Coating cannonballs yourself?

Just to follow up on this a couple years later...

We used a 2 part epoxy from the guy MikeyL recommended. Heated it crab boil style and added some glow powder. Dipped with a gaff and set them on nails on a 2x4 to dripdry, and then trimmed the excess once everything cooled. Definitely want to do this outdoors and/or with proper respiratory protection.

The coating works great. It will last longer than your cannonballs!

Ive been using them for the last 2 seasons at the lodge. Ive only lost 1 cannonball in about 200 days of fishing, and the coating on the balls is still nearly like new aside from a few reef scars. It fades under the constant UV and salt but structurally everything is good. I left one submerged in my transom for an entire season and it started to crack a bit around the fin, but still totally useable.

The coating is a bit soft to the touch after cooling. You could put a dent in it with your thumbnail, and it has a sticky/tacky/rubbery feel. Some of the other guys at the lodge think the coated balls slide off reefs a little easier than bare lead. I try not to hit too many reefs lol
 
13 years ago this video was made - 20+ years ago the Glow Cannonball and Glow UV 50/50 was invented and marketed in BC by RVP.
The fire test was done to show extreme durability - not that it matters.
Tomcat Vs. Plasti-Dip.

 
JWS said:
I’ve found flex seal does a good job, also
Click to expand...
I tried Flex Seal. It was a total waste of time. The stuff shed off everywhere before I even put it in the water.
 
advTHXance said:
Just to follow up on this a couple years later...

We used a 2 part epoxy from the guy MikeyL recommended. Heated it crab boil style and added some glow powder. Dipped with a gaff and set them on nails on a 2x4 to dripdry, and then trimmed the excess once everything cooled. Definitely want to do this outdoors and/or with proper respiratory protection.

The coating works great. It will last longer than your cannonballs!

Ive been using them for the last 2 seasons at the lodge. Ive only lost 1 cannonball in about 200 days of fishing, and the coating on the balls is still nearly like new aside from a few reef scars. It fades under the constant UV and salt but structurally everything is good. I left one submerged in my transom for an entire season and it started to crack a bit around the fin, but still totally useable.

The coating is a bit soft to the touch after cooling. You could put a dent in it with your thumbnail, and it has a sticky/tacky/rubbery feel. Some of the other guys at the lodge think the coated balls slide off reefs a little easier than bare lead. I try not to hit too many reefs lol
Click to expand...

I'm curious to know, what is the benefit of coated DR balls? I seldom see boats using coated DR balls or any coated weights for that matter.
 
Reading this thread it seems Im the only one that uses bare lead. Coating your balls must be a south island thing.
 
Samnjoe said:
Reading this thread it seems Im the only one that uses bare lead. Coating your balls must be a south island thing.
Click to expand...
In the early days of coating cannonballs, it was a Great Lakes thing that shifted over here late 79-80ish, and then into the late 90's or very early 2000's when Bob from Tomcat started onto the scene and offered some game changing finished lead based products. At the time he produced and sold lead products and created a following that has grown into what it is today. I met Bob when I was with Seapro Distribution. Then, he was doing basic primary colours like black, white, green, red orange, yellow, blue. A few years later I bought his lead business and was offered the coating aspect, but it was too high a price to buy both at the same time. I had an exclusive deal with him for coating my products. Basically all fishing related coating had to go through me. One day Derby a member here on this site made a special request for 6 Chartreuse cannonballs. At that time Bob did not offer any fluorescent colours and it was special ordered.

The balls were built, coated and delivered to Derby who then invited me fishing on the first trip with the balls. The reason for this colour was to ID his cannonballs in case they went missing. Our trip was very successful compared to many other same caliber anglers and the only thing that we could figure out different was the colour of the cannonballs and that we were using Kone Zone individual blades as dummy attractors. We tried them without the dummies and had very similar results to the day before. We ultimately discovered that the colour had an effect in the dark murky waters of Alberni and Barkley Sound. 20+ years ago.

I went into full production with that colour after I got home selling into my store accounts, I also ordered other fluorescent colours. But it was at the end of that trip, on the long tow home that we discussed my new idea for a glow in the dark cannonball. It was only because of that ball colour that Derby ordered, why I even thought of glow in the first place. 6 months after selling full glow balls into stores, I then developed the glow UV 50/50 cannonball. I got the original UV optical brightener from a local tackle manufacture in Port Alberni to which I now own all of his Magic Lure business assets, machines and molds, dies and tooling.

Long and the short, coated first showed up early on the scene in Victoria, then petered out until Tomcat reclaimed and created the best finishing in the market. Then I took it to a new level in the mid-to north Island, basically Cowichan to Hardy. I eventually brought the exclusivity to PNT after I joined them. Eventually Bob sold Tomcat and I & (PNT) lost the exclusivity through them while they discovered a business model that works for them. Not an issue for me what so ever as I have perfected the process and do other things that no one has figured out yet. There are a few coaters on the mainland at least one is using the same process as Tomcat. The others are Plasti-Dip or Plasti-Coat and other types of finishes.

I would say based on proximity at this moment in time, coating is primarily a Central Island thing and some Vancouver areas.

Regardless I don't care, I know what I know and continue to do what I do to be a successful angler. It doesn't matter to me what other people do.
 
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