dicknite

I am very sorry to have to write this, but I am at the mercy of one of my suppliers and have no immediate means to rectify the problem that exists. The manufacturer of one of the key ingredients in our Clear Top Coat informed me today that they thought they "had informed me a few months ago" that their product has been discontinued due to several reasons. They are out of stock. This is quite a situation, as they are the only manufacturer I know of, and without their product I am unable to manufacture our Top Coat. I am now, in every waking moment, searching for a solution to this problem, but until I can locate another source or reformulate our Top Coat, I will be without a Top Coat product to sell. Trust me, this is as big a problem for me as it is for those of you who have come to rely on our product - I also manufacture thin-bladed spoons for freshwater fishing to the tune of 300,000+ lures per year. I now am stuck for an alternative product to top coat those lures with. I know many of you have product you need to top coat, and as soon as I solve this problem, I will let you know. Our other paints, the lacquer-based fluorescents, solids, holographic glitters, and pearls are still available. The only product affected is our Top Coat, as it is a polyurethane. I apologize for this inconvenience. Hopefully the problem will be rectified quickly. Thanks for your support over the last couple of years - you folks are all great customers and talented lure manufacturers! Dick

Hey Guys! We do make & sell Nite Glow (G80) paint, which is glow-in-the-dark (Light Emitting/Phosphorescent), we also make Fluorescent (Day Glow) paints, and then there is the UV Active Top-Coat. 3 different animals altogether. Our Nite Glow, like all our other paints, is definitely NOT non toxic though, like the stuff BobP described. Just a "FYI". Dick

Hello folks! Thank you to those of you who emailed me and let me know that this question had come up - I have been running around like a head with my chicken cut off for the past 3 weeks with the biggest Pink Salmon season since 1947 coming up our rivers - and my Dick Nite Spoons are the "Go-To" lure for these fish... Anyway, Yes, Fishermun's Lure-Coats ARE Lacquer based. Fishermun's Lure-Coat Clear Top Coat is a Moisture-Cure Polyurethane. People get confused when they hear about "Lure-Coat" when the person speaking is actually talking about "Fishermun's Lure-Coat Clear Top-Coat"... The Company that produces it is Dick Nite Spoons, Inc., The whole paint line is called Fishermun's Lure-Coat, The Top Coat is Fishermun's Lure-Coat Clear Top-Coat. So when we refer to Fishermun's Lure-Coat on the website, we are speaking of the product line in general. The Moisture Cure reference on the website is in the product description for the Top-Coat. Sorry for any confusion! Thanks again for the emails telling me about this thread! As always, if there are any questions, please feel free to email me - as a matter of fact, I have set up a new email address for TackleUndergrounders to use to get in touch with me - it is TUMEMBER@dicknite.com - that way I will be able to filter those emails directly to my computer and they won't get lost in the maze of 1,500 emails a day that come in here! Fish On! Dick

I'd be interested in your findings - Please post them! Dick

Glad you brought this up! I did check into those bags, and the suppliers either a) were too proud of their product ($$$) to the point it would make the retail price unacceptable, or required purchases in quantities that would break my bank... I did ask a couple of my vendors to source similar bags for me, but neither of them could come up with anything useable. The one that I got a sample of would work, were it not for the extreme thickness of the bag - made it extremely difficult to work with. I am still on the lookout - not just for these, but for any other packaging alternative that would make our product easier and more economical to use. Sorry I didn't respond here earlier to this - it really did slip my mind after the initial failed searching and sample. I will revisit this with my packaging vendors and see if they can come up with anything now. Afterall, in this economy, manufacturers are getting much easier to work with! Dick

