BobP

Yeah, I meant whatever's in the bottle BUT I'm not recommending that anyone do that because of the different way the resin and hardener absorb m/w energy. In a microwave, one second the resin seems average in viscosity, the next second it's as thin as water and hot as heck. I'd probably do it to get the resin back in a liquid state, but that's all. Oh, and take the top off before you zap it.

You can buy them from Janns Netcraft or lurepartsonline.com (formerly Stamina Tackle) - if they have the lip style and size you want. Otherwise, many of us cut their lips from sheets of polycarbonate (aka Lexan) or circuit board (aka Garolite, G-10, Micarta). If you build enough baits, you'll probably want to do your own eventually. Do a search on it in this forum for discussions on how to do it, what to use, where to get it.

Max - I agree the wrinkling is cause either by a reaction with the primer (most likely) or by the clear coat pooling on the surface of the lure, which lets it remain in a liquid state too long. Spraying several lighter coats should remedy the latter problem. Jeff - to me, auto clears seem as hard as epoxy and have better clarity. Two part Auto clears with "high solids" are more durable and more expensive. In planning a spray booth, you have to account for two things with auto clears: they are toxic and their vapors are flammable. As far as relative costs go, I think all the options are pretty comparable. You "waste" epoxy when you mix up more than what goes on the bait. You "waste" auto clear when you add activator to more than you spray on the bait. You "waste" DN when you dip it and the excess finish drips off the lure. Some excess is always going to happen. Better too much than too little! JMHO, choose the topcoat you think gives the best end product and stick with it until you learn how to get reliable results. They all have their "ins and outs", advantages and disadvantages.

Epoxy resin tends to crystalize during long storage in cold weather. I've zapped it in the microwave to put it back into a liquid state. I would try heating it more to see if the flakes disappear. I don't know any fix for yellowing/browning hardener. BTW, if you heat resin and hardener in a microwave, the resin absorbs microwave energy faster and can become almost as liquid as water and very hot while the hardener heats much more gradually. Trying to eyeball equal size pools of resin/hardener then becomes impossible until you let them both cool down until they again similar viscosities again.

Oak is heavy stuff; hope your bait floats - if you want it to! I use epoxy putty to fill holes in baits, not liquid epoxy that tends to flow all over the place. You can get putty logs at any home center in the adhesives section. Cut off a piece, knead it until the color is uniform, push it into the hole, and smooth it out with a damp finger. It has a density that's close to many hardwoods. You need to do any sanding it needs about 5 minutes after you apply it, before it cures really hard.

I would pop for the extra money and buy a separate unit for the bow. You aren't gonna like trying to maneuver the boat with the trolling motor while looking over your shoulder at the helm sonar and holding a rod in one hand. The bow unit doesn't need side scan sonar - in fact side scan is not useful at the bow because the transducer is attached to a rotating trolling motor. But it would be very nice to have a networked sonar that can display mapping, mark waypoints, and see downlooking sonar.

I've heard the same thing and there are a few lures using UV paint (or more often UV clearcoat) that supposedly helps the paint to "pop" visually to bass. Who knows? Maybe it's a plus on shallow crankbaits if you want them to stand out more from the environment. For deep divers, you'd probably need to use glow paint instead of a UV sensitive coating since the glow paint will store UV radiation and emit it later in dark water. I may be wrong but my thinking is the UV coating simply fluoresces when hit by UV, instead of storing UV energy and releasing it later like glow paint.

Chris, the failures I've seen with lips in balsa are most often the top of the lures' heads breaking off, and I believe that results from the lure being smacked on the water when trying to clear weeds off the trebles. I've done it myself with lures I made - which taught me a lesson about what never to do with balsa lures! You can break a short lipped balsa lure that way so I'm sure it's even easier to do with a deep diving balsa lure where the long lip makes for increased leverage on the body. JMHO, I wouldn't use balsa on a deep diving lure. You're going to need extra ballast to make a deep diving balsa lure behave correctly anyway, so why not avoid the problem and just go with a more dense wood like white cedar, paulownia, or bass wood that can take the abuse? I know Rapala has deep diving balsa lures in their DT series, but I think an internal look at them would show special construction techniques to try and avoid the problem. And special construction techniques aren't readily available to the hobby builder. Rapala's solution apparently isn't so good because you hear about lots of DT lips breaking. As far as the line tie being out on the lip of a deep diver - that's true of ALL deep divers, plastic or wood, because that's where it has to be for the lure to work properly. You can build a line-tie-on-the-lip bait with Lexan or circuit board that will be every bit as durable as one with the line tie in the nose. You just need to run the wire from the line tie under the lip and glue it back into the bait. Personally, I like to cut a slot in the back of the lip and bend the line tie back over the top of the lip so the whole thing becomes a rigid "package" that I can glue into the lip slot.

