Is this normal wear & tear or a problem ?

[Diggin Jiggin]

I have started to turn some plugs for the fall run and I've got the first batch primed and it's time to paint, but before I do I want your opinion as to whether I had problems with the ones I made last winter. I'll describe what I did and if you see anything that you think I did wrong, lets hear it...

I really like how the plugs fish, but I have not been very impressed with how well they have held up. I've used both envirotek lite and Mirror coat, and I'm starting to think it's not the epoxy, its either the epoxy adhering to the paint or different layers of paint adhering to each other...

I'm using rattle cans and I've got all kinds to get the colors I wanted, but maybe thats part of the problem. I've been sealing my plugs in val oil, then priming them with (Rustoleum clean metal primer). Is that the right stuff, it's all I've been able to find ??

The plug in the picture below was painted flat white, then a pink over that on the sides and krylon pearl over the whole thing. Over the paint I did a clear coat of helmsmans Clear spar varnish and then systems 3 mirror coat on top if that.

It looked the way I wanted but to my way of thinking did not hold up really well.

My next batch I think I am just going to keep it simple and try just one color over the primer. Does anyone know of a yellow in rattle can that they like that is not gloss ? I have definitely had problems with the gloss paints...

Anyway, here's a picture of a plug that I fished 2 mornings a couple of weekends ago. The plug was new when it started and fished for a max of 5 hours. It did get a lot of action, 15-20 blues (up to 8 lbs), and 1/2 dozen small bass. Along with the ones I caught I probably had atleast that many other hit and misses.

Maybe I am expecting too much? Just seems like it ought to last more than 2 trips....