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Reviving Warrior Plug Qs

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Southcoastphil

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I got a great Montauk mail call this week with a dozen or so old plugs, some of which I plan to rejuvenate (all new hardware, seal interiors, epoxy clear coat exteriors) prior to fishing them this season.  I won't be painting any of them, because I really like those old-school colors (and why would I ever risk losing the mojo???). 

 

They are not collectible plugs.  The were workhorses.  Yet the paint remains well-adhered to the wood (other than the mojo'd areas).

 

I'll wager that it's been a couple of decades since they've been swimming, so I'll be working with very dry wood.

 

Looking at a CCBC Pikie:  Those flat hook hangers just hang from the through wire, correct?  I don't care if I have to wreck them while removing them because I'll put new swivels in. Can I just gently pry the grommets away from the body?

 

I'll (as always) appreciate your thoughts on my planned approach.

 

Cleaning and dismantling:

  • I've already given them a light cleaning (they were pretty dirty!) and I'll clean them again before dismantling, using mostly spray-on cleaners like simple green or, if needed, something like Pine-Sol. Rinse off, wipe dry.  No soaking.
  • Remove all hardware.  (Plan to leave the eyes in place for fear of damaging them.)   
  • Using my compressor, I'll blow off any remaining water and blow out what I can from the lip slots, through-wire hole and belly holes, then run dry pipe cleaners end to end until they come out without any loose debris.  I plan to keep this part dry.  
  • Hang them in 65% humidity room for a couple days.

 

 

Sealing the interiors:

Since I don't want to dip the plugs, I'd initially planned to seal them by pouring lightly-diluted spar varnish into the hook holes and using a long pipe cleaner to make sure that the liquid has gotten into the the through-wire hole:

 

  • Warm the plug to about 125*
  • set it on a jig/rack or clamp it such that it's on its back
  • wear gloves
  • pour liquid into belly holes until they're about 1/2 full
  • use pipe cleaner to  disperse liquid throughout the long hole
  • plug the ends of the long holes
  • top off the belly holes with liquid
  • let it sit for 10 minutes
  • dump out the residual liquid
  • hang vertically (or stand in a tray at about 75* angle) to cure for three days or so

If I dilute and/or warm the varnish properly it would drain out of the long hole without clogging it. (Otherwise I'd have to run the pipe cleaner once through the long hole to clear it.)  To keep the plugs at the right temp, I'd remove them from the oven one at a time.

 

BUT, I just read Dave Anderson's SJ blog post about using epoxy to fix a cracked plug.  (I'd post the link, but it would soon be deleted.  Just hunt for "Cracked!", Posted on May 26, 2015.)  He used envirotex but I'd use the System Three Clear Coat that I have on hand.  The method is essentially the same, other than not needing any "soaking" time.  

So I'll take the epoxy route.

 

Topcoating and reassembly:

  • Remove dust with mineral spirits-dampened rag
  • Mask off the eyes w/painter's tape
  • Apply and dry on spinner
    • Should I first apply one (or two?) thin coat(s) of epoxy to the areas that are scraped to bare wood, then coat the whole plug some 10 hours later?
    • One or two coats for the whole plug?
  • Install grommets 
    • Do I install them after the last topcoat has cured, or while the last topcoat is wet and still functions as an adhesive?
  • Install remaining hardware & hooks
  • Call it done!

 

Looking forward to your thoughts,

--Phil

 

PS.  I'll need grommets in several sizes, along with through wires long enough for six or eight 8-10" plugs.  Can you suggest sources that sell these in small quantities?

 

 

G.B.O.G.H. -- DT326

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."--M. Mead

Be safe, be smart, be kind.--Gary Crocker, Maine Humorist/Philosopher

 

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The hook hangers will just fall out once the wire is removed.

 

If the grommets aren't completely shot/gone I'd let them stay in...if gone take a pr. of needle nose pliers and twist them out...some may come out in tiny pieces as they are made of brass

 

cleaning I'd take CLR and mix with dawn...use an old tooth brush and scrub ..rinse and let dry.

 

once dry I'd just soak the whole plug in thinned out spar...wipe off the plug and let drip dry over heat...couple of days...

 

reassemble the plug and apply two  coats of spar..if they have lasted this long with only a coat of sprayed on urethane there's no reason the give them a skin coat of epoxy to weight them down.

 

How about a picture of these old folks before you dissect them.

 

.

Edited by capesams
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Yeah Phil, Pics!

 

Just a couple of thoughts, after cleaning / drying, a light rub with some fine scotchbrite pads might remove surface blems without having to worry too much about rubbing thru the original finish and paint.

