UV powder and/or glow powder?

[MT204]

So have been reading a lot about uv and glow as of late.
Tom has written a number of posts about uv and glow and it got me to thinking.
What does uv coating really do?
Does it reflect uv light?
Does it glow "because" of the uv light?
I have always powder coated my jigs with white base, super glow and then uv blast.
Now that I have this bad disease making soft baits and as per many recommendations from this wonderful site I ad UV power and glow powder to some parts if not all soft baits.
It got me thing even more.
I got to thinking that one of the best ways to charge glow paints is with certain spectrums of uv light.
So does the uv coating stop or slow the uv light from getting to the glow?
Does it take longer to charge the glow?
Well the glow still glows, that can be tested in the dark and the uv can be tested with a black light.
So I sent off an e-mail to CS coatings to ask the question,

"Questions: Just watched the u-tube on UV bast and was curious. The guy stated as many others do that UV blast reflects UV light? If this is the case does the UV blast restrict the UV from charging the glow hook? Many sites state that one should use UV to charge glow hooks. Just curious."

The answer I got was kind of interesting (I thought) and kind of left me wondering and scratching my head even more.
Here's the answer I got from CS coatings,

"There are UV inhibitors which would block and protect against UV and there are UV enhancers which amplify the UV properties. Our paints are made with UV enhancers.
One thing I would mention is that using a UV enhancer over glow would probably cancel out the UV properties. Glow creates its own light which is much stronger than a UV enhancer which is amplifying a reflection. All that would be seen is the glow."

From that answer I would almost think that it's a waste of time and money to UV over glow, but then again maybe it would help when the glow quits glowing.
Or is the UV better than  the glow because it doesn't quit reflecting?
But what if the waters really deep ice fishing is there any UV light down there?
Then again I'm not a fish so who really knows?
Just something to think about.

[WALLEYE WACKER]

CTOM  is the master of glow and UV. But there are a few thing I do know when your in the one man and you have the widows closed and it's dark inside the ice looks like it's lit up and you can clearly see bottom in 6 to 8' of ice so yes that there is UV light traveling threw the ice and yes there is a amount of UV getting even deeper and you can't see yourself but it's there. As far as charging any thing glow is the best thing I have used is a camera flash. And you'll have better results if you charge part of and not all of the glow.

[ctom]

I'll try to add to this a little.

As mentioned to you, there are uv enhancers that help focus uv rays from light sources to help make them more visible. Then there are the uv inhibitors which shun  uv rays from light sources. The inhibitors can be found in some of the bait packaging and bags to help resist fading and the affects of sunlight on the contents. How they affect other finishes on baits can be a mystery.

For the most part you want to not try and charge glow baits in plastic bags or wrappers because the plastic may contain an inhibitor that fights what you want to accomplish. Some Plexiglas and even window glass can have uv inhibitor films on them that will fight you too. All glow products need the uv rays to charge the pigment that glows. These pigments in turn glow from within or internally as far as uv rays can reach into the finish  to charge them and can negate the work of uv enhancers in some instances. So yes, uv light helps charge glow pigments but no the uv light is not entirely responsible for making glow pigments glow. And yes, glow pigments can appear to cancel out the effects of UV enhance only because the glow only affects that portion of uv light that we see. Depending on the intensity of the glow charge even the un-seen uv light may be negated until the glow loses strength. However, the uv enhancer will allow the bait to shine at the surface even in dark that is pitch black because random light rays exist even on the darkest of nights. Moon light will cause enhanced baits to "show". Most artificial lights have some uv aspect to them especially sodium lighting.

UV enhancers help pull the uv light rays together and tend to focus them which is why we can see a slight bluish/purplish tinge on the surface of baits using them while they are in water and when they are in slight shade. It takes very little enhancer sprayed on the surface of, say, a hard bait, or mixed into raw plastic that gets cooked and injected to make maybe a work or a paddletail. The difference between the two applications is that the spray-on product only covers the surface while the cooked in product is found all thru the plastic. No matter how its used or applied, uv enhancers only work on the surface, not internally. You can cut a worm in half that has enhancer in the plastic and the cut edge will become a surface that the enhancer will become apparent on. This is why in some instances a glow pigmented jig finish or a glow plastic can mute the surface of a bait that's been enhanced in one fashion or another. UV enhancement does NOT increase the glow properties of a bait.

