dtrs5kprs

Paasche VL or Milennium for most work. The smaller Paasche V brush for fine work. Dixie Arts has them, no S&H on orders over $50 or so. These are pretty much the workhorses. Iwata's seem like a quality brush, but parts may be harder to find locally.

From the sick and scary file...believe it was Bo Dowden or Basil Bacon in about 1990-91. All issues back to March 85, all Bass Times from Day 1. All shows from 86 or so on tape until the new owners...cough...losers...changed the format. Won't waste the time to set the VCR for it now. Skeeter...FC is nice and light. At least compared to Devcon

Am in the process on several balsa flat sides right now...Sealed some with Minwax Polycrylic some with their Polyurethane. Not much problem with grain on either. This is with 2 heavy (dipped) coats. Baits were then lightly sanded and are now being clearcoated with FC. Think Nathan is right on, the "base" clearcoat will fill some of the grain and then level to a smooth finish when you turn it. Takes a little more time but it works.

If you are dead set on using the enamel undercoat you might be able to apply a layer of clearcoat before shooting your acrylic. I have good results shooting Createx onto a base FC clearcoat on wood baits.

Send me some mail. I shoot Createx about 98% of the time. Works fine in any of the Paasche a'brushes. Just need to get it thinned, figure out your best psi, and practice...practice...practice... Definitely use the color cups. Bottles, quick connect adaptors do not work well with Createx and Paasche a'brushes. Paint just clogs 'em up. Need to clearcoat the painted baits (at least 2 coats) using either Devcon 2-Ton Epoxy or Flex Coat. I prefer the FC high Build over the Devcon, but either will work. There are some other tabletop finishes and such that people use for this as well.

Is that like the old Kalins XMAS...sort of a smokey green with red, green, gold, black flake? If so, just mix up a light to medium smoke and add enough of your favorite green (watermelon, emerald, etc) to green it up a little.

Think a lot of it has to do with the bagley baits. Makes sense to have them on the sides. Don't think it really matters as long as they are on there.

Sorry...forgot to add this: MF also sells white flake. Slightly different size/shape than LC's if I remember correctly.

John, Go to my photo site and look in the album "soft plastic baits" and the pic "drop shot baits". Doesn't show up that well in that pic, but that is the one I have. Will be pouring some grubs for vacation at T-Rock soon...will try to get a better pic. I like to run a lot of white flake when using it, more than you would use with silver, holi, etc. baits in the pic are also a bit darker than I like my smoke.

We'd be glad to see any pics you would like to post. I'm one of the guys who was a little "off" enough to drop a few hundred $$$ on a big melter. It works fairly well, but I have thought there must be a beter way.

I think the biggest advantage of a wider lip, esp in a square bill type bait, is the added deflection and improved snag resistance. My experience so far is with flat sides, interested to see if it holds true for "B" baits. Thanks for sharing the info Skeeter. Question: Were those balsa or hardwood baits?

Strip it and start over. I shoot createx on top of Flex Coat without problems (cured 24HR appx). May have been a primer that was just not compatible with the createx.

Sounds more or less like the old scotch tape quick fix for gel-coat damage on boats. I ususally just add another layer of clear coat.

I'm with T-Mike on crooked wires. Just bending them back works fine. Had a lot of issues with the wire-hook assembly coming loose and falling out of place in my H-style mold. I run thinner wire, 0.035 at most, and the cavities are cut for heavier wire. Heavier wire grips the mold better. The Fix: Please don't laugh at this immediately...I opened the mold, and placed an assembled wire in the cavities. Then I added several layers of duct tape at a point where it would contact the hook bend. This spot should stop the hook from sliding out when the mold is closed and in pouring position. It should also be positioned to keep the hook eye-wire loop in the center of the cavity. Have been using mine with the same tape since 2001. When pouring with this setup your wire WILL flop all over as you position the mold under the pot. Baits will de-mold with the wire frequently out of position. That is when the bending of the wire into correct position come into play.

