BobP

There are numerous ways to hinge bait, but the simplest and one I favor is to hand-wind two stainless screw eyes one inside the other and epoxy them into the segments. Epoxy the joint hinges into one segment of the bait after painting, when you are clearcoating the segments. Then epoxy the screw eyes into the other segment after the the epoxy clearcoat is cured hard. Remember, if you use an epoxy clearcoat, you must round over all sharp wood edges around the segments because epoxy will draw away from a sharp edge as it cures. I use a double screw eye at the top and one at the bottom of the segment for a hinge. You can recess/countersink the holes for the screw eyes if you want the segments to be close together. Use a Dremel with a piece of stainless wire chucked in it to clean out the hinge joint after the epoxy has cured. Makes a nice free-moving joint.

I like soap and water, but whatever is causing the fish eyes is sitting on top of your paint, not under it. Another thing you may try is adding a few drops of denatured alcohol to your epoxy after it is mixed up. It will thin the epoxy a little, extend the brush time, and still allows Devcon to cure hard to the touch in 5-6 hrs.

Tom, I don't see any structural need to thru-wire a basswood lure. It's plenty hard enough to work with screw eyes. For thru-wire on balsa bass baits, I use .040" soft temper stainless steel wire (aka Safety Wire) from McMaster-Carr. Safety wire is much easier to bend accurately and I also like a soft wire line tie on the nose because it is easier to tune the lure without breaking the waterproof integrity on the nose of the lure. For hard temper stainless wire, I go with the .031" diameter, also from McMaster-Carr. I use it as the belly and tail hook hanger on hardwood baits, twisted into hand-crafted screw eyes. It's small enough to twist with hand tools but has a test strength of more than 180 lbs, which far exceeds what is needed.

Micarta (aka Garolite, aka G-10, etc) - The thickness used most often on bass baits is 1/32" and the greenish white variety is hard to find. McMaster-Carr's G-10 is a dull yellow (ugly). Their more costly G-11 is an attractive light green but is more expensive. I have gotten the greenish white G-10 from www.asp-rocketry.com in the past but someone recently told me they are now carrying a different shade of G-10. The problem we bait makers run into is that most G-10 users either don't care what the color is, or they paint over it, so color is not a big consideration. You can look around and order a whole 4'x8' sheet and get the color you like, but not many of us build enough crankbaits to warrant doing that. You can get 1/16" thick polycarbonate (aka Lexan) at a glazier's shop, home center, or can order it in 1'x1' squares from McMaster-Carr. They also carry a good selection of stainless wire types. You can also buy lead wire from firearms reloading sites if you want to roll your own ballast weights, or you can use small egg sinkers, or can melt scrap lead down. Most of us adapt to the raw materials that are available, you just need to be flexible.

Dave, You didn't say how long you used, but I've found that it takes AT LEAST 24 hrs between dip coats to avoid problems with DN. I used to do 2 coats but found the second coat was always the one that caused problems if there was going to be any. I just use a single dip on bass baits.

Steve, thanks for the technique! I've also read here on TU that some of the top lure refinishing businesses use a blast cabinet with walnut hulls to strip finish before repainting.

I think your problem originated from the hook rash, and that originated from a thin epoxy topcoat. Most guys who use Etex apply 2 or more coats. Etex is as good as any epoxy for durability. But what I've found when stripping baits for repaint is that epoxy forms a shell on the bait and the integrity of the epoxy shell is mostly what keeps in on there. Its adhesion to the underlying acrylic paint surface is OK but the acrylic paint itself is very weak stuff. You can slip a thin blade under an epoxy topcoat and lever the epoxy off, popping it off in strips and cleaning the entire lure in just a few minutes. There will be paint on the epoxy and paint remaining on the lure as you pop it off. Seeing that helped me understand that epoxy works well only as long as it stays intact and doesn't allow water to soak into the underlying paint (delamination is even faster on a wood bait when water seeps in and causes the wood to expand). I epoxy over the hangers and clean them afterward with a Dremel to insure there's no gap for water to infiltrate.