Hello all, I'd like to apologize to anyone who had difficulties getting in touch with us for the last couple of months. I'll not make any excuses, since I am in business I should be able to handle any of the problems (my wife calls them "challenges"...) that get thrown our way. If you have tried emailing and we do not respond, please call us toll-free (888-321-LURE) and at least leave a message (being a one-man-office, sometimes I am working in the shop or otherwise unable to get to the phone). If you don't hear back after a message or phone conversation, then CALL AND REAM ME A NEW ONE! I know this sounds ridiculous that you might have to call more than once - and I try to keep that from happening, but I am human and every now and then I do drop the ball. In the future I aim to answer every email, phone call or message within 24 hours. If I don't, that will be an indicator to you that maybe we didn't get the email (we have the same email problems everyone else has...). In order to try and solve some of the email problems, I have made a new email account that I can have pass through all the filters more easily - TUCust@dicknite.com. If you use that one to contact us, I have a filter in place that will print the email out in my office so it should grab my attention right away! Thanks for your patience over the past couple of months - I appreciate each and every one of you. I really feel like I have made some new friends from this site! Again: Toll-Free Phone: 888-321-LURE (888-321-5873) Email: TUCust@dicknite.com Mail: PO Box 175, Lake Stevens, WA 98258-0175 Thanks again, Dick Dick Nite Spoons, Inc.

Whew! I really do try to get back with you guys as quickly as possible. Sorry if it gets to be a day late sometimes - I am making lures here too! I have been reading this thread and the bag idea got me all excited! I have already contacted a couple of bag suppliers and a paint equipment supplier looking for solvent-proof bags & "straws"... This could be a great thing! You don't know how many hours I spend on the phone every week (that's the only time you should get the voicemail - when I'm on the line...) helping folks with the "curing problem"... I spoke with Predator earlier this week - and to answer a later post, no I have not put a warning on the bottle to not mix in glitter before storing... If I posted all the tips, I'd have to put 2 ounces in a gallon can to hold the label! I am working on a better "Tips and Tricks" sheet to send out with the Fishermun's Top-Coat - any suggestions as to what to include would be appreciated! Thanks again folks! Dick

Josh - I would be happy to contribute some Dick Nite Spoons and DNA (Dick Nite Attractant) to your event. Like was said above, tackle manufacturers get a LOT of emails for donations. Most of them, and I truly believe this, are for a good cause. Some, however, are not. They are either scams, or just fishermen looking for free tackle. Even if they are for a good cause, we always email back and require a SNAIL MAIL request. Email is too easy to abuse... If someone is willing to sit down, write a letter explaining the event, put a stamp on it and send it out, the chances of it being legit are good. Remember to explain who the beneficiaries are - if it's a bass club with a bunch of guys driving $60,000 trucks towing $45,000 boats, I don't even bother - for us, it HAS to benefit kids. Anyway, please email me dicknite@dicknite.com with a note, or phone (toll-free # is below) telling me you are the guy on Tackle Underground, explain again (I'm getting old...) what it is for, and I will put together a package for you and send it off. You kind of tugged at my heart strings with that story! Dick Dick Nite Spoons, Inc. 800-324-5651

I'll have to add that to the "How-To" sheet I send out with Top-Coat!

