BobP

On large baits with large lip slots, I mount the lip before I paint and tape it off. You can then fill the voids at the sides of the slot and paint over it so the sides of the slot are hidden, for a nicer look. On medium or small baits, I mount the lip after painting and before clearcoating, no taping needed. I don't recommend clearcoating with the lip taped - too many ways to get it screwed up.

I get mine at texaswoodcarvers.com in larger bottles. To save on shipping, order other stuff for wood carving like tungsten carving bits, etc. That's what I end up doing every time I buy epoxy!

I use 16 oz salsa jars with plastic lined metal tops and haven't had any problem with them so far. Size of the jar depends on whether you plan to brush or dip. If you brush, I suggest smaller jars.

I never heat epoxy after it's applied so can't comment, but there have been several posts about epoxy curing too fast or failing to level when mixed with glitter. That suggests to me that there is some chemical reaction taking place with some dry acrylic glitters. I use cheap acrylic glitter paint (glitter suspended in a clear acrylic). Paint it on, let it dry, then clearcoat. No problems so far and brushing it lets me get glitter density and coverage only where I want it.

A replacement needle for an Iwata won't work like "factory new" either, because they're hand tuned at the factory when the airbrush is built. I use an Iwata HP-B+ with .2mm tip and like it very much. However, you can get a whole new PS900 for the cost of a replacement nozzle for my Iwata. Just something to consider. Bending a needle is usually the first bad thing that happens to most airbrushes. I's almost inevitable and your new expensive Iwata won't be exempt.

I also think sinking lures "have their place" in a varied tackle box. One consideration in building them is the sink rate. The more ballast you put in the lure, the faster it sinksk but the less action it has, so you need to calibrate the ballast with a "sink test" to get those qualities balanced right. After you waterproof the lure but before you paint it, put hooks on it (they are part of the ballast system too!) and hang lead weight on the belly hook. Put the lure in water and vary the amount of ballast weight until you get the sink rate you want. Then install it. Most sinking minnow lures are fished with rod twitches so they glide to the left and right underwater. Placement and amount of ballast can help get that action.

I clip lures on my wheel by the lip with alligator clips and it turns at 4 rpm. No problem with centrifugal force moving the epoxy or any sagging that I can see. And 4 rpm is just slow enough that you can clip lures on while it rotates. I don't spin lures coated with Dick Nite. It just isn't necessary and spinning them can actually make the DN pool in one spot and cause the paint to bubble or wrinkle. I just coat them and hang them so the excess drips off the tail.

Whenever you mix solvent based coatings, there's a chance of incompatibility. You just have to experiment to see what works. Look at Wikipedia's definition of "enamel" and you'll see it can be anything - the definition has devolved to a "hard shiny coating" devoid of any specific formula. It can even be water based! In my experience, water based acrylics don't usually have much problem accepting solvent based topcoats. It's what's UNDER the acrylic (or in your case layered between the acrylic) that causes the problem. The wet solvent topcoat penetrates the acrylic paint (often a good thing) and reacts with an incompatible solvent coating under it (always a bad thing). Bottom line, I suggest getting rid of the spray enamel. Heat set each shot of acrylic. Fly without the net - if you screw up, just wash it off and start over. If the previous acrylic layer was heat cured, you can usually wash off a mistake without harming what's underneath.

Well, I hand paint like a 3 yr old but my recommendation is to use a hair dryer and thoroughly heat set each acrylic color after you apply it. That cures the paint and makes it somewhat waterproof so later brush strokes won't dissolve it so easily. A solvent based paint would adhere better than acrylics but once you buy enough colors to paint a variety of baits, the cost might approach what you'd pay for an airbrush and compressor. One alternative is using aerosol can paints instead of a brush. Sprayed paint has a more even surface appearance than a brush and it allows you to shade colors into one another. Regarding Createx, I don't think there's any advantage in Createx instead of cheaper "hobby acrylics" if you're brushing it. The Createx just has smaller paint grains and flow enhancers that allow it to shoot through the small tip of an airbrush.

Nothing but a chisel will remove cured epoxy from a lip. And if you use 5 min epoxy and get it on the lip, it WILL eventually turn brown. The trick is mounting the lip so that none squeezes out on the lip surface. Fill the lip slot with epoxy using a piece of wire, making sure all slot surfaces are wet with epoxy. Wipe the exterior of the slot clean with a dry cloth and then insert the dry lip (no epoxy on it). All excess epoxy gets pushed out the sides at the rear of the lip. If you butter the lip with epoxy some of it will always get pushed out onto the lip's surface. No worry if there is a small void between the slot and lip at the nose of the bait. The clearcoat fills that. I cut a couple of slots in the back of the lip to strengthen the glue joint against side impact.