Luke, is that an impact crack I spy near the tail? When that happens, water can migrate through the acrylic paint and cause the epoxy to sheet off. If the epoxy is not as hard as your earlier baits, that points to a measuring/mixing problem. Etex is pretty thin stuff and it has a density that's not much more than water, so I think another coat would not substantially change the buoyancy of your crankbait. At least it's a fast temporary fix until the spring bite is past!

Hmm, I bet some of us know what unresponsive site you are talking about! There aren't a lot of sources out there for crankbait components and the ones there are have limited selections. I suggest you fashion your own lips and ballast weights. It allows you to customize your crankbaits to perform just the way you want them to. The same goes for crankbait bodies. One thing you will discover with pre-formed bodies is that most of them don't come with lip slots when you buy them, so you are left to cut a slot in an already rounded body - which is very difficult to do.

Paint companies know white is used for color basecoating so they often produce it with more pigment so it will cover better. I use Polytranspar SuperHide White, which is also heavily pigmented - thus the "SuperHide". I disassemble the brush after shooting it because it definitely is harder to clean out than other paints.

I think all epoxies and urethanes yellow at least slightly over time. How yellow and how long depend on a lot of things. For epoxies it includes how well it was measured and mixed, what brand, and how much heat and UV light it is exposed to. I think Dick Nite will also yellow. One advantage Dick Nite has in this regard it that it is a thin coating. If it yellows at the same rate as epoxy, the yellowing will not be as evident because it is a much thinner coating. That said, I have epoxy finished lures 3-5 years old (stored inside after fishing and not in the boat) that do not show noticeable yellowing. JMHO, since all finishes yellow, it sort of becomes a non-issue. But if it is to you, I recommend either Dick Nite or a UV inhibited epoxy like Nu-Lustre 55 Anti-UV (I haven't tried the latter).

I think a lot of guys who have used airbrushes for years like using a big compressor because the air stream it generates doesn't pulse like a small compressor tends to do and because most of the time, the compressor is not running. So I wouldn't be too quick to move to a small unit. Airbrushes are simple with only a few parts. There are no "gotchas" to worry about as far as disassembly. Screw off the rear handle, loosen the nut that holds the needle, and the needle slides right out the rear of the brush. The needle is very sharp and easy to damage if you drop it or bang its tip into anything, but it's not really fragile. It's made from ductile stainless steel. The crown cap and needle cap screw right off the tip, exposing the nozzle. I don't recommend unscrewing the nozzle unless you're going to soak the brush parts overnight. With the caps and the needle removed, you can do sufficient cleaning at the end of your painting session to ready the brush for next time. There is a schematic of your airbrush available at dixieart.com in the airbrush parts section.

Carolinaboy, my gut feeling is that you may be getting moisture and/or oil in your brush from the compressor. If your oil and moisture trap are small in-line filters mounted on the base of your airbrush, that may not be enough if you're connected to a big compressor. They also aren't in the best position to absorb the considerable amount of moisture a big compressor generates. Ideally, a moisture trap should be sized to the compressor and attached at its air outlet. The outlet is where moisture "happens" as the compressed air expands into the hose. Also, I'm no expert but aren't an oil trap and a moisture trap two different things? I shoot 95% of airbrush paint straight, without thinning. If you're trying to shoot cheap "hobby paint" instead of airbrush paint, you do have to thin that always. When I do thin it, I use plain water (which is what Createx recommends for thinning their standard airbrush paints. If you're shooting Createx Auto Air paint, they recommend Createx 4011 reducer as a thinner. I shoot a color, clean out the cup with water from a spray bottle, shoot a cup of water through the brush, then backwash the brush by holding my finder over the tip while shooting half a cup of water. If there's still color in the cup when you backwash, you need to repeat until clear. Takes longer to say than to do. At the end of the session, I take out the needle and wipe it clean with a cloth dipped in acetone, then use a Q-tip dipped in acetone to clean the nozzle and the spray tip, and wipe a drop of oil on the needle when reassembling the brush. You don't want to be unscrewing those tiny little paint nozzles off the tip of Iwata brushes unless you have to - they're easy to damage or can just disappear! Whenever the mood hits me or I feel the brush is not operating to peak form, I'll disassemble it completely and soak everything in airbrush cleaning solution for 24 hours. Some guys use Windex to clean out their brush. Iwata doesn't recommend that because ammonia eats chrome and all the Iwata brushes are chrome plated. Pressure - I start out at 40 psi for color basecoating and all-over colors. I dial it down to 20-25 psi for applying area colors. For really fine shading, I dial it down to 15-20 psi. It depends on the thickness of the paint. Shoot a little paint through the brush to insure it's flowing right before you hit the lure. Hope this helps.