Nice looking bait T-Mike. Almost looks like a spinnerbait version of one of your infamous Doo-Dads on the back. Those things rock. I usually run my skirts "reversed", with the stubby end of the silicone towards the head and the long end flowing back over the hook. Eliminates need for a plastic trailer (they can work loose and screw up the balance). Picked it up from War Eagle. Looks very similar to T-Mikes bait with trailer added.

Medium light smoke with large white hex flake (call Dave at LC, not in catalog) and 0.035 (med LC) black flake. Gives a different flash than the more common silver or hologram glitter. Also a good color in tubes and finesse worms. Looks (to me anyway) much more like the loose scales you see floating around shad schools. White flake is pretty cool, just not used much. Zoom used it in "cinnamon rose". BPS uses it in a melon colored flip tube. I like it in a green pumpkin base, "green fish". Think there may be some pics of it on my yahoo photo page http://photos.yahoo.com/dtrs5kprs . If not I can post some. Have done very well with this color at T-Rock on drop shot and single tail swim grubs, fishing for deep kentuckies.

Guess you can call me "Mr. twenty-five Percent". I use Devcon for installation of comlponents, and filling gaps, thru holes, etc...but I only use Flex Coat for clearcoating. Have had too many bad experiences with the Devcon. Think most of the guys are turned off of FC by the length of time required to cure (about 6-10 hours on a turner/dryer, and about 24 hours until ready for next coat of paint/finish). It is also a little less forgiving with respect to mix ratio. BUT...it is UV stable, adds less weight, seems to "ding" rather than "chip", etc. Definitely gives you a longer pot life, allowing you to finish more baits without mixing additional finish. I think it also gives a clearer, harder, shinier finish...letting your custom paint job show thru. ***For topwaters, I would be concerned about Devcon adding too much weight and interfering with flotation or lure action. Have had a few Rogues become quick sinkers after being clearcoated with Devcon.

"Snowball" is awfully good for burning up spots in clear water...white head, skirt, blades. White with a little dark and powder blue, with white or nickel blades is also good. Biggest thing you need is a nasty day...wind, rain, snow if you can get it, and a heavy enough head to make long throws. Bait also needs to be very stable at high speeds, burning is usually your best bet. Fluttering a big 1oz bait through shad schools in the creeks is also good in the fall...like a shad skirt (usually) with some blue, and small colorado/willow baldes for that.

Smoke white & black flake, or smoke purple & black flake for grubs and tubes. Hard to beat a brown and purple jig with either a smoke purple & black flake or cinnamon purple flake twin tail. Straight blue hi-lite pearl is awfully good on 3"-5" curl tail grubs for vertical fishing and swimming.

Could be some kind of reaction. Mine were createx primed and painted. Mostly happens with the lighter colors, less obvious with darker craw colors. Actually happened to my baits while they were in my dry box for a couple of weekends of fishing March 02 at T-Rock. That was the end of Devcon for me. There is no question it is faster. If I planned on breaking a bunch of baits off, I'd probably use it. Kind of like to get mine back though.

Works ok for me. I tend to use big aluminum blades (at least one size above recommended wt though). Could be the reason mine fish well.

Coley's right on. Smoking the mold will take care of most problems. If still having difficulties I would look at pouring temp next...find spinnerbaits/buzzbaits pour better at higher temps using a production pot. Think the lead has a tendency to cool around the hook eye and wire form, causing problems if you are pouring at a low temp. Somewhere around 7-9 works well for me with Lee pots.

Coley...that diagram is totally KICK *SS! Way cool!

Here is the correct address (as far as I am aware): Hatfield Ent. Box 338 Marne, MI 49435 616-677-5215 They also have good prices on collars and round rubber.

Dang...you two are making me hungry for a Ma's breakfast! Oh the pain of being 5 hours from the lake!