BobP

I use the same mix as Mark and like mine to be fairly light in shade. Basic white and add yellow and brown drops sparingly.

One guy who worked in a manufacturing facility related that they used floor glue doped with white pigment as their build coat. “Build coat” means different things to different people. Some commercial wood crankbait makers use a very thick build coat that allows them to cover wood blanks that are not sanded smooth, which saves a labor intensive and costly fine sanding process. I’ve stripped Poe crankbaits which had at least a 1/8” thick build coat. Same for some of the older Rapalas from the 1980’s. The Poes were solvent based and very flammable. The Rapalas were water based and nonflammable. Don’t ask how I know. As far as small batch builders go, you might try Zinsser Bin, a white shellac based primer/cover product that is dippable. Personally I use lightly sanded Devcon Two Ton epoxy as my build/undercoating on balsa baits followed by Polytranspar Superhide White as a color basecoat. But I’m in no particular hurry during the build process.

I’ve never used KBS either but generally speaking it’s better to choose a high solids topcoat whenever possible because it’s usually more durable. Urethane finishes when cured/dried only leave behind the solids they contain. As to “direct to metal” I assume it contains metal etching chemicals that promote better adhesion. Do they also etch plastics? Don’t know but I’m doubtful.

I use Devcon 5 minute epoxy. Put it on, it will never come off unless you want it to. To remove a broken top, heat It with a lighter while pulling on it with needle nose pliers. It will come off before causing damage to the blank.

They don't require it but it’s a good idea. You don’t want to spray wet paint over wet paint and while it will all dry eventually, it can take days sometimes. And if water is trapped under dry paint, it will often cause problems during topcoating. So it’s just more efficient to dry the paint as you apply it and it takes only a few seconds with a hair dryer. As for pvc trim board, I tried it but didn’t like the fine pvc dust generated when hand shaping and sanding it. It sticks to EVERYTHING. But its big advantage is that it is naturally waterproof and has no grain inconsistencies like wood can have. Wood WANTS to soak up water. The only thing stopping it is waterproof topcoat and undercoating.

If the question is how to color a soft plastic tail, I think you have to dye it. If you paint and topcoat it, the finish will come off pretty quickly and you also lose any tail pliability with a topcoat, so you might as well have made the tail out of a hard substance.

I sometimes use tungsten shot for added weight since it doesn’t need much room to install. But I don’t see any reason to use it over lead when there’s room. It’s all ballast.

I’ve used many paint removal techniques. Sanding. Peeling it (epoxy topcoated) with a thin sharp knife. Torching it off (very quick if the bait finish is nonflammable but disastrous if it is). Soaking in remover. What works best depends on the kind of bait you’re stripping, its surface shapes, and the type of finish it has. Professional refinishing shops use soda blasting. It’s the best. Many of us don’t strip at all, just scuff the topcoat up and refinish. That works fine on many baits, wth the exception of suspending models.

Nice explanation of the process you went through to get the spybaits you wanted and the baits are handsome little devils. Thanks for the post!

I usually just stick mine in the microwave but you need to be careful. It gets really hot and very liquid very quickly. Let it cool back to room temp before using or it will cure too quickly.

I just use generic chicken feathers from a hobby shop like Michaels. You can also use hackle feathers from the same source, plus strands of sparkle filament. If not from a hobby shop, try Mudhole tackle online or lurepartsonline.com.

I see there haven’t been any responses to your post and think that’s because there probably isn’t any real substitute for Lexan, circuit board, or steel lips as far as durability goes. I don’t mold baits but have cut lots of lips over the years, and I agree it’s a challenge. What helped me the most in getting them right was starting with a good symmetrical template and what helped me do that was using a simple freeware CAD program to design the lips on my computer and print them out on an ink jet printer, which automatically sizes the printout to your desired shape and size. Then you can transfer the print to a sheet of plastic and cut it out with scissors. There are multiple ways to proceed from that point, which have been discussed in earlier TU threads. I build various baits in small batches so just cut the lips out with aircraft shears and then refine the shape down to the exact lines with a Dremel sander followed by a Dremel felt polishing disk to clarify the edges. It’s an exacting manual process but as long as you have a good symmetrical template you don’t really have to worry that your lips will be accurate. And with a little practice you can cut a small batch of 6-8 lips in about 30-45 minutes. A faster method is to stack rough lip blanks and use a straight laminate trimmer bit on a router table and a wood template to produce a bunch of copies at once, if you have the equipment (I don’t). But it all starts with a good symmetrical template.