Let me jump in here if I may... I assume you are talking about the Top-Coat. As is mentioned above, it is a moisture-cure polyurethane, so moisture is the main culprit in hardening in the cans... Probably, as long as you can thin it enough to make it sprayable/dippable... Are you spraying or dipping?Use Acetone or Lacquer Thinner to thin it. It will not reverse the chemical change that has occurred, but it might make it okay to use by diluting the lumps (small as they may be). I really doubt your finish will ever be as glossy as with un-cured Top-Coat due to the thickening. It won't level as well. I would guess it is the lid not being replaced well enough, or pouring partly cured / used product back into the can, or leaving the can open for a while before closing it again.Cold temperatures do not seem to affect it as long as you warm it up prior to use. I have actually frozen it - when it is very cold, you will see a lot of bubbles in it - and then warmed it back up to room temperature. The bubbles went slowly away and after it was back to normal, I sprayed it and it was as good as new. So - I would guess that the Top Coat was exposed to moisture at some point prior to being sealed or the seal was not sufficient. I store my gallon, quart, and pint cans upside down - this will stop any air from entering the can - of course, it makes lid seal problems pretty obvious too! I store my production paint (top-coat included) in glass - actually whiskey and scotch bottles... Something about the neck shape inhibits air flow in the bottles (I think - I can't prove that is why) and the paints all store indefinitely with little hardening. As a matter of fact, the bottle I use to mix Top-Coat out of for painting my lures now is over 5 years old and there is less than a quarter of an inch hardened at the bottom. We let it get almost empty before refilling from the gallon, so a lot of air is in the bottle - confusing, but it works!I actually recommend that people buy baby food jars, my 2 ounce jars, or something like that with a screw-on lid. Then pour all of your paint into the smaller glass containers - that way you don't have to open the big container every time you want to use some. Also, this lets you keep using the same paint over a few days without contaminating (with air or thinner) the big container. Remember to NEVER pour thinned / mixed Top-Coat back in with your unused - you will set the whole can off. Also, during hot weather, if you have a cooler/refrigerator (NOT the one you keep your food or beer in!) in your shop, keeping it in a cooled state seems to help with life after thinning. When you put the lids back on, always remember to clean the lids and cans off with thinner very well - I have chiseled many lids off of cans! If any of you have questions regarding any of our paints, please feel free to post them here, send me a private message, or email me - my email address is dicknite@dicknite.com. I am more than happy to help where I can. In emergency situations, feel free to call 800-324-5651 to talk directly with me. If you post questions here, you might send me an email to let me know - I don't come here every day, especially with fishing seasons coming on all over the country - we are running around like heads with our chickens cut off this time of year. I really thank all of you for your support - and I try to return that wherever I can! Dick Figgins Dick Nite Spoons, Inc.

Maybe you could call it a "Mushroom Shaped Jig"? d|"^) Dick

I always figure it's a good day if I wake up breathing on the right side of the dirt - Happy Birthday, Dean! d|:^) Dick

I think what Nova was talking about is the brokerage fees. UPS is a bit higher than the post office. I'm with you though, Delw, I ship a lot to Canada and UPS is my best friend - they get it there on time close to 100% of the time (Post offices don't seem to get along that well - BIG delays sometimes) - and you get regular updates on the shipment (and can have them sent to your customer also) if you use Quantum View Notification - free... Also - the wording for lures, according to customs is "Artificial Fishing Lure". That what they are listed as in the HF Tarriff listing. You should also look up the Tarriff listing for your specific product - makes transit through customs much smoother. d|:^) Dick

Petros#38, I don't want to be one of those guys who stops in and hawks his wares without adding something... So, along with telling you about our Clear Top-Coat ( http://www.dicknite.com ), I thought I'd add a bit about how we paint our spoon blades. I know that a lot of folks here use epoxy, and for plugs that is great. I suppose that if you could figure out how to thin and apply it, it would work. We paint and distribute about 200,000 spoons a year, and the way we paint them is: .. Clean them - we use vinegar and hot water. On a scale like ours, we need to be as ecologically friendly as possible. Using acetone, lacquer thinner, dilute acids, etc., works fine, but only on a small scale unless you want to figure out how to dispose of the cleaning agent... .. Rack them for painting - we use 1/4" hardware cloth and lay them out side-by-side. We can get 300 - 600 of our spoons on a 15" x 15" piece. .. We then spray them with our White Undercoat, let them dry for 15-30 minutes. Actually, we usually rack up 10 to 12 racks and by the time we are done spraying the white on all of them, the first ones are ready for color. .. Then comes the color coat(s). We usually spray one coat, wait a few seconds, then apply another - depending on the depth of the color we want and how thin we made the color coats (which brings up another thing - thinning the paint... We use Acetone. It is pure. Lacquer Thinner can be made from any number of things. In the dead of summer, we will move to Lacquer Thinner, as Acetone is very "hot" and evaporates quite quickly) .. We let color coat dry for about the same as the white - maybe a bit longer. .. At this point, we use our Clear Top Coat (Moisture Cure Polyurethane). We thin it about 4 to 1 with Acetone, and spray it on the spoons, same as white and color. We spray a VERY THIN coat of Top Coat - what some would call a "wet coat" - so that it covers the lure, is shiny, and covers any imperfections left from paint, metal scratches, etc... .. We do let the Top Coat dry considerably longer. Overnight without heat, or for about an hour in a 100 degree oven. Then! We turn the lures over on the racks and start over with the other side - which on our lures is usually Pearl. We top coat it also. All-in-all, our lures have about 4 to 7 coats of paint on them, and being as small and light as they are (less than 1/16th ounce), the coats have to be thin as well as durable to keep from ruining the action. I don't know how big the spoons you are making are - if they are casting spoons, the weight of the paint won't be as critical as with thin-bladed spoons like ours. As you can see, laying them out on a rack also relieves you of the need to rotate them or hang them to dry. Hope this helps a bit - I don't know how far you are into the manufacturing of your lures, so thought I'd dump the whole thing on you - you might very well have the painting down to a science and just be wondering about Top Coat. Good luck with your spoons! d|:^) Dick