Screw eye versus thru-wire may depend on the density of your balsa and your build technique. Both methods work but I don't think there's any doubt that thru-wire is more durable. Whether screw eye is sufficient is a judgement call. I prefer thru-wire. I shape and sand first, then split the bait, add the wire frame and ballast, and rejoin the halves with 5 minute epoxy. Yes, it's more work than basswood. I don't use wood filler except for a small dab I run around the glue joint to hide it. Also, the epoxy makes a nice solid "backbone" inside. Same principle as the Bomber balsa baits with the plastic backbone. The jackass who ends up with the bait may make it last for a few extra casts before the head snaps off as he repeatedly smacks the lure on the water to clear grass off the hooks.

Wood sealers can have 2 functions. First, you can use them to harden the wood and make it waterproof and more durable. Second, you can use them to prevent the grain from raising when you hit the wood with water based acrylic paints. I use several coatings; 30 minute epoxy like Devcon Two Ton diluted 50/50 with denatured alcohol, propionate pellets dissolved in acetone, or straight polyurethane varnish. There are other products including sanding sealers, super glue, wood hardeners, etc that guys use. It's a player's choice.

I don't sell lures but think the paperwork, taxes, etc depend on a few things; how/where you market your lures, how many you sell, and how tax evasive you are! If you sell the occasional lure on Ebay, I doubt an IRS SWAT team is going to be storming your garage anytime soon. If you get a business license, file requisite tax forms, pay excise taxes, etc, (in other words, start a business) that's something else again. I don't think it's an issue until you begin selling lures in some volume. If and when, you can transition from one form to the other.

Jed, DN is very thin when fresh, almost (but not quite) as thin as water. I don't have much experience re brushing/leveling 'cause I dip baits but of course nothing will level as well as epoxy, and DN coats are very thin.

Jed, your DN will eventually form a crust and begin to cure in the container. Before I bit the bullet and began using better storage practices, I used DN as thick as molasses thinned with lacquer thinner. Once it crusts over, you can still use it as long as you don't grab any of the crust (actually it's more like a tough hockey puck) when you spoon it out of the jar. But there's no way to stop the cure and it becomes a lot less "user-friendly" as it gets thicker - which doesn't take long to progress. James, I've dipped in DN at 50 degrees with no problem.

For me, it depends on the wire and the bait. I also like .032 soft temper stainless steel for baits where the line tie is in the nose of the bait, for the reasons Vodkaman states. It also makes thru-wire construction on balsa baits much easier. 040" dia is also OK for average to large size baits. If you want to use hard temper ss wire, I'd go with .029" dia. I use it for belly and tail hangers on hardwood baits where I'm gluing in hand twisted screw eyes for the hangers. Just because I have some!

Sounds similar. Is it exactly the same formulation? Probably not but that doesn't mean it won't produce an excellent finish. I tried another brand of moisture cured poly before DN. It didn't last long because I hadn't learned how to store and handle the stuff. If you want a comparison, try a sample of DN via the TU banner ad and compare it to the Garco. That's a great price on a quart of finish - depending on the shipping cost (solvent finishes are shipped via UPS at higher rates).

Here are steps for a simple 2 or 3 color minnow bait. Before painting, apply a waterproof undercoat on a wood bait so water based acrylic will not cause the grain to rise. For all acrylic paint you shoot, use a hair dryer to dry it after each shot. Start slow so you won't push paint around on the lure or boil the paint. Shoot an all-over white basecoat to hide grain lines or old paint. I do this on ALL baits. Start with the belly of the lure and shoot your colors. Most times, it's going to be pearl white or chartreuse. Apply the belly color up to the back of the bait. If you're painting a minnow and want scale effect on the shoulders, wrap the lure in netting and shoot the shoulders through the net. Not too heavy - you want a smooth transition from the belly color to the back color. Dry the paint before you remove the netting. Shoot the back and shade it down into the scale effect. Apply kill spot and red gills if desired, shooting through a stencil. Shade a little orange, red or neon yellow accent onto the throat if desired. Clearcoat the bait with epoxy or polyurethane. Voila

Yeah, DN flashes off and forms a skin quickly. You need to get around the bait pretty quick if you brush it on or you will be brushing up little blobs of dried DN when you return to the first edge. DN wrinkles the underlying DN and paint if it stays in liquid form too long on the bait. This can be caused 2 ways: 1) over brushing the lure and keeping the surface wet for too long. If you do that, the bait will wrinkle all over. 2) applying too thick a coat of DN and clamping the lure on a drying wheel. The DN skins over but is still liquid underneath and the rotation of the wheel collects it into a pool in one or more areas that wrinkle the paint. Sounds like you may have had problem 1). The absolute simplest, most foolproof way to use DN is to dip lures and hang them to dry. The DN gets applied instantly to the whole bait and all the excess DN drips off the tail of the bait. I never get a wrinkle using this method, which is, after all, the way DN was designed to be used in coating metal spoons. We all get hung up about spinning lures on the wheel because we've been using epoxy forever. DN ain't the same animal. It's much more fluid and will drip off rather than sag. Remember the screw ups we all had with epoxy first starting out? It's the same deal here. Whichever application method you choose, brush or dip, you can make a good finish if you follow the rule about not letting liquid DN sit too long on the lure surface.