I hear Dick Nite actually takes a week or longer to fully moisture cure. Coincidentally, that's also how long it takes epoxy to fully cure - most of us just don't realize it. When first dried out, DN has about the same properties as any polyurethane, that's to say it isn't all that tough. If you can dent it with a fingernail, there's still some solvent in there. But when cured out, it's harder and slicker to the touch than epoxy. Most of us don't care if a topcoat is fully cured (epoxy or DN) as long as we think it's "hard enough". For epoxy, that's usually about 24 hrs. For DN, that's usually a few days. Either coating might be 85% cured at that point, so there's still some hardness developing.

If you are using a large number of the same lip, you can get a steel die made for the lip and use a hydraulic press to cut them out of polycarbonate. Otherwise, I haven't heard of a home rolled punch system that works.

I also use an Iwata Revolution BR and shoot Createx at 30-40 psi with no problem. When you say 'splatter' you need to know whether it is spraying out of the a/b inconsistently or whether you may be holding the a/b too close to the lure, causing the paint to blow around and bounce off the target area onto lower areas on the lure. If you are getting a consistent stream of dry air from the compressor, there should be no problem. I assume it has a moisture trap and an oil trap (if the compressor uses oil). Water or oil in the air stream can cause splattering.

Yes, I saw the article. Looks interesting, may try one myself. BTW - it's not through-wire construction - the screw eyes are epoxied into the body, per the writeup. Notice that the mouth is drilled out farther than just the V-cut - presumably to increase spitting action.

I don't use aerosol paints - first, you never know what solvents they contain and how those solvents will react with other coatings - especially solvent based clear coats. If you are having 50% success using the spray white paint, you're still in Hurt City. The other reason is I hate the chemical stink many of them leave on a bait, even after they dry. One bait prepped with an automotive primer will smell up a whole 3700 box of crankbaits. My question is - why use the spray on white paint at all? In my experience, white water based acrylic paint sprayed through your airbrush works well as a color basecoat. And it just takes a minute to dry it with a hair dryer, which I do on ALL the acrylic paint I spray on a lure. Like RG, I like the Dick Nite moisture cured polyurethane as a topcoat, especially on plastic baits. It forms a thin, slick, "factory look" finish that's very durable. It seems to soak into and through acrylic paint to form a good bond with the underlying plastic surface. Perfect? No. It needs special measures to keep it from curing in its storage container. The best idea to come along with Dick Nite is to buy a can of Bloxygen aerosol finish preserver. Bloxygen's argon/nitrogen gas prevents the surface of the Dick Nite in your storage container from contacting humidity-laden ambient air, and it does a great job of keeping the finish in a liquid state. You need a finishing regimen that works reliably if you are painting a bunch of plastic baits. I hope you find a combo that works 100% of the time. Acrylic paint + Dick Nite is the combo that works best for me. Plus it's WAY faster than what you are doing now.

Yeah, added ballast would be among the things to look at, in my experience. I make some of the fat balsa 1 5/8" store-bought baits occasionally (I don't enjoy shaping really small baits) and they work great when the total bait weight including #8 trebles is 1/4 oz (plus they cast better too!)

