Im repainting the ugliest plastic decoys ever made.

[bob welsh]

I picked up 150 old Flambeau oversize Mallards from the 1980's. Guy had a barn full of them. These are huge, about 22 inches. The head reminds me of a loon with a pointy bill. They are big and that's what I'm going for. I have a spot that will be good for them. Open water.
I sorted through them and found 30 known leakers.
First step was to wash and scrub with a 3m pad and TSP. After that i wiped down with acetone.
I went straight to the topcoat without primer. The paint I always use is pretty durable so I rolled the dice.
Also on my list is to fill the decoys with 2 lb flotation foam, so I bored a 1 1/4 hole in the bottom and cover with a bung.
Like I said the best thing going for them is their size.

 

[Carl]

The ones from the early 90s I bought were uglier! The hens were a completely different mold than the drakes. They all got repainted into bluebills.

Can’t wait to see the end results!

 

[Dani]

I have some pretty ugly plastic floaters too

Will the plug keep the foam from soaking up water? Or will the foam just naturally be resistant to doing that? Those big decoys, that's a lot of water sucking foam possibly to add extra weight to haul around.

 

[bob welsh]

Im using a closed cell 2 lb urethane foam that is used in boat flotation . It expands 25-30 times it size at 75 degrees or above. These will be left out all season so at least they will be light one time if the foam fails.
The plug will keep the foam from coming out as it expands and ive drilled another small hole under the tail to push air out as the foam fills the cavity.

 

[george w]

if you plan on painting, hit with krylon fusion, a type that works well for both oil and acrylic.. Used it eons ago to repaint a jag of cheapie mallards and dear friend and long term partner bought for repainting for an early group of trips to argentina. Seems to hold up quite well. We did get our hosts to plug shot holes made by over zealous europeans! Made an army of yellow billed pintails, chiloe widgeon, white faced whistling ducks and pochards. They WORKED!

 

[bob welsh]

Thanks George. I had thought of that and i'll give it a try on the next batch. Also i've used in the past a product called Bulldog, it's an adhesion primer for plastic car bumpers.

 

[Chip M.]

Those are actually my favorite decoys! I try to scoop em up whenever i find them. Big, heavy but damn do they show up on the water painted black.

 

[bob welsh]

A club i was a member of in late 1980s had hundreds of them and they worked well. Prone to leaking around the keel. Some of the next batch i paint will be black ducks for that reason.
They made pintails in this size and I only found a few so far, they too are hard on my eyes.

 

[roy brewington]

I picked up 150 old Flambeau oversize Mallards from the 1980's. Guy had a barn full of them. These are huge, about 22 inches. The head reminds me of a loon with a pointy bill. They are big and that's what I'm going for. I have a spot that will be good for them. Open water.
I sorted through them and found 30 known leakers.
First step was to wash and scrub with a 3m pad and TSP. After that i wiped down with acetone.
I went straight to the topcoat without primer. The paint I always use is pretty durable so I rolled the dice.
Also on my list is to fill the decoys with 2 lb flotation foam, so I bored a 1 1/4 hole in the bottom and cover with a bung.
Like I said the best thing going for them is their size.

Keep a 1/2 doz. of those rigged in a bag for starting retrieving thru decoy work on young dogs. Can,t remember ever hunting them .They have been used on 3 retrievers thru the years though !

 

[Steve Sanford]

I picked up 150 old Flambeau oversize Mallards from the 1980's. Guy had a barn full of them. These are huge, about 22 inches. The head reminds me of a loon with a pointy bill. They are big and that's what I'm going for. I have a spot that will be good for them. Open water.
I sorted through them and found 30 known leakers.
First step was to wash and scrub with a 3m pad and TSP. After that i wiped down with acetone.
I went straight to the topcoat without primer. The paint I always use is pretty durable so I rolled the dice.
Also on my list is to fill the decoys with 2 lb flotation foam, so I bored a 1 1/4 hole in the bottom and cover with a bung.
Like I said the best thing going for them is their size.

Good morning, Bob~

Great job all around! As you know, I'm always a fan of keeping old stuff going.

Question: What are you using for bungs? Source?

All the best,

SJS

 

[bob welsh]

Good morning, Bob~

Great job all around! As you know, I'm always a fan of keeping old stuff going.

Question: What are you using for bungs? Source?

All the best,

SJS

Years ago I bought a bunch of Otter Decoy Company bodies from a guy. Must have been a couple hundred for a dollar each. They were goose or oversize mallards I think. For the ballast they had a hole bored running from under the tail to just under the head mounting shelf. Some sort of weight was inserted there, maybe sand or steel or concrete then the bung was glued over that as a cap. I had a fiber barrel filled with those and used what I needed and the rest stored up in the attic of the shop because you just never know when they could be used again. I guess I could have had them 3D printed if I didnt have the inventory. Ill get some pics next week of those otters.

 

[Eric Patterson]

Bob & Steve

Here's a source for similar bungs and they are inexpensive.

McMaster-Carr

McMaster-Carr is the complete source for your plant with over 595,000 products. 98% of products ordered ship from stock and deliver same or next day.

www.mcmaster.com

 

[bob welsh]

good to know thanks Eric