BobP

Yes, the crackle I've seen is done over a "crackle medium". You apply the medium, dry it (or not) and then spray paint over it and it crackles as it dries. I've only done it with acrylic latex, so can't help on crackle medium for lacquers.

Hands down, the easiest way is to use a template. Get some frisket material from a hobby shop or art store. It's a plastic film with peel-off paper backing designed for this use. You can substitute other waterproof films (milk bottles, etc) but frisket is easy to cut and will conform to the sides of the bait easier than most films. That will save you a lot of frustration. First, trace an outline of the bait on the paper backing, then draw in the craw legs and/or segment lines you want. JMHO, you don't want too much detail, but enough to SUGGEST a craw. Take a sharp Xacto knife and cut out your design, then use scissors to cut out the template. Now, DO NOT peel off the paper backing. Just hold the template against the bait while you shoot the details. Remove the template, dry the bait AND the template with a hair dryer. Flip the bait and the template over and do the other side exactly the same. If you like the results, you can save the template and do future baits with it. The big advantage of reversible templates is you can get both sides of the bait exactly the same, which is hard to do even if you are an ace detail painter (which very few of us are!).

I don't try to, in fact I want the epoxy to seal around the hangers and line tie. No worries, just zip it out with a small drill bit chucked in a Dremel tool.

Mart, I can't speak to using varnish before waterproofing. I usually brush on a coat of Devcon 2 Ton epoxy diluted with solvent as a waterproofer/sealer for bare wood. Etex already contains some solvent so I probably wouldn't dilute it further. A light sanding and it's ready for color basecoating. I can't see where varnish would help but I don't know if it hurts. The simplest, no-frills finish routine I know for wood baits: epoxy waterproofing, lightly sand, white acrylic color basecoat, colors, epoxy topcoat. One product to buy, no solvent coating incompatibilities to worry about, reliable results. When finish "disasters" are reported on TU, it's usually due to somebody using a "witches' brew" of solvent based coatings. You can't just throw together a bunch of coatings and expect them to work together. Maybe they will but it's a crap shoot. And nothing is more frustrating than seeing your topcoat blister the paint job you just spent an hour airbrushing on the bait. Been there, done that, got the T shirt.

Hey Dean, I'd like to do further testing on the wear characteristics of DN, in regard to "finish renewal". Please send me that old torn up bait that you were using last fall. I have some little green friends who have signed on to help in the research.

Sounds to me like there is something under your topcoat that isn't adhering. Have you tried an "adhesion promoter" like Bulldog before the acrylic paint? The DN may help somewhat because it seems to soak into and through underlying acrylic paint instead of just lying on top of it like epoxy. I have almost no experience painting PVC baits but I know that some TU'ers do and hopefully they'll help out here.

68KF, Well, I suppose we could establish "standards" but nobody would follow them.TU is a diverse group. That's bad for mutual understanding, but good for getting different points of view. I just think neophytes often get totally confused by the use of different but overlapping coating terms. Some of us not-so-neophytes too!

In my experience, DN is durable because it is both slick and tough. Epoxy is tough but has what I'd call a "micro-crystaline structure" that doesn't resist hook rash very well. The trade-off is that DN is a thinner coating while epoxy is thick. They both might wear down to the paint eventually, just in different manners. Nothing I've ever found will make a bait last forever - except never fishing it.

Michael's hobby shops sell Etex (aka Envirotex Lite). It's designed as a pour-on finish for table tops. It comes in 2 8 oz plastic bottles and costs around $15.

What trips me up in these discussions is what guys mean when they use the terms: prime, waterproof, seal, basecoat, etc. They means different things to different guys. To me: Waterproofing is a coating to armor wood against water infiltration, and implies some durability since it has to withstand fishing abuse while performing its function. Primer is a coating applied to improve the adhesion of subsequent coatings. Sealer is a coating that penetrates wood grain and prevent it from rising when hit by water based paints. It's similar to waterproofing but doesn't necessarily imply durability. Basecoat is a solid color coating (often white paint) applied so that underlying wood grain or paint will not show through later paint layers. Obviously, some coatings have values in more than one category. E.g., epoxy or propionate waterproofing also acts as a sealant. A white primer improves adhesion while also serving as a color basecoat. I'm not trying to suggest "standards" here, just saying it's confusing to me when someone asks a question about a coating type without stating exactly what they want the coating to do (OK, many times they don't know what they want it to do!) Equally confusing is advice given which refers to waterproofer, primer, sealer, etc. without naming a specific coating/brand or saying what it's function is. It may be crystal clear in your mind - but you can bet a lot of readers will remain confused, or worse, take entirely the wrong meaning.

