Skeeter

dlaery, It is my understanding that the regular type of lacquer thinner that most of us by from Wal Mart etc. is a real hodge podge of different types of thinners thrown together. It is not really a pure form of thinner. I have shot with it and it worked ok. However, there are more pure types of lacquer thinners. Professional paint shops should be able to help out and help someone select a good thinner for their paint. I use acetone like you do. However, if it is hot where you shoot it may be too "hot" of a thinner and dry before it hits the bait. This can cause a grainy texture to your lures. The reason that you need acrylic lacquer thinner is because you are shooting acrylic lacquer. The paint dude is right. There are different types of lacquers. I was told to use lacquer thinner to only clean with also. I had no problems using it to thin my paint. But that does not mean that someone else may not. dvowell, cullin8s does more painting than I do. He would be a better source for different types and brands of paints than I would. Personally, I would find a more consistant type of lacquer paint than Janns. Car paints are excellent but more expensive. I would get into that type of paint if you are going to use lacquer. When you get a good brand then stick with it and learn to use it. Jumping to all different kinds and brands of paints just confuses me. Keep records of how you thin your paints. The guy at the paint shop is an excellent source. He can definitely get you started correctly. Skeeter

I have done it the way that jerkbait suggested also. It will work just fine. Like he said the heat will loosen the lip. The reason that I did not suggest it is because it is hard to see where the blade is going on the bottom side of the slot as you cut. But if you can pull it off it is a fast way to get it done. Skeeter

Even though the bait is dry to the touch at three hours, it will not fully cure untill 12 hrs. You could probably use the bait after 8 hrs of curing, but it will not be as tough . Skeeter

I would have to agree with you. I am definitely not the paint expert... but lacquer thinner regardless of the quality should not make lacquer paint goop up. I would contact them and ask them what type of lacquer it is. i.e. acrylic, urathane, etc. There are guys on this site that would be much better at answering this question than I am. Hopefully they will jump in here. But that is my 2 cents worth. Skeeter

OK Dude...... here is the deal. The best way to apply Devcon is one bait at a time. There have been folks that can do more, but it is a rush rush thing. Take your time and do it right. If you miss covering anything on the lure with the clearcoat then the lure will be ruined once water gets to the wood. The curing of Devcon can be slowed by getting it to around 42 degrees. It can stay liquid for a couple of days at that temp. But..... you cannot spread it on the lure. The stuff is way too thick. It has a real hard time leveling out on the drying wheel at that temp. also. Plus the speed of the drying wheel would have to be slowed down for it to work correctly. The perfect temp. for applying Devcon is 70 - 75 deg. Below 65 deg. it starts to thicken and can give you some problems untill you get use to working with it. Above 75 is fine but it will cure quicker. You will have to be a little quicker putting it on. If you really need to do allot of lures at one time then you need to find something else. Thinning Devcon is not the way to go. It is best in its natural state. There are thinner epoxies that you can use. However, you usually have to mix them up and let them sit for awhile so that they get to the consistancy to spread it on with a brush. They also take a longer time to cure and possibly require multiple coats. So as far as saving time.... it is not much better. squigster, Your problem is due to the fact that you either took too long applying the Devcon, you did not use a drying wheel, your wheel is not rotating at the right speed ( around 6 rpm ), or the brush that you used was not the right stiffness. Learning to apply any clearcoat takes time, patience, and practice. Pick a clearcoat and learn to use it correctly. Then if you want, you can then try another type or brand of clearcoat. But you will save yourself allot of grief if you pick one thing and stick to it and learn to use it. Trust me. Skeeter

The problem could be the shellac. Your paint is not adhering to it. What are you using? When everything peels, this is usually the problem. However the Devcon should not peel like that. The only thing that I know that will make Devcon crack and peel is if water gets to the wood and the wood swells cracking the finish. If you left ANY spot uncovered with the Devcon then this could happen. Skeeter

Man..... this is just plain tuff. Something is going to bite the dust. The only thing that I know that will get rid of the epoxy is acetone. This will just eat at the nose of the lure and possibly ruin the paint. My suggestion is to cut te lip off close to the face of the lure. Pull out the ramainder of the wire line tie and get it out of the way. Then use a dremel cutting wheel to cut the rest of the lip out. It is going to be noticable if you do not refinish the lure. But if you really take your time then you will be ok. You can do a nice job. If this scares you then cut the lip off at the face and file the remainder of the lip out of the slot. Skeeter

