Reverting Near Disaster

[gottaflylee]

That got you attention didn't it...

Sometimes things happen that we are not aware of and I have racked my brain to figure out how this happened. Sometime this summer the bow of my Skimmer flooded and all my MirrOlure boxes and along with other stuff filled with water and it had turned into a box of rust when I finally found the boxes full of water.

A few of the boxes...



Yep, it was bad, very bad, over 3 grand in MirrOlures alone along with other stuff...



So, cutting off all the hooks and getting out the Overnight Extra Whiting Polident...( always use Overnight Extra Whiting, works better I think)



I went to work. Take a small cooler, I used a 32 quart so the lures could spread out in the solution. To get the most out of it, use very hot water, For 1 & 1/2 gallons, use half the box or 36 tablets. Drop you lure into the solution, stir them around, shut cooler top and let sit over night. Cooler holds the heat of the water in, hot water in important...



Next morning...



Next morning, most of the rust will be gone but what is not, take a terry cloth rag,



it has some roughness to clean with and wipe the lures off. Most all the rust will be gone, what will not wipe off, throw back in the solution and let it soak some more...

Before wiping with rag...



After...



Hour worth or work for a couple 100 or 3 MirrOlures and other lures 98% rust free...



Now if you noticed, the boxes were also trashed...



I took a large screwdriver and lightly knocked the large rust nuggets off, only the very dark spots. I use something different to remove the rust from the plastic boxes. A spray bottle and Wink rust remover works well for this.



Set sprayer bottle to spray setting and fill with Wink. Spray boxes, set on a somewhat level surface and close top, continue to the rest of the boxes. It will take a short time for the Wink to remove the rust and as 1 box starts to clean, pour the left over Wink into another box the still has stain in it and let sit, it will do the work for you. Take garden hose and spray off the boxes to remove the Wink.

Almost like new...



After the hose...



Hope this tip will save you guys some money over the years. This is a trick(s) that I have used over the years to keep my boxes and MirrOlure looking like new...

[RoughandReady]

Nice trick getting them clean!
I use the boxes with rubber gaskets on them &
they float . I hate rust.

[PurpleGold]

Priceless tip right there, Thanks Capt.Lee.

Hoping to get a chance to fish with you one of these days cause lord knows I could use some teachin on the inshore stuff. I'm thinkin about bookin a trip this fall for me and my Pops as an early X-mas gift!

Keep up the good work Capt.

[Jesse Lockowitz]

damn lee, thats a massacre!


looks like you have ALOTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT of re-hooking ahread of you!!! yikes!

Aint' those little screws just so fun to work with after about the 8th one?

[Tenacious]

I like it!!!!

[SeaBiscuit]

Your love affair with mirrorlures is well known captain Lee. Seeing your babies all rusted by those nasty hooks had to be upsetting!
Thanks for the tip. Those lures are not done slaying speckled trouts yet!

SeaBiscuit

[scalez]

Thanks for a great tip Lee ! I now know how to do the rust clean up of some stained boxes.

This does happen to those of us who sometimes leave our lure boxes on the boat. I have a theory as to the cause --- condensation! The overnight temperature changes and the almost airtight quality of the boxes is the culprit. Heck, I've found a "airtight" tool box with an inch of water in the bottom along with all the resulting rust and brown goo ---

[Reefraft]

Great tip!!! who would of thought Polident.....

[btglenn]

Cool advice Lee

So have you caught a spec on each one of those lures or are you like me, when i get some extra $ it goes straight to Tex's early retirement.

I dont feel safe without at least three of everything in my boxes
and plano does make a nice box with a gasket that has been worth the extra $ for me at least

[pitch bait]

Great tip Lee,
Now If I could go to the land fill and get all the rusty plugs and boxes I have thrown out I would be in good shape.