You can handle the baits in a few hours but how quickly full moisture cure takes depends on relative humidity and temperature. I suspect it continues for a few weeks (sort of like epoxy, which may reach 90% cure in 24 hrs but continues curing for a week). I try not to fish DN coated baits for a week but you can safely ship or store them after 24 hrs as long as they aren't subjected to extreme abrasion. It's mostly about hook rash. I've fished DN bass baits 2-3 days after coating with no problems but if it's a trolling bait, I would want to wait a couple of weeks (and extra coats of DN) before getting them wet.

Do you plan to install ballast to keep the bait upright? Not all baits require ballast, and the hooks do perform some ballast function, but most baits need ballast to keep them upright and stablilized while running.

I do both. An undercoat/waterproofer/primer of epoxy or propionate, then a white color basecoat, then colors.

I can address the ballast weight problem. If you drill a hole and drop in hot lead, it burns the surrounding wood and contracts as it cools, causing the weight to become loose. Slap the bait on the water a few times and the weight will break through the lure's finish. It's better to drill a hole and epoxy in cold lead for ballast.

Use the search feature and you'll find some answers. I don't mold cranks but I would want it to come out with a density of not more than 20-25 lbs/sq ft for a floating bait - presumably adding microballoons if required.

Live and learn, huh? Been there, done that. You always want to cut the lip slot while the lure blank is still "square". If you can't figure a way of cutting it exactly straight now, make the slot extra big and then use 5 min epoxy putty to mount the lip. It's similar in density to hardwood and is very easy to use - pack the slot with putty, press in the lip, remove the excess, and smooth it out with a knife or finger. You can get the putty at most any home center. Works well and is easy to use. Also nice for covering ballast holes - just remember to smooth it out immediately and sand it (if required) before it gets really hard.

PC, do a search on "airbrush" and you'll have hundreds of threads to peruse.

Wezzie, chrome on commercial crankbaits is done with some kind of plating process. There are few if any actual chrome paints available that work and the few that do are very very expensive. Custom and hobby builders usually substitute silver or gold foil to get a chrome effect, and you can overlay the foil with various "transparent" airbrush paints to get some nice effects ("Transparent" paint, like Createx Transparent Colors, is actually translucent, of course). You can also get airbrush paints with fine metallic flakes for irridescent or metallic effects. There are lots of options - take a look at the online samples of Createx and other manufacturers to get an idea of the possibilities.

My impression is there are 2 reasons. First, rattle baits are often heavier than most crankbaits. When a hooked fish is thrashing about, the added weight applies more force to the hook tines, causing more thrown baits than average. Second, the hooks supplied on Rattletraps, the classic rattle bait brand, have always been lousy. Bad hooks = lost fish. That's why many trap fishermen change out the hooks to something better as soon as they buy them - and throw the stock hooks in the trash. That doesn't apply to other brands which come stock with better trebles

Sonny, I've never used any kind of wood that didn't require a sealer. There are lots of choices but I use either propionate pellets (aka prop) dissolved in acetone or Devcon 2 Ton epoxy diluted with acetone or lacquer thinner. You can dip the lure in prop multiple times and it builds up a nice smooth base that is good for painting. Epoxy/solvent is quick to brush on but you have to let it cure before lightly sanding and painting it. A good sealer also stops bubbles from forming in your paint if you use a hair dryer to flash dry acrylic latex paint (I do). Heating expands the air in the wood and if there is no sealer barrier, it will bubble the paint as you dry it. The bubbles pop up on the bait where the wood's end grain is exposed, often where the body taper toward the tail begins.