So you are saying that by displacing the water with the bait then you are increasing the weight of the jar of water? Skeeter

I have made a few crankbaits and have done alittle bit of work on them also. I just made a lucky guess. Glad it was a good one. You need to keep track of how many BBs went where. Then just duplicate that on the rest of them if they are all the same. Skeeter

Happy Birthday Nathan. You are still a youngster. I hope your day is wonderful my friend. Skeeter

I thought so. Glad it all worked out. You will still need to check and see how they run after you have finished one. Drill hole as small as you can, insert the BBs and seal the hole with Devcon 5 min. epoxy. If you want you can mix a little paint of the same color into the devcon as you mix it. Then when it is applied to the hole, it will seal it and the hole and not show as much. Skeeter

If you have 400 of them then I would cut one in half and see how the sucker is put together. I would think that brass BBs would do the trick. You will have to drill a hole and count how many BBs it will take to get it to run correctly. Then epoxy the hole. I would then repaint the lure. You could add weight to the front. But that is why the belly hook hanger is toward the front of the bait. It is so the weight from the front hook will give the bait a forward lean as you crank it. Skeeter

Tbait is righ about it being ballast. What are the lures made of? Skeeter

I forget who the owner of Reaction Lures is. Maybe someone could refresh my memory. But did you see the interview with this guy this past saturday on Loudmouth Bass? Did you listen to his response about folks copying his lure designs? Skeeter

Cut your pressure to between 20 and 24 psi. Createx suggest keeping the PSI above 20. 45 is too high. Skeeter

I am not familiar with your gun. If you have to push down on the trigger to get your paint then you have a single action gun. If you push down for the air and then have to pull back to feed the paint then you have a double action gun. The instructions that I gave you were for a double action. Is yours single or double. Also what pressure are you shooting at now? Skeeter

You are applying too much air. The paint may be thinned too much also. What is happening is that the paint is blowing. If you have a double action airbrush, push all of the way down on the trigger and get the air going. Then slowly pull back on the trigger untill you start to get your paint showing lightly. Hold it there untill it gets dark enough. It is called a dry shoot. Skeeter

You are correct rockhopper. The guy I know that modified the baits bought them directly from the manufacturer. His last purchase was $17,000.00 worth of Bagley baits. I did not know that would make a difference. Skeeter

Scoop, There are several reasons why I put the lip in last. Most folks that put the lip in first protect the lip from paint by putting tape on it. This just leaves a sticky film on the lip. I paint my scales by using netting. The lip gets in the way when I do this. Also I like to see the lip sitting in the slot. It is not easy to have the lip sitting nice and snug into a clean cut slot. It is just a little detail that I like to have exposed. Here is a tip...... When I epoxy in a lip I just put some epoxy on the top and bottom of the lip. I don't put glue inside the slot. That way I don't have epoxy oozing out all over the place that has to be wiped off. I use Devcon for my clearcoat. When I brush it on for the final coat, I brush it on over the sides of the slot. That way the glue will fill in the rest of the slot and blend in perfectly with the rest of the clearcoat. Everything looks like it is one piece. It doesn't always work out that way, but when it all comes together it really shows that you planned everything out and that you have the skill to pull it off. Usually only experienced baitmakers look for this kind of detail. It is this attention to detail that can make your baits stand out above the rest and earn the respect of your peers. Skeeter

rockhopper wrote: Because someone holds a patent on something does not mean that it is his original idea or that he is the inventor. It means that he was the first to get the paperwork in and his check book out. Because they have a patent does not mean that they are innocent of doing something wrong either. What determines whether they go after me or anyone else is strictly a matter of MONEY!!!! ( I meant to shout ) It is what business is about. I under stand that. If someone takes a chunk of the profit and hurts a lone craftsman or large business by making an exact duplicate of their product and selling it then they are wrong. I do not need a patent to tell me that. However, we teach folks how to make baits on this site by making copies of a bait that already exists. It is something that they can see, touch, and study. They have something in front of them to work from. ( Not that LaPala is a beginner). But the lure that he made is not the same, period. If the bait is not the same as the original and he is not using the same (patented) process to make the lure then patent or not no one has a leg to stand on. He can make those puppies all day and all night long and sell them for whatever price that he wants. And if anyone can't understand that, then I will have to get LaPala to take them for a ride and fit them for some cement overshoes. Skeeter