I have no idea of how to do it, but I'll offer up three 12-bottle assortments of our Fishermun's Lure Coat Paints - if the auction is going to be on this board, or 10 Dozen Assorted Dick Nite Spoons if it is going to be hosted for people other than tackle makers... Oh, Heck. Make it 10 Dozen Dick Nite Spoons AND 36 2oz. bottles of Fishermun's Lure-Coat. Easier that way. ~$500 retail. I'll cover shipping to the USA. dicknite@dicknite.com

Hmmm... I think if you were using them as a part of a new product, they couldn't say anything about it, but just repackaging and selling might raise some eyebrows... I'm not an attorney - I have seen them on TV tho... I know several folks who have licenses to repackage things... Maybe you should just hit *67 (Kills Caller Id) and call them - ask if they have a problem with people buying their items bulk and repackaging for resale. Just my $.02. d|:^) Dick

Widowmaker' date=' The IRS collects the tax from the Manufacturer, Producer, or Importer. There is [b']no[/b] difference depending on who you sell it to - you, being the manufacturer, are responsible for collecting and paying the tax. You can get all sorts of information on the IRS website: http://www.irs.gov/instructions/i720/ch02.html#d0e866 Sport fishing equipment (IRS No. 41). The tax on sport fishing equipment is 10% (.10) of the sales price. The tax is paid by the manufacturer, producer, or importer. Taxable articles include fishing rods and poles (and component parts), reels, fly fishing lines (and other lines not over 130 pounds test), fishing spears, spear guns, spear tips, terminal tackle, fishing supplies and accessories, and any parts or accessories sold on or in connection with these articles. See Publication 510 for a complete list of taxable articles. Add the tax on each sale during the quarter and enter the total on the line for IRS No. 41. So, if you sell it for a dollar - you send the government $.10. "The sale price" refers to the price you sell it for, inclusive of all discounts. If you sell out of the country, or sell to someone with a Form 637 (Excise tax Registration) on file (which would be someone who is using your product as a component of their product), you back the tax out of your price by dividing the price by 11 and then multiplying the result by 10 - or multiplying the price by .909091. Hope this helps. d|:^) Dick

I'll try to answer a few of these Q's one at a time... I don't consider myself an expert on pricing by any means, so take this with a grain of salt and see what works for you. While the form the government has you fill out is a little difficult to navigate, the formula for estimating is simple... 10%. 10% of product sales dollars received. I'm not sure what you mean by "collection of the tax." I guess you are trying to figure it into the price of your product, and you should. So, figure the price of your lures and then multiply by 1.1. If you ever sell to an exempt retailer/wholesaler, then you can back it out of the price by multiplying by .909091. Most of your sales will have it included. Taxes, Profit, lights, heat, phones, advertising, rent... - COGS... Cost of Goods Sold. Don't feel like the Lone Ranger - it's vague to most of us. I'd say price it to what the market will bear... It might be easier to work the other direction - see what the product sells for retail, then, since you are selling to retailers, back the price down 25% - 40% (this allows for the dealers profit) and set your price there - then take out the COGS and Taxes - you'll know your profit. I'm not sure what you mean by "take it out"... Dealers pay the tax to you. The 'Original Manufacturer' collects the tax and sends it to Uncle Sam. All that is figured into the COGS. Most companies charge for shipping up to a certain invoice amount - for example, we pay for shipping on invoices at/above $500. Don't know if this helps... d|:^) Dick