And like capesams mentioned, epoxy is heavy, I would epoxy in the belly grommets and topcoat over them, with short pieces of drinking straw in the swivel hole to keep the epoxy out.

 

Otherwise, great winter project, Good Luck with it.

 

Pics!!!!!

"Can You Hear Me, Doctor?"

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Thanks guys.  

 

Having used spar (Helmsman alkyd) in the past to topcoat some used plugs, I noticed that it adds a distinct amber color, which I didn't like.  

 

Here are some quick pics for y'all.

GTS3s, 1st-gen L. Cooper mackerel, Masterlures green, yellow Lupo troller, CCBC Pikie w/silver head repaint:IMG_2873.JPG.5b4224693d87e39c59723bedfba2a535.JPG

IMG_2875.JPG.f68260779d3e11b10096a0d836d4668d.JPG

 

Pair of Atoms, (Gibbs?) blue mack popper, unknown white darter:IMG_2878.JPG.8fc07eb019b778a65258885c07f7bbe1.JPG

 

Mustang & unknown needle:

IMG_2884.JPG.e8843d8b5c2c8639570ad4a403a4f41f.JPG

 

Folk art:

IMG_2879.JPG.2d987b98e04cdd648495565618b653ba.JPG

Edited by Southcoastphil

G.B.O.G.H. -- DT326

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."--M. Mead

Be safe, be smart, be kind.--Gary Crocker, Maine Humorist/Philosopher

 

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2 mins ago, wvbud22 said:

What a neato winter project Phil. Can’t wait to see them reworked. 
and you certainly do find some really good old threads on here for us to read. Good job 

Thanks, Mountaineer!

G.B.O.G.H. -- DT326

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."--M. Mead

Be safe, be smart, be kind.--Gary Crocker, Maine Humorist/Philosopher

 

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It looks like I have two generations of GTS3s, judging by the change in slope where the body slopes to the head.  The white ones have an abrupt change vs the much smoother/rounded profile shown in the blue and brown (Whiting pattern?) ones.

 

The folk art plugs might have been made from chair legs.  Look closely and you'll see that the eye looks like a bead from a lady's hat pin, and they've been "sewn" on with a loop of thread or thin wire that runs through the head of the plug.  IMG_2883.JPG.b8de78d97f76518afb75c7cf9be3d485.JPG

 

Looks like the builder left the nails in:

IMG_2881.JPG.a8ade4de469d7450f02c224611285fb5.JPG

 

 

G.B.O.G.H. -- DT326

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."--M. Mead

Be safe, be smart, be kind.--Gary Crocker, Maine Humorist/Philosopher

 

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Some of these plugs (the L. Cooper, brown GTS3) I won't touch because they're in wonderful condition as is, so I'll either display or sell them.  The folkies will go into a display cabinet that I'm building.

 

The Pikie, blue GTS3, and some other warriors not shown (another GTS3, a 2nd-gen L. Cooper) will definitely get reworked because I'm hot to fish them.  The L. Coopers will be pretty easy because they have screw eyes.

 

(I'm not sure how I'll approach removing the spray paint from the Pikie, but I'll probably start by testing a small spot with a gentle rub with MS and/or acetone.  With any luck I won't have to resort to mechanical abrasion.)

 

I've fished many Lupos--Trollers & Dannies large and small--with great results, so the yellow one you see will get wet. Hardware all looks fine on that one, so I'll just clean it up and seal the bare wood before fishing it.  (Maybe I'll add a band of silver on the sides and a pearl belly, similar to the timeless BM color scheme.)

 

Undecided what to do with the Masterlures.  I love that classic A40 shape, and the colors are pretty cool.  Before I decide I'll test swim it (along with a couple of L. Coopers).  I'm fortunate to have a great local spot for test swimming--it's a bridge on a road with little traffic over a local river--that I've used many times.  I'll bring a gallon of fresh water with me for a quick, immediate rinse.

 

Before attacking these plugs, I'll do some test runs on some beater plugs to fine tune my approach.  

 

I'll take pics.

 

G.B.O.G.H. -- DT326

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."--M. Mead

Be safe, be smart, be kind.--Gary Crocker, Maine Humorist/Philosopher

 

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I would not risk doing anything to the folk art ones, not even the Masterlure. Also, aged Cooper's are notorious for cracking as soon as they soak up water.

 

The others, I would start with a hot tap water and plenty of Woolite soak in a tub, with lost of swishing ever so often for about an hour - or until the water reaches room temperature. Woolite is mainly a surfactant that lifts dirt off the surface and onto the Woolite surface instead. 

 

From there, without washing, into a bath of natural orange cleaner in tepid water bath for another hour - which is an acid that will eat into the dirt lifted by the Woolite. 