I don’t know anything about chemical etching, but any way you want to do mechanical etching should work ok. On the blades, jigs and spoons I’ve painted, the most important step in getting a durable product has been the kind of clearcoat you use. And for that, there’s no better clear than moisture cured urethane. I use Dick Nite S81 MCU which is used by a commercial spoon manufacturer and sold to TU members at a discount. It forms a thin very durable glossy coating and seems to penetrate water based acrylic airbrush paint and bond with the metal underneath. Fine stuff. It will not chip off of metal edges like epoxy does. Many TU members favor KBS Diamond Coat MCU for crankbaits. It’s less touchy to handle and the cost is equivalent to Dick Nite but I haven’t used it on metal so can’t comment on its penetrating quality in that application. It is sold by many online auto paint outlets like Jegs, etc, as well as by the factory. There are many TU threads on application and storage procedures of both products which you should peruse before using MCU.

I just epoxy over mine and zip the epoxy out with a 1-2 mm micro drill bit in a Dremel after it cures. A small piece of stiff ss wire works almost as well.

Blank plastic bodies often have oil or other petroleum contaminants on them that were part of the manufacturing process. It’s a good idea to wipe them down with alcohol before painting. Chinese blank factories could often care less about “touch ups”. I just use white airbrush paint as a color basecoat. Specifically, I like Polytranspar Superhide White because it has lots of white pigment and dries quickly to a hard smooth finish. There are other brands that have “hide” or “cover” in their names designed for the same purpose. Aerosol whites can be used but why bother? Also, I hate the strong chemical smell the exude long after application. One bait in my box can stink up all the baits in there. I put in the eyes before topcoating and it’s rare that there’s any problem just leaving the topcoat over them. Besides, it helps keep them stuck into their recesses. The only time I have problems is if I try to use eyes that don’t fit well in the recesses. If they are too large, you can get an air pocket under the eye and when the epoxy is curing and producing heat, the air will expand and cause a bubble in the topcoat.

The density weights are per cubic feet, not square feet. Duh.

I looked at the site and don’t see any balsa lures. They all appear to be made from an unspecified fine grain blonde hardwood, probably basswood. That’s not a bad thing but basswood is on average twice the density and weight (23 lbs per sq ft) of average density balsa (12 lbs sq ft). It makes very good crankbaits but does not have the buoyancy of balsa, so behaves differently.

I don’t use vacuum formed templates but think it either has to be the plastic you are using or the template is covering more than half the lure?

Either CA or epoxy will work.

On my personal baits I use Gamakatsu, Daiichi, and KVD short shank trebles. Japanese brands tend to use harder tempered steel which stays sharper longer and bends out less than the VMC (in my experience). Nothing against VMC but I don’t like taking the time to resharpen trebles while fishing. The short shank KVDs because their design and sizes are uniquely suited for upsizing trebles on baits where other brands tend to tangle, and tangling is one thing I can’t accept on any crankbait.

Yeah, I put VMC on baits for others. There is a good variety of shapes and sizes in the brand and the quality is decent. But it’s not what I use on my own baits.

The limitations with glow paint are twofold. Their brightness is determined by the size and number of the strontium aluminate particles they contain. More and bigger is better but more and bigger won’t shoot through an airbrush so paint manufacturers have to compromise. There are also big differences in how long and how strongly different colors of glow paint will glow. I don’t remember the differences except that greenish white is the longest lasting. I chose Glonation brand paint that comes in an acrylic gel with large glow particles for coating jigging spoons and a couple of rattle baits. It works great but has to be brushed on. I topcoated it with MCU. In total darkness, I can literally read a newspaper from its glow. Player’s choice, but I’d check whatever paint you try for glow intensity after application.

If you go with wire-thru construction I don’t see the need for such heavy diameter wire. Anything in the .050 to .060 inch diameter range will work. I use soft temper stainless wire from McMaster-Carr online. It’s much easier to bend accurately and is plenty strong. It also lets you tune the line tie without breaking the finish on the nose of the bait. As far as wood construction goes, Mark a center line around the bait while it is still “square” and use it to locate your line tie, hangers, and slit before you start shaping. There are various discussions on finishing balsa baits that you can explore with the search feature.

I second 21XDC. A moisture cured urethane is the best choice. Dip it, hang it up, and you get a very durable, thin, clear topcoat that will not chip or compromise the action of a blade bait.

I never use epoxy over foil until I’m ready to topcoat the bait. I use thin adhesive foil on which I can burnish the edges down so they disappear. But if I did, I would lightly sand the epoxy to give the paint something to mechanically grip before shooting it.