Yeah, there is no shortage of potential "product testers", "guides", and "Pro-staff" out there! We have a Guide Program and a Pro-Staff Program. Two totally different animals. The term "Guide" has to be defined in order to set either program. By a "Guide", I don't mean a guy that is on the water most Saturdays and Sundays with a couple of people in the boat! That is a "Weekend Warrior". A Guide takes paying customers out on the water on a regular basis, usually NOT just weekends, as a business venture, has a guide license (Washington State now requires one - some states still do not), is insured as a guide (another requirement of WA now), and charges for the seats he rents out. A "guide" also has a historical record of guiding - or in the case they are brand new, it is evident they are set up to do business - brochures, cards, etc... Our Pro-Staff Program is a VERY RESTRICTED program. Pro-Staff get a set amount of product free each year. In our case it is several hundred dollars worth (Right around a thousand dollars this year, I think). After they have received their free allotment, they are allowed to purchase product at true wholesale - the price we charge wholesalers for our product - or earn more by doing promotions, clinics, or taking out someone we want to treat to a day on the water, like a customer, politician, or father-in-law (grin). They also get listed in our promotional materials. We allow them to attend shows we display at and have their own promotional brochures and cards there also. In return for this, they do what I believe "Pro-Staff" means, which is PROmote our products - most people think of them as "PROfessional Staff", and to an extent that is true - they are Professionals in the fishing world, but from a manufacturers standpoint, I use them for PROmotion... Anyway, they work with retailers giving seminars/clinics on fishing (and I don't require it is a "Dick Nite" clinic, because I think that limits the attendance - I would prefer it is a "River Fishing for Salmon", or "Lake Fishing for Kokanee", or something like that where they showcase how to use our product... More credible.), and they are required to attend/staff our booth at shows and give demonstrations/answer questions from fishermen who stop by. Pro-Staff also have connections into the media - whether that is radio (local), TV, Magazine, or Newspaper, or other means of public information dissemination such as a regular class at the community college, parks department, or something similar. Pro-Staff are also required to be guides. Our "Guide Program" is much less restrictive. In order to be on our Guide Program, a guide must meet all of the restrictions of being a guide set forth above, but does not have any of the promotional requirements. They get listed in our show literature under "Recommended Guides" , and are allowed to purchase product at slightly over wholesale. This is the main benefit to them - in our neck of the woods, our lures are used in rivers for salmon and lakes for trout/Kokanee - a LOT of lost lures due to snags. I have one guide who, on a 2 day salmon weekend (that means 8 to 16 people through his boat - $150 a seat = $1200 - $2400) will go through upwards of 200 spoons... At $3 a pop, that takes the profit out of at least one of those trips! Being able to bring his cost down to $1.25 a lure will save him a substantial amount! A couple of things that our Pro-Staff and Guide Programs have in common: They sign a contract with us. Basically it states that they will NOT sell our lures, they are NOT a representative of our company and as such, cannot make agreements for us, they will act respectfully when on the water and not give our company a bad name, etc... The reason for the "Non-Sales" clause is that we have had guides decide that it is okay to sell our lures on Ebay, bulletin boards, etc... since they are getting them so cheap, they can make quite a bit on each one! Of course this really makes retailers and wholesalers mad! As for knowing if you are just getting ripped off, you can do a few things. One thing I have done in the past is call them and just talk about their season, what they have been doing, etc... You would be surprised how much you can tell by having a conversation! I will tell them that I am taking some notes for "the computer" and then get specific - "How many customers do you take out a week?", "Where are you fishing?", etc... Also - if you are NOT getting taken, you can know that by customer response. I have a guy who works in California, who I am constantly getting emails and letters about - "There is this guy in that came up alongside my boat when he saw we were having trouble getting fish, asked us what we were using, and proceeded to tie a Dick Nite on the end of my line, told me how to fish it, and gave me 3 extras in different colors!" Sorry for going on so long here - those of you who know me know that I have a hard time keeping it short... Just thought, since you were asking about Guides, I'd throw in some of what I know... d|:^) Dick

