Do any of you make your own wood blanks? I've stated making them but was wondering what you guys use to seal yours before paint.

Most of the baitmakers cut, carve and seal their own blanks. There is no other way if you want to control the system from srart to finish plus it is much easier to keep things straight when you start with a square flat blank.

As for sealing wood before paint I think each baitmaker has their own way of doing this. Some use epoxy, thinned epoxy, super glue and several commercial wood sealers, you just have to experiment and find what works best for you. Some use PVC and you can skip the sealing process altogether. I usually tell guys to buy sealers and topcoats in the smallest amounts and test/try them to see what works best for you, have a whole cabinet full of things that did not work. Avoid anything that does not say waterproof, not water resistant, like most of the furniture and gym floor finishes.

try sanding sealer, it works real well, and is very available.

NGaHB

I use a coat of super glue, then coat with 2part epoxy. The super glue makes balsa wood rock hard but is not totally water proof and raises the grain. The 2part epoxy is waterproof and gives a smooth finish to paint on.

Thanks alot guys. I will try some out and post here in the future let you know what happens with the products I use. Thanks again.

I use polyurethane on my baits before I paint.

Falcon