Husky

One thing I found helpful with two part Top Coats is to bend loop in a piece of SS wire and place it in a drill. At a low speed, I use the drill as an electric mixer for about a minute. If you measure correctly, this should blend your "witches brew" quite evenly. Let the mixture sit. covered, for 15 minutes, if you're using Etex (Thanks Fat Fingers) and it should apply very nicely. That takes care of the mixing and measuring problems.

That's understandable. The kicker is that 16lb foam makes a great bait when it performs right.

How long do you wait between casting and finishing? Foam continues to degas for quite a while. after it's cast. Try letting the casting sit for at least 3 days after casting then run it through the dishwasher with soap before painting. Give it a prime coat of an epoxy resin, then finish. OR you can use a Urethane Resin with Microspheres which is a much kinder medium.

Jed, you have a PM.

What are you casting them from? If you're using foam, the expansion of it may be causing the fatness. Venting the mold and using less foam will help, if that is your problem.

Jed, a fellow on another board has a unique way of stripping baits. He puts a blow torch to it and blisters the paint right off. If the paint has to go, that is one muy rapido way to do it.

AND ask welding wire is not the same. For pliability and strength, ask for 308L Tig wire from your local welding supply store.

I've been using a specific WB urethane for a year now. I'm not saying it's as good or better than the 2 part stuff, but it's results more than satisfy my needs and the ease of application makes using it a no brainer for the "Hammer Mechanic" in me. Dip and done! 2 hr recoat time with coverage similar to Etex. Dries clear and glossy. $20 per qt. One master builder, finisher here, who I sent some for evaluation wrote " the top coat is nice, took me 5 coats, and 1 week to get it where I like it, but a week is a long time " JM:twocents:

If you have a full gallon, you might want to mix it really well and transfer it to some glass jars to keep the majority of it from constantly being exposed to air.

I used Bondo molds to cast 16 lb foam, which is much more difficult to work with than UR. Hard molds cannot have any undercuts and must be totally symetrical. While they did work, they came in a distant second to RTV. As an aside, I use a different UR than Alumilite. It's less expensive and seems to have all the positive properties that Alumilite does:twocents:

I sent you a message. Say hi, to Dorothy for me.

There is a new generation of Waterborne products which are very similar to the two part products. Times, they are a changing.

Many times, the mold isn't vented well enough. All you need to do, to assure it's vented, properly is score a couple of thin lines, from the top of the cavity, to the edge of the mold, which will allow the air in the mold to escape. Many of the better made molds are too tight.

Here's a way to make HEAVY DUTY hangers and eyes. 308 SS Tig wire works really well. Here's how I make hangers and ties from SS welding rods . I find the Rods stiffer than the SS wire that comes on rolls and is available at any welding supply store. 1. I put a mark on my round nose pliers for consistency and bend a loop, there. Then I "overbend the wire to make a more circular loop. 2. Cut the wire evenly. 3. Place the ends of the wire in a vise grip. 4.Clamp the loop with a flat pliers. 5. Twist, counter clockwise. Now you're done! 6. Here are a couple, one .045" and the other .062 Just drill a hole large enough to accept the twisted wire, fill it with 5 min epoxy, wipe the overflow with alcohol and you'll have a bullet proof tie or eye.

I made a few silicone molds of "half round" I got at the craft store. I use Urethane Resin that I use to cast my lures for the eyes. They're painted with the Brides nail polish. Whenever I cast plug bodies, I take out the eye molds and use them if there is any extra resin after I cast the bodies. Waste not, want not! So far, so good.

The master is from a bass crank bait that heavily I modified. The finish is photo, tissue over foil, blended with rattle cans.

Thanks Mark.. The body is Urethane resin with MB's and the lip is .032 Micarta. Etch sent me the screw eyes, which are epoxied in. I'm awaiting hooks to finish it off.

One of the main SW forage fish on the East Coast. This size is called a "Peanut", but they can grow up to 12+ inches.

I let the RTV cure, then use the tube silicone with the "silicone strips". When that cures, I top off with RTV. It takes more time but you can save 50% or more RTV this way.

You get what you pay for. NOTHING works as well as RTV silicone. There are ways to "Extend" it to make it more economical. One is to buy 100% silicone from Walmart. A 10 oz tube only costs $2.50. You an use it to fill in the mold box after you've used the RTV to cover the model. Once the model is covered, all the rest is filler. I will squeeze strips on wax paper and let them cure, After I cover the model with RTV and let it set, I squeeze some Tube silicone on the RTV (not too much or it won't cure, about 1/4 to 3/8 an inch) and then place the cured strips on that. Once that cures, I top off the box with RTV, and I can assure you, the mold will look and perform as though it's 100% RTV, but at a fraction of the price.

Hey Dave, I've been casting plugs and exploring new TC's. Lately, I've fell in love with G-10 for lips. As you had experienced, some of my castings came in too heavy, even with a near 50% mix of resin and MB's. I have had some success "coring the lures with Balsa and even foam insulation board. Using them lightens the lure a lot BUT it is a tad tedious and they don't hold screw eyes well. That's why I'm looking into using a foam core. The Resin will give a nice hard surface to finish and the foam will make a core that is water resistent and will hold hardware well. Plus all the finishing problems associated with foam, cease, as the resin is what takes the finish. It adds a step or two, but the end result should be good! You can cast your harness into the lures if you desire and the core will fit perfectly and totally fill the inside the lure. If memory serves 8lb wt foam is pretty close to Balsa in density. Can you verify that please? The link is in my other post. 8 lb will hold screw eyes if they're epoxied in.

Out of curiosity, which Resin are you using? My Smooth-on, 28 Shore molds have stood up to many more castings than 20, casting Shopmaninc.coms Urethane Resin. When I said " Mother Mold" I meant a POP mold of your Silicone mold. Just Box in a mold half, Cavity up, and fill it with POP. When it cures, you can pour your silicone into it and you'll have an exact duplicate of the original. Just be sure to use a light glossy coat on the POP mold before casting the silicone. Here are a batch of Candy molds I made, the orange casting was used for the master. You can see part of the master @ the upper left.

JMHO, but you could save yourself a lot of work and time by making a "Mother Mold" out of POP.