 

Then a good rinse under a hot water faucet. Dry rub with a cotton towel. Let air dry.

 

Again, some risk plugs will crack during this process - but they would split when you went to fish them anyway. Nevertheless, you shouldn't be damaging the original finish "as much" as harsher cleaners could. 

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4 hours ago, Bassdozer said:

I would not risk doing anything to the folk art ones, not even the Masterlure. Also, aged Cooper's are notorious for cracking as soon as they soak up water.1

 

The others, I would start with a hot tap water and plenty of Woolite soak in a tub, with lost of swishing ever so often for about an hour - or until the water reaches room temperature. Woolite is mainly a surfactant that lifts dirt off the surface and onto the Woolite surface instead. 

 

From there, without washing, into a bath of natural orange cleaner in tepid water bath for another hour - which is an acid that will eat into the dirt lifted by the Woolite. 

 

Then a good rinse under a hot water faucet. Dry rub with a cotton towel. Let air dry.

 

Again, some risk plugs will crack during this process - but they would split when you went to fish them anyway.2 Nevertheless, you shouldn't be damaging the original finish "as much" as harsher cleaners could. 

Thanks for your insights, Russ.  Very helpful.

 

NOTES:

1.  I will seal the bejeebus out of whichever L. Cooper(s) I decide to fish before they get the least bit wet.  I'll trade the gain a few grams due to the epoxy sealer for a lower probability of splitting any day.

 

2.  I now understand that the Woolite approach.is a more gentle way of cleaning plugs. 

 

Given that A) I plan to fish them,  B) They're hardly in pristine condition right now, and C) I'd prefer to *not* have my plugs split (if I can help it), I'll skip the Woolite approach.   

 

*****

Some thoughts in general, not directed to Russ:

For me, it won't matter if they'e less than optimally clean or if their finish is slightly more damaged by a more aggressive cleaning approach.  As long as I get the exteriors clean enough and create enough tooth in the finish to provide a good substrate for the topcoat I'm happy.  (It's not like I plan to hit them with 100-grit.)  Spray the cleaner on (I'm deff trying the CLR/Dawn mix that @capesams suggested), leave it for a few minutes, then use progressively more aggressive approaches (sponge, toothbrush or other soft-bristled brush, cotton t-shirt rag, cotton denim rag, etc.) as needed when wiping off the cleaner.  If I want more fine cleaning (actually, "polishing" is the more accurate term), I'll go to a mild abrasive like toothpaste or baking soda and rub gently.  If I need to lightly scour anything, or add a little tooth, the Scotchbrite pad (thanks @Ed White) will come into play.

 

I'll then move to the interior sealing and exterior topcoating.  Will either of these be perfect?  Nope.  However, having worked with various wood finishes for years, I know that the probability of my plugs splitting after those steps will be a lot lower than that of their splitting after placing completely untreated and very dry wood in a (hot, then cooling) water bath for an hour or more.

*****

 

Going back to a soaking approach, I'd love to get feedback from you collectors out there.  For your plugs that are (or will be) in your collection, which risk do you prefer:

 

A.  Having split plugs?

B.  Having less than optimally cleaned plugs?

 

G.B.O.G.H. -- DT326

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."--M. Mead

Be safe, be smart, be kind.--Gary Crocker, Maine Humorist/Philosopher

 

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vintage "mint"' plugs is my aim.....some come with a little corrosion on the hardware...green..white...brown....body is like new...the clr an soap to date hasn't touch the finish or paint on any plug, but it will remove rust stains and the corrosion...but you sometimes need to be patient as sometimes it takes a little time for it to work...keep checking .

 

some collectors leave them dirty saying it harms the value...to each his own.

 

If your aim is to fish them....don't go over board restoring them.

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@capesams, I'm not planning to go crazy cleaning the ones I plan to fish.  Clean off enough of the dirt to show the colors, then armor them for battle.  I'm fascinated by those old color palettes.  Some were very straightforward (e.g., Mullet, any single color), some had bold marking like many of the mack and scalloped color schemes, and others were much more subtle (e.g., the fine-scale work on many CCBC and, IIRC, some early Gibbs).

 

Do you know if Gibbs were formerly painted with oil/enamel paints?  The depth, lustre and feel of some colors (esp. the royal blue and that deep red) is so very different than what one sees in current work.  

G.B.O.G.H. -- DT326

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."--M. Mead

Be safe, be smart, be kind.--Gary Crocker, Maine Humorist/Philosopher

 

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paints of old.

lacquer

oils

enamels

top coat boat paint

 

but most of this paint in it's own right was tough by itself because of the voc's or solids in it.....it's when men were men and coatings were top notch...auto clears are the best we have today unless you have access to industrial coatings an paint.

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