We supply lacquer paints to the fishing tackle industry and fishermen / hobbiests in the US and Canada... If you order from our site, please mention that you are a TU member for a 25% discount. Sorry for not posting more, I don't want it to seem like I am just trolling for business - I do visit and read posts - it's just that this thread jumped out at me! d|:^) Dick

Hmm... We sell a lot of lacquers to the tackle industry and anglers! You can get some very nice results from lacquers. Very versatile paint. If you are new to painting lacquer, please do as suggested and treat it like you are spraying a toxic substance - 'cause you are! Like Celticav says, lots of ventilation, no open flames, etc... Not trying to scare you away from lacquer, but I always thought it was better to have a healthy return customer than a dead one-time customer! Hope this helps! d|:^) Dick

I like it that other people put humorous content on their web sites! Sometimes we need a break - and a good laugh! After all, fishing is about FUN! Sometimes people (manufacturers are about the guiltiest - if that is a word - of this) get so serious it makes you wonder if they even enjoy their hobby! I especially liked your reference to your wife's "flannel negligee" I'm guilty of making more than one of those disappear! Thanks for the laugh! d|:^) Dick

I was just reading and responding to a message over in another thread on the topic of patenting products, and got a little - okay, a LOT off track and started rambling about what to do if you have a great product... So I cut it out of there and brought it over here to share - just my opinion and everyone knows about opinions - everybody has one, and most of them stink! Anyway, here goes - forgive me if I repeat a bit of what is in the other thread... Looking at what you folks make here on this board impresses the hell out of me. I can see where some of you would want to go into business and manufacture your baits for a profit. Most of you live to go out in the shop/workroom and design something that you put your heart and soul into - we all know that is EXTREMELY satisying. I have known several of you (using "you" meaning fishermen/hobbiests) who have actually gone from hobby to business and made a go of it. A few have actually quit their day jobs! One thing I have noticed - the ones that do make a go of it don't try to conquer the world the first week. They get a quantity of product made up, find out how many they can realistically manufacture in a set period of time, and then shape their sales fit that capability. They go out and find whatever means of distribution they are going to use, be it wholesalers or direct to retailers, and set up a program with those customers that will not exceed their manufacturing capabilities. After getting comfortable with that, then start to grow slowly. Two that I have seen go down miserably were - well, for lack of a better term, worked to death. They got into the manufacturing and decided that Cabella's and Bass Pro Shops (used for size example only) would be good customers... Six months later they were running around like heads with their chickens cut off and couldn't make their delivery dates... that's known as "losing customers" in this industry... All of a sudden they were sitting on a truckload of product and no one to buy it... Another manufacturer I knew was a guy I met at one of the national wholesalers' shows. He was telling me that it was the middle of his first year and he was in all 50 states, Canada, and Mexico with his product. The next year I saw him at the same show and he told me he was in 180 countries... 180 COUNTRIES! I didn't even know there WERE 180 countries to sell tackle in! Well, the next year, he wasn't at the show. He was bankrupt. He couldn't meet demand and the banks closed him up. Rapid growth will kill just as fast as anything... I'm not trying to discourage you from going into business - there are several people on this board that will testify that I am a big proponent of hobbiests making a go of it - I even offer discounts on our paint line to hobbiests/small manufacturers just so they can get their products to the point they could go commercial with them. I just don't feel that anyone is doing anyone else a favor by telling them that if they have a good idea and get a patent that they will be able to make a bunch of money... I've seen too many people go down in flames that way. Believe me, after you have 250 products in your line and you are on the phone 4 or 5 hours a day with wholesalers, retailers, vendors, and accountants, and you actually get to go out into the shop for an hour or two a day, it turns into a business - a JOB. I think if you have a product that you really believe would move - and I am talking in BIG numbers - your best bet would be to approach existing tackle manufacturers with a non-disclosure agreement (written by an attorney, not bought off of some website or at the local business supply store) and see if they would be interested in either licensing the rights to manufacture the product, or maybe an outright purchase. (Many large manufacturers are stuck in the "New Item!" syndrome - as a matter of fact, wholesalers that we go through would require new products each year if they thought they could get away with it...) If they seem interested, have an attorney write up the contract - there are MANY slimy business people out there that will rip you off and not lose a wink of sleep over it - I could tell you several stories... Having been in this business for quite a few years, I can tell you that you could make a LOT more money that way than making the product yourself and then going through the manufacturing, marketing, and business aspects. That is, unless you are set up to manufacture truckloads of product and have a wholesaler/retailer network in place, a business set up and running, and employees to handle the demand... If you have a great idea - and if you can't manufacture enough of it to fill demand completely - license it out or sell it - and then go back to doing what you love - making new, effective, high quality products! Like I said, seeing some of the lures you folks make just impresses the hell out of me! I cannot understand why you would want to give that up for running a company... Design, test, perfect, sell, repeat. That way you will be doing what you love instead of what you have to do to pay the bills... Just my 2 cents worth... d|:^) Dick

