or airbrush

How to topcoat a decoy:

For the topcoating of the decoys, there is in our catalog a quantity of very different topcoates:

which differ by :

- the way they are applied

- their purpose and resistance

- their particularities

- their thickness

Most spray topcoats are applied in two coats, and not more, because from the third coat onwards, you lose shine: the shine "buries".

To multiply the coats, to obtain a nice thickness, and a wet effect, it is necessary to recoat after complete drying, and you can repeat the operation as many times as you wish.

Sprayable topcoats have a thickness of 0.025 mm per dry coat, i.e. 50µm in 2 dry coats.

Flexible topcoats

Our water-based topcoats are naturally flexible. They are also very pleasant to paint, because they are odorless.

There is the FLEXIPLAST topcoat which is a solvent-based bi-component polyurethane topcoat, thus presenting a strong gloss and a great resistance, which allows to bend at 180°C

Hard topcoats

Among the hardest topcoats on the market today are automotive topcoats, especially ceramic topcoat, and epoxy resin.

Ceramic topcoat is our number one recommendation, because of its exceptional qualities, fast drying, very high gloss, in addition to its remarkable hardness.

Thick topcoats

The thickest automotive topcoat is ST6000 Super UHS, it has excellent filling power.

The epoxy resin of glaze 4000, allows to make in only one coat 1 to 10 mm of thickness.

The resin is applied in strong thickness only, by dipping, with the brush, with the spatula...

Other uses:

It is possible to add pearlescent or transparent inks in the resin and topcoats of decoys to obtain translucent and glittering effects