Now here's the kicker with uv enhancers. As humans we have a small degree of ability to see uv rays found in light. These visible uv rays are found in the extreme outside edge of the ultraviolet light found in the spectrum. Beyond that point UV light is invisible to us but has very pointed affects on many things living and inert. Fish have eyes that see color way different than we do, but they are super sensitive to uv light, especially those band widths we cannot see. Basically a human's eyes have missed the boat when it comes to uv light we know that the enhancers are working by our being able to see a tiny edge of the spectrum where uv light is having a field day. Fish can see way beyond what we can see. In some instances uv light has been detected in water as deep as 900 feet and this is uv that the fish CAN see.

I've played with glow pigments in both paints and plastics for years and know for a fact that glow products can help increase one's catching productivity. I've also used several of the uv enhancer products and have drawn some conclusions about those as well. My hard baits get treated either with the spray product available at Do-It or the dip coat, Deal Coat UV finish,  also available at Do-It. Do-It also offers the UV enhanced Powder Paint, however I do not use that product. My soft plastics get dosed with the UV enhancer powder that Do-It sells. There is a liquid enhancer for soft plastic making that is available thru other sources but that product I have found to be very difficult to use accurately. Crank baits, blade baits, spoons, jigs, spinners, soft plastics....basically every bait I fish with gets treated with uv enhancer in one way or another. Like the American Express card I don't have, I don't leave home without it when it comes to uv enhancement.

If you are making soft plastics, the powder form of enhancer is the least expensive of any enhancer to use and goes right into the raw plastic and disappears....until it hits the sun. You may not know its there but the fish certainly do. And if you stop and think....its darned hard to put in the plastic when you're on the water while it takes 15 seconds to dose the batch before it even hits the heat. Its a no brainer in my book.

Another trick with glow products to help increase the glow factor is to keep jigs and plastics that glow in a shirt pocket or a any inside pocket to stay warm when you ice fish, even inside a heated shelter. The charge goes deeper and lasts longer when these things are body temp as opposed to 30 degrees cooler.

[ctom]

Another thought on this MT....

Look at glow bait in a dark room and you can see that the glow comes from inside the plastic. UV enhancer will make the same bait appear to have a bright, but clearly defined, force field around the outside of the bait, especially the perimeter.

[Apdriver]

I often use the powder uv enhancer in my soft plastics and really like the results I get from putting more fish in my boat. Recently, I needed to make some jigs for a bass fishing trip and wondered how to introduce uv to them. As I was planning on topcoating them with KBS Diamond Clear, I added a tiny pinch of my uv powder to the topcoat and it worked perfectly. Just another way to apply uv to your baits.

[ctom]

Thanks for taking time to try this new idea AP.

[efishnc]

The advantage of the glow powders is that you can select specific colors (where UV enhancers have no variability).  The nice thing about the UV is it never has to be recharged, so you can fish it indefinitely while knowing it always has a brighter presentation.

[ejohns10]

I'll try to add to this a little.

As mentioned to you, there are uv enhancers that help focus uv rays from light sources to help make them more visible. Then there are the uv inhibitors which shun  uv rays from light sources. The inhibitors can be found in some of the bait packaging and bags to help resist fading and the affects of sunlight on the contents. How they affect other finishes on baits can be a mystery.

For the most part you want to not try and charge glow baits in plastic bags or wrappers because the plastic may contain an inhibitor that fights what you want to accomplish. Some Plexiglas and even window glass can have uv inhibitor films on them that will fight you too. All glow products need the uv rays to charge the pigment that glows. These pigments in turn glow from within or internally as far as uv rays can reach into the finish  to charge them and can negate the work of uv enhancers in some instances. So yes, uv light helps charge glow pigments but no the uv light is not entirely responsible for making glow pigments glow. And yes, glow pigments can appear to cancel out the effects of UV enhance only because the glow only affects that portion of uv light that we see. Depending on the intensity of the glow charge even the un-seen uv light may be negated until the glow loses strength. However, the uv enhancer will allow the bait to shine at the surface even in dark that is pitch black because random light rays exist even on the darkest of nights. Moon light will cause enhanced baits to "show". Most artificial lights have some uv aspect to them especially sodium lighting.