Here is my point fellas. I am not trying to get anyone in trouble here. Nor am I approving of anyone stealing someones business. I make crankbaits. I make them by hand. I do not do this all day long for a living. ( And most of us here on the site don't either ). I make baits because I love them and cherish the art. I sell some for extra money to buy that new reel, rod, or to make a boat payment. Maybe I will have to step up my production so that I can afford the gas that the Skeeter drinks. LaPala is not Al Capone. People have a choice to buy what they want. LaPala is not putting a gun to anyones face and telling them to buy his lures or he'll take them for a ride. I really don't think that LP has a factory in his basement turning out 1000 baits an hour and selling them under the Rapala name. If Normark goes after some lone guy in Malaysia carving lures on his back porch at a whopping rate of 1 bait an hour to make a few extra bucks, then they need to get a life. I have read some of rockhoppers posts on court battles that cost tens of thousands of dollars. My question is..... What if LP doesn't have tens of thousands of dollars. (Or whatever they use over in Malaysia). All Normark can do is spend their tens of thousands of bucks and slap LP's hand and tell him to quit. If Martha Stewart can get away as light as she did for insider trading and then get out and make millions from her dealings, then I think a judge will not lock up LP for reproducing a lure and selling it for less than $20. Skeeter

OK Tally, How in the ^(*& is a bait company going to track down LP? Even if they catch up to him what are they going to get out of him? He is a single guy ( not a company ) making some baits for himself and a few other folks to make a few extra bucks for whatever. LP seems like a normal working man to me. I don't think he drives a Rolls to work. Nor do I think he has a Swiss bank account they could garnish. It just is not worth their time and money to go after him. I mean think about it...... How many baits could he make in a month making them by hand? I have seen the machine that Rapala uses to cut the bodies for their lures. That thing can honestly spit out more bodies in 2 minutes than LP could make in a month. I watched them feed in a 10 ft. piece of 3X6 balsa into that machine and in less than a minute it had devoured the entire piece and was spitting the finished bodies out into a bin. Cheesehead, Go ahead and buy some of the baits from LP. I don't think that the Normark police will show up at your door and run you in. If they do...... let me know and I will put up your bail. Skeeter

I really don't know what a Grandma is. But I do make crankbaits for bass. If it is some kind of Muskie plug or something I am not sure how these large lures react to weighting. But as for myself..... I cut the lip slot, cut out and shape the body, and then drill the hole for the weight. I try to line the center for the weight by making sure that the lip slot is horizontal. You can just slide a lip into the lure (without glueing it in) and just sight down the belly of the lure. I want the weight to be at a perfect right angle to the slot. I put the entire lure together and paint it completely before I install the lip. When I install a lip I "babysit" that lip and make sure that it is straight and square as the epoxy is setting. If I need to I adjust the lip to make sure that everything is square and lined up. As epoxy sets, it can sometimes twist the lip causing it to be crooked. This is also why I use Devcon 5 min. epoxy to set my lips. You won't have to babysit it for long. That way the lure and lip should sit in a level and horizontal position in the water. This is the proper position for a crankbait to start digging properly and running true. "Ballanced" is too vague of a word. What you want to achive is a lure that sits properly in the water so that it can achieve optimum performance. Some lures need a nose down attitude and some may need to sit more level. This judgement is up to you. Once you get the lure sitting the way that you want it you need to make sure that everything lines up. The rear hook hanger, belly weight, and wire for the line tie need to be in as straight of a line as you can make it. This is where the optimum ballance and performance come from. Once you have achieved these properties in a crankbait, then you will have a bait that is above the rest. Skeeter

jamie, I guess my point is that you can make a killer lure that is 1/4 inch thick. We all have had those certain crankbaits that have an action that is unique to anything else that we have owned. They catch fish better than the rest. These are the special lures that everyone treasures. As soon as you start to turn the handle on the reel you can feel that it is different, it has that action and feel that we just know will catch the fish. This is what you want to try and achieve when you make a crankbait. It is something that you have to work at when you choose your lip, line tie placement, weight, and yes... even the hooks that you choose to put on the lure. Make several bodies when you make the lure and try several different lips and such untill you get that action. After you have it the way that you want, you just duplicate that process. Take your time, be patient and do the best work that you can. This site is great for getting help, but the final decission as to whether it is right or not is yours. If you run into a snag let me know. Myself as well as the rest of the tallent on this site would be more than happy to help. Skeeter

Bull..... Those are excellent paint jobs. I'll be proud of them for you. Excellent work!! New stuff is always fun to work on. Skeeter