I use a Staedtler-Mars compass (got it from one of my kids when he decided an engineering degree wasn't for him!). I've seen them in Michaels hobby stores and college book stores. It has 2 arms and a wheel in between to adjust the spread. Each arm has a small clamp to hold either a steel point or a lead. I haven't tried the cheap stamped steel student compasses in which you clamp a pencil. IMO they seem a bit flimsy for accurate work on small objects like crankbaits - but they might work OK. I found the Dremel routing table works OK but the biggest bit is a 1/8" round over bit, which is too small to be useful IMO. It's also a little fussy to clamp the Dremel tool into the table, so you might want to dedicate a Dremel tool to the router table if you try one. Your scroll saw is OK for cutting out blanks and lip slots; it's what I use. If I had it to do over, I'd get a small band saw instead because it's much faster. But the scroll saw does a good job and it's safe - just much slower on thick hardwoods. BTW, I suggest using the "big" .187" wide blades with 10 TPI. They don't break, bend less and are still thin enough to follow the contours on a crankbait. Tip - the kerf on this blade is perfect for cutting the lip slot for a .032" circuit board lip in one pass. 2 blade widths for a 1/16" lip slot for Lexan.

Hey IPOCK, I got a Dremel routing table to try for rounding over baits - until I discovered that the only round-over bit Dremel sells is 1/8" diameter. That's just too small for me. Do you use that bit or have you found other bits to use?

I shape baits by hand with a Dremel or a Foredom sanding cylinder. The main tool I use to keep the bait symmetrical is a good quality draftsman's compass. After you cut out the blank and the lip slot, mark a center line all around the bait. Draw it from both sides of the bait and you'll be sure that you actually have the center line centered. It shows you where to put the hardware and ballast. If the bait is going to have a taper on the head and tail, use the center line as an anchor point and, with a ruler, mark dots on the nose and tail, top and bottom, where the tapers will end (8 dots total). Then draw lines around the circumference of the body where you want the tapers to begin. Use a piece of flexible plastic as a guide to draw 4 lines on top and 4 lines on the bottom of the bait, from the edges of the circumference lines to the dots on the nose and tail. I use a large disk sander to sand the tapers according to the lines I've drawn. With the taper lines on the top and bottom and the circumference lines, you can be quite accurate. Next, use the compass to mark shaping limits on the top, bottom and sides of the bait. Before you begin shaping and sanding, drill small holes for the hook hangers and the line tie so that if the centerline is sanded away, they'll be set. Because of the tapers, the shaping limit lines will converge too soon at the nose and tail of the bait, so you'll need to take less material off at both ends than the lines will indicate, but they nonetheless help keep you symmetrical on both sides. All this line drawing takes time - 10-15 minutes per bait. If you build 100 baits a week of the same design, it would be "not very smart" to do a layout for each bait; you'd have templates and jigs to shape your baits quickly and accurately. But if you're a hobby builder who builds in batches of a few baits and changes bait designs to suit your whim, you still need a guide to get a symmetrical bait, and this method will help.

When measured and mixed properly, it will be 90% cured in 24 hrs. Final cure takes about a week. I've coated baits one evening and fished them the next day:). They get hook rash easier but in an emergency...

I've used epoxy and Dick Nite lurecoat on jigs. Both work but you have to brush on the epoxy, it's thick, it sags unless turned on a turner, and it is not as clear and non-yellowing as the Dick Nite (DN). The DN is a snap to use, just dip in the jigs and hang them to dry. Wait 24 hrs between dips if you want a thicker clearcoat (I usually do 2-3 dips, others prefer 4). About a week after application, the DN has moistured cured to form a very glossy tough finish. The tricky part of DN is its storage. Do a search in this forum to learn the details before you buy.

I think all topcoats yellow to some extent given enough time. The process is slower if you don't store them exposed to direct UV and high heat. I take my gear out of the boat for storage since heat and humidity don't mix well with rods, reels, line, or lures, including plastics. So far, minimal yellowing.