I'm not a patent attorney - but I saw one on TV once.... Seriously though, we recently got knocked off pretty significantly and I spoke with a patent attorney. Now we haven't had our products patented, and as far as I can tell, most of the industry doesn't. Only things that are completely unique - like there is a company out there that uses titanium for a wire bait and patented the idea of using titanium for a wire bait - are patented. The attorney I spoke to told me that a patent is almost useless in this sort of a thing, because a competitor can change the design by as little as 5% and call it a different item - then the patent won't cover it. 5% might be the difference in using epoxy instead of built-up clear lacquer - or a snap swivel instead of a barrel swivel... Who knows? He suggested that a trademark might be more useful - like Coca-Cola trademarking the shape of their bottle, or Harley-Davidson trademarking the sound of their engines. Other than speaking with this attorney, I haven't researched this any further. The patent office and trademark office might have more information. Now, the other thing he said was that even if we did have it patented (unlikely as that is), we can do that for little $ - like $5000 or so, the expensive part comes when some large company copies your idea and puts it on the market. You are REQUIRED to defend your patent or lose it. Which means that you, with your small budget, are required to go up against megabuckscorp inc. who has attorneys on staff (and, believe me, most of the large tackle manufacturers do) and spend your whole bankroll "defending" your patent. After you have spent all of your money over several years, and go bankrupt, there is nothing to stop them from making the product... In essence, you can spend yourself into bankruptcy defending the patent and go out of business, or you can stay in business with a competitor. If you can show that you were producing the product prior to their putting it on the market, there is absolutely nothing they can do to stop you from continuing to do so. So, I believe that the idea of mailing yourself (or an attorney, or your CPA, or some disinterested 3rd party) a copy in a sealed envelope and leaving it sealed to show that you were making it on xx/xx/xxxx date might be helpful in that case... Don't know for sure tho. That's just my 2 cents worth... Remember too, I'm not an attorney - I am just passing on information that I have been made aware of over the years in the business - your situation may be completely different and you need to talk to an actual attorney before making any decisions... After all, those of you who know me know that I'm on my 3rd (and final) marriage - so I HAVE been known to make an incorrect decision here and there! d|:^) Dick edit: I inadvertantly used the term "copyright" where I meant "trademark" - sorry. It's late.

Iceman - Yes. There is pearl that will shoot through an airbrush. While not AS reflective as fine glitters, it is a much more subtle - and realistic - finish that does "sparkle" when wet and light reflects off of it. What you will look for is paint (I've only used lacquers - there might be enamels with it) that has either Mother of Pearl, fish scales or the inside of shellfish (oysters, etc..) shells. There are "pearl" paints out there that use other substances, but they look more grey than pearl. One thing to note - when using this type of a paint, don't overdo it. This is one of those paints that should go on pretty wet, and one or two coats max. If you want to build depth into your finish, use a top-coat after the pearl is laid down. Hope this helps. d|:^) Dick