TRESTLE COATING RECIPE / TECHNIQUES

A.K.A. Restle Coating

1) Prep the decoy, sand rough spots

2) Use a high quality exterior latex paint--dark color works best. Less than 50% water. Look at the label. This type of paint runs $18-$25 per gallon. Brush the latex paint over the body thick, just thick enough where it doesn't run. A 12 inch long 2 inch wide block with a nail on each end stuck into the bottom of the decoy (holes will be hidden by the keel) , will allow you to paint the bottom

3) Sprinkle by hand granulated corn cob over the latex paint. There are different grades of cob out there. Mix a fine and medium grade mix in equal quantities, 60/40 and 40/60--these are the actual grade#'s. These should have the consistency of sawdust. The rougher cob are used for sandblasting and these are too heavy. The cob mix comes in 50lb bags at Anderson's in Maumee(in Ohio) or search the internet.. Cover entire painted area with cob mix.

4) Let dry for 24 hours.

5) Same latex paint again, brush over cob mix which is now imbedded into the base latex coat. For the 2nd layer, it works a little better if you cut a inch or two of the bristles off a 4 inch paint brush. Make sure all cobbled area is covered, but again heavy enough, but not too heavy where the paint runs. Start on bottom of decoy, covering entire foam area so no foam is exposed. Put back on block with nails to do the back.

6) Rout out head hole so it is free from coating mix.

7) Let decoy sit for 2-3 weeks. If you got an attic in your garage that gets 100+ degrees in the summer---put them up there. This will bake the coating and get it as hard as iron.


Paint your decoy. You can use acrylic lacquers because foam is "sealed" and protected by the coating. The Acrylics will let you get much better quality of paint and richer colors.(automotive paint the best). Also add flatteners to your paint mix. Not cheap. $15 per quart--but worth it to get the richness of the color.

9) Assemble decoy and put a final coat of paint on the bottom area that is not coated and keel.

10) Tips--do not buy cheap paint---cheap paint = bad coating !

Liquid nail (for projects) works great for patch jobs, BB holes etc. Spread it on less than 1/4 inch at a time with a tongue depressor or popsicle stick. Let set for a few days and paint over.

Do this is the summer unless you have a heated workspace. Be sure to let the decoys set up for a couple of weeks before painting. This "cures" the coating.

You can "recoat" older decoys, just wash all dirt off prior and make sure they are dry. Gallon of paint will 1st coat around 50 ducks and 2nd coat around 25. 100lbs of cob mix will coat a lot of decoys.