Sorry for your frustration! I think problems come from very specific coatings, application techniques, and environmental factors- so it's impossible to give long-distance diagnosis that isn't just a shot in the dark. Clear coats like Dick Nite (DN) contain active solvents. If they remain wet too long on the bait, they will lift and wrinkle paint. What often happens is the clearcoat is applied too thick or collects on a low section of the bait. It skins over but there is still wet solvent sloshing around under the skin - bingo! paint lifting and wrinkling. I see endless TU queries about mixing various undercoats/waterproofers/adhesion promoters/primers/paints/clearcoats. Man, it gives me a headache! NOBODY can say whether a combo is chemically compatible until they've tried it. And there are thousands of possible combos. One thing I learned from experience - keep it simple because the more coatings you throw in the mix, the greater the chance that you will screw up or the coatings will not be compatible. On plastic baits, I shoot clean plastic with water based acrylic paint, dip it once in DN and hanging it to dry. Simple. Works perfect. Gives a durable finish. In the garage, with widely variable temp and humidity.

x2 what LP said. Most reel manufacturers including Shimano and Abu Garcia use high quality plastic gears to drive the level wind system throughout their reel line because they are lighter, self-lubricating, work well, and do not wear out. That's quite different from having a main and pinion gear made from plastic - which I have personally never seen, even on bargain priced reels. There are some yahoos out there who look askance at ANY plastic in a reel, but that's just ignorance. I've never used an Okuma but they seem to have a decent rep for performance and durability. Do they have "life-long" quality equal to a $200 Shimano Calcutta? Nope. There's a lot that goes into a reel's performance and durability. If the gears aren't cut accurately, aligned properly, and surrounded by well fitted, high quality parts in the drive train, they will fail no matter what they are made from. If I had any question about Okuma, I'd look at a Shimano Cardiff round reel, in the same general price range. You get what you pay for.

If it says 8, I bet 8 are there - although like L-P says, they can be extraneous. For example, my Abu Pro Max reels have 8 - 2 spool bearings, 2 level wind bearings, a pinion bearing, an instant anti-reverse bearing, and 2 bearings on the handle paddles. Are any extraneous? Depends on how you look at it, and most especially on how the reel is engineered. Abus and Shimanos, etc have different internal designs. As a general principle, a well-engineered, well maintained reel with good quality internal bearings will cast better, retrieve smoother, and last longer. Don't take bearing count out of that context! Engineering design, bearing quality, and maintenance are just as important. Spool bearings are critical for casting smoothness and performance. The level wind bearings are either nice to have for smoothness, or important if you have a synchronous level wind system. Synchronous level winds run the line guide back and forth during the cast. Bearings are important in that design because reduced friction = less energy stolen from the cast. Having a bearing supported pinion gear is nice if retrieve smoothness is important (isn't it?). Instant anti-reverse is a standard on most reels these days, so much so that the IAR bearing is taken for granted and not even counted as a bearing by some manufacturers when advertising bearing count. We're up to 6 internal bearings so far. That total seems to me to be the optimum number for reducing the friction of moving parts inside most baitcast reels. If there is an extraneous bearing, I nominate bearings under the paddles of a reel handle. Not only can paddles be engineered to work smoothly without them (Shimano does a great job on this), they are a detriment because they corrode and fail faster than any other reel bearing. My Abu Pro Max reels were manufactured in the late 1960's. All the paddle bearings are corroded and no longer work well. To remedy that, I substitute a modified-to-fit handle from a Shimano reel or replace the Pro Max handles with cheap Abu C3 3600 handles that don't have bearings. Now my Pro Max reels have only 6 bearings, all internal to the reel, but they all work beautifully.

Angus, I bet argon gas would do the trick. Bloxygen is argon and nitrogen gas.

Dremel router table - seemed like a good idea because I use a Dremel. I got one but found the largest bit available was a 1/8" round-over bit, which is not enough rounding over to matter. My attitude - don't waste your money unless you can find a bit of at least 1/4" with a 1/8" shank. I couldn't. Also, the Dremel unit is plastic. I never used mine enough to tell, but I wonder if the construction is rigid enough to ensure accurate cutting. I've looked at standard router tables but when all is said and done, I just can't get comfortable with the idea of trying to rout 2 1/4" long baits on a bit turning at 20K rpm.

On the baits I've seen, the cups face outwards and keep the treble hook from folding against the side of the bait. That prevents hook rash and also keeps the hooks from tangling on some baits.