UV enhancers help pull the uv light rays together and tend to focus them which is why we can see a slight bluish/purplish tinge on the surface of baits using them while they are in water and when they are in slight shade. It takes very little enhancer sprayed on the surface of, say, a hard bait, or mixed into raw plastic that gets cooked and injected to make maybe a work or a paddletail. The difference between the two applications is that the spray-on product only covers the surface while the cooked in product is found all thru the plastic. No matter how its used or applied, uv enhancers only work on the surface, not internally. You can cut a worm in half that has enhancer in the plastic and the cut edge will become a surface that the enhancer will become apparent on. This is why in some instances a glow pigmented jig finish or a glow plastic can mute the surface of a bait that's been enhanced in one fashion or another. UV enhancement does NOT increase the glow properties of a bait.

Now here's the kicker with uv enhancers. As humans we have a small degree of ability to see uv rays found in light. These visible uv rays are found in the extreme outside edge of the ultraviolet light found in the spectrum. Beyond that point UV light is invisible to us but has very pointed affects on many things living and inert. Fish have eyes that see color way different than we do, but they are super sensitive to uv light, especially those band widths we cannot see. Basically a human's eyes have missed the boat when it comes to uv light we know that the enhancers are working by our being able to see a tiny edge of the spectrum where uv light is having a field day. Fish can see way beyond what we can see. In some instances uv light has been detected in water as deep as 900 feet and this is uv that the fish CAN see.

I've played with glow pigments in both paints and plastics for years and know for a fact that glow products can help increase one's catching productivity. I've also used several of the uv enhancer products and have drawn some conclusions about those as well. My hard baits get treated either with the spray product available at Do-It or the dip coat, Deal Coat UV finish,  also available at Do-It. Do-It also offers the UV enhanced Powder Paint, however I do not use that product. My soft plastics get dosed with the UV enhancer powder that Do-It sells. There is a liquid enhancer for soft plastic making that is available thru other sources but that product I have found to be very difficult to use accurately. Crank baits, blade baits, spoons, jigs, spinners, soft plastics....basically every bait I fish with gets treated with uv enhancer in one way or another. Like the American Express card I don't have, I don't leave home without it when it comes to uv enhancement.

If you are making soft plastics, the powder form of enhancer is the least expensive of any enhancer to use and goes right into the raw plastic and disappears....until it hits the sun. You may not know its there but the fish certainly do. And if you stop and think....its darned hard to put in the plastic when you're on the water while it takes 15 seconds to dose the batch before it even hits the heat. Its a no brainer in my book.

Another trick with glow products to help increase the glow factor is to keep jigs and plastics that glow in a shirt pocket or a any inside pocket to stay warm when you ice fish, even inside a heated shelter. The charge goes deeper and lasts longer when these things are body temp as opposed to 30 degrees cooler.

I am trying to figure out what UV enhancer powder you are using from Do-It. I don't see exactly which product you mean. Can you give me a little more insight on where I can buy the powder...Thank you.

[Mike J]

It's called UV blast
http://store.do-itmolds.com/UV-Blast-Powder_p_1113.html

[MT204]

http://store.do-itmolds.com/UV-Blast-Powder_p_1113.html

[ctom]

ejohn....I see the guys have you linked so I'll just offer a welcome to the Do-It forums! Got questions....ask away.

[ejohns10]

Thanks you guys. And Thank you for the welcome. Just starting out with making my own molds/baits. Mostly focused on the Chesapeake bay but why stop there.....What an addicting hobby!

[Lines]

Welcome ejohns10! mt204, I offer my sympathy for the disease you have been afflicted with. I too am suffering.

[kens3313]

Ok so I got some glow powder in chart and blue from do it and also picked up the UV Blast powder from DO-IT to put in my soft plastics.  I'm not sure If I'm doing the glow powders right but its taking about 4 of the 1/8 tsp to a cup of plastic. I thought that was quite a bit. I only bought 1.5 ounces of the stuff. Then I tried the UV blast , I made some baits without the UV in pumpkinseed and some with 1/4 tsp of UV per cup of plastic in pumpkinseed. Shine my UV light on all of them and they all glow the same amount lmao!!! So I added twice as much UV and still the same thing. What am I doing wrong here? Also is there different color UV blast? I was thinking its supposed to glow blue but there like a chartreuse.  Help would be appreciated thanks.

[cc1]

I dont know much but I do know that in perfectly clear water sunlight can only penetrate 300 feet. Coral Reefs also reflect tons of uv and often glow or change colors at night since they somehow store that energy.