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Like I posted above. I am running a pair of the large SS pot setups. I cook in a microwave initially and transfer to the pots. Takes WAY too long to cook in the pots for me. Within 20 minutes I can have a gallon ready to shoot, with 5 minutes to go on the initial heating I preheat the pots (empty) to around 315* and transfer to the pots as soon as colour and flake are mixed, then I can get another gallon cooking immediately after. I have 2 setups so I don't have to wait for the pots to cool to change colours, I just swap them out and can have another colour going in as long as it takes to cook it.

smallies eat the same forage as largemouths but they have a more inquisitive and aggressive attitude. I don't throw wild colors at largemouths but bright patterns like chartreuse/orange back, clown, fire tiger, etc are productive smallmouth colors for good reason. Not saying more natural muted patterns won't work too, but you can expand the palette.

The process that works for me and the plasitol that I use: I heat the plastic in the pots, I set the pids to 350 degrees and turn on the stirrers and the heat units. When the temperature hits 350 the units will shut off and the temperature will drop to about 346 and they turn on again. When they reach 350 again I then lower the setting on the pids to 298 degrees. When the temperature drops to about 330 I will start rolling the plastic by pulling plastic into the injector and pushing it back into the pots, this probably isn't necessary but I feel like it might keep the temperature more consistent through out the pots. I make a light of light colored baits and almost never have any scorching of the plastic as long as I get the run done in a timely manner. I am sure there are a lot of different approaches and you have the find the one that works for you and your plasitol.

My first attempt at making a shad look alike. Made from cedar with circuit board bill.

When I was casting lures I let them sit in a warm room for a week before painting. BTW I tried painting the mold to get "preprimed" surfaces and it is terrible. The paint must be brushed on as the oils in the silicone make the sprays bead up. You end up with a lot of paint running to the bottom of the mold cavity. When you pop out the finished casting the bottom surface will be a thick rubbery layer of primer paint.

Just wondering backlash, is this intended to be a master for making soft swimbaits rather than a multi piece hard swimbait ?

I have the Ultra Molds Mini Shooting Star System. I do preheat my plastic to 350 F while my system is heating up to 298 F this is what i set my system at to shoot two colors. Make sure you clean your injector before you start a new batch. i had some problems with a dirty injector, also pulling the plastic too fast will cause the injector to suck air in . Another thing make sure u are holding the injector up to the valve tight u can also pull air in there. Check your oring at the end of your injector and the ones inside the tubes for nicks. The reason i said clean your injector i had shot a couple batches with no problems then my third batch it was doing good then it started getting air and the colors were not even so the next batch i cleaned it good and lubed and it worked good with no problems. As far as the lumps check the temp of your plastic if it is getting to 350 F then it is the plastic. The lumps could cause the plastic to suck air if it is clogging the passages. Another trick i learned is turn your valves on and heat the system up to about 200F + and take a air blower and blow ports out it will blow into the pot like a soft worm then u don't have another color seeping in. I try to pull one out when it is cold with the plug but if it breaks off i blow which ever is still there. One other thing don't leave stirrers in and let cool take them out when u are done LOL i found out after my first batch took m a few mins to get out. Cub48 PS. let me know maybe i can help but i am new with this system too

sorry its been forever since I made these but i finally went out and fished them and boy did they work.. video is uploading on youtube at the moment if you subscribe to brandond20 you can watch it when it comes up. it is late so you'll probably see this when it is already uploaded. just getting into the video editing side of things and this was my test run. came down with a cold so I'm a little sniffly lol. but I will also be uploading the few hours of fishing i did with these. let me know how you like the video and what i can work on with that as well thanks very much for all the comments everybody! I'm real happy with these

Looking good, looking forward to seeing the end result.

Mark, the answer is simply this. Powder curing or baking depends upon heat to cross link its chemical properties. Baking the jigs makes the powder paint adhere to the surface it is applied to. If you take 2 jigs and paint them then you bake one, the baked one if done correctly will not chip.