I've never seen a reference to the "G Finish" here on TU. All I got was a bunch of Ebay Long A's with G Finish when Googled. Is this a glow or pearlescent paint?

There is no perfect clearcoat, like Skeeter says. There are 3 popular ones: epoxy, moisture cured urethane (Dick Nite, etc), and 2 part automotive clearcoats. All are tough and waterproof but there are differences. Dick Nite is ideal where a thin topcoat is wanted. It's hard to store and hard to use multiple coats but is probably the closest to a factory finish. If tooth-proof resilience is your priority, epoxy is still the state of the art. You can build a perfect looking topcoat as thick as you want with it. Automotive clears are sprayed with lots of breathing protection. You can build a thick hard coating with them too. I suppose durability varies with the brand, but generally, you want a "high solids" 2 part auto clear. All finishes eventually yellow and become brittle as they age. Epoxy usually does itt faster than other topcoats but it can be years before that happens. Epoxy is brushed; Dick Nite can be dipped or brushed; Auto clears are sprayed. If you are concerned about "adding weight" you should take that into consideration when you design your bait. I don't think the weight of the topcoat has a big effect on anything other than a suspending bait. On a "standard" 2 1/4" bass bait, the paint and an epoxy topcoat will add only .02-.03 oz of weight. Epoxy's density is only slightly greater than water, and its weight is offset to a large degree by the volume the epoxy displaces in the water. Check the user-supplied tutorials. There is at least one in there about achieving a perfect epoxy finish.

At room temperature, I pour out 2 pools of hardener/resin, each about the size of a quarter to coat 2 average size (2-2.5") bass baits. I seldom try to coat more than 2 baits at a time because D2T will begin to set up too fast. I usually mix in a FEW drops of denatured alcohol in the epoxy after it is mixed to thin the it slightly, extend the brush time by a minute or two, and help release any bubbles. That allows enough time to do 3 baits quickly but if you are just starting out with D2T, I'd stick with 2 baits at a time. Bottom line, if you have to err, you always want to have too much epoxy instead of too little.

The H'bird SI xducer does sidescan and/or downscan. The sidescan only works at slow speeds, up to around 6-8 mph. To clarify, you can use the single large SI transducer by itself and it will work at speed just like a "regular" down-looking xducer - but you will also have to mount it in a low position on the transom just as you would a regular transducer. If you fish gnarly cover, that big $200 xducer can be subject to damage so the ideal setup is to mount it in a protected position higher on the transom and install a regular Hbird downlooking xducer in the "normal" place for running at speed (either linside the bilge or at the bottom edge of the transom), connecting them both to the head unit via a Hbird switch. Had I to do over again, that's what I'd do to my 987 SI unit. But I mounted mine right down on my bass boat's transom, right above the boat's pad. I've run mine for 5+ years with no problems, no damage, never has been tripped up in its mount by a 'strike'. But I don't often fish gnarly water.

I can't speak to the Lowrance units but I've used a H'bird 987 for several years and have liked it. One difference between the latest units may be Hbird requires a separate GPS antenna while the Lowrance has an internal antenna. That's not a big deal but it is an extra thing to install. My 987 has worked flawlessly for 5 yrs. It has a very intuitive user interface that required almost no learning curve. I also like that you can download software updates and fixes free for your unit from the Hbird website. I added the Down Imaging to my unit a couple of years after buying it. No, you aren't gonna install it in the dash of most bass boats. Mine sits on a Ram Mount on the boat's topcap right beside the console, which has worked fine. In fact, I prefer a Ram Mount since it allows you to tilt the sonar to the best viewing angle. To really maximize your sonar, you'll eventually want a compatible unit on the bow networked to your console unit and capable of displaying maps and marking waypoints, as well as working as a stand-alone sonar.

I've seen 2 kinds of factory screw eyes; chromed brass and stainless steel. The ss are stronger. As far as factory eyes go, you want to drill a pilot hole that is only slightly smaller than the screw shank. If you're breaking them, the holes were too small. As far as making your own from ss wire, it's easy to do and I haven't used factory screw eyes for years. I just like the look and smaller diameter of hand twisted eyes but it's a matter of taste as much as function - either type works.

http://www.pecogloba...p/wd%20130e.htm I'm assuming tuna's airbrush is Chinese manufacture. JMHO, before buying any airbrush, I want to know how to get replacement parts when (not if) I do something stupid and bend the needle or split the nozzle. Major Japanese, Euro, and U.S. manufacturers have reliable parts sources here in the U.S. That has been much less certain with the Chinese brands. Not saying this is true of the 130E, but I'd want some reassurance before I bought one.

Depends. Some epoxy like Etex contains solvents that can cause solvent based paints to run. You can avoid that by covering the solvent paint with some water based acrylic clearcoat, or you can use a water based marker. The epoxy will cure OK in any case.

Epoxy cures by an chemical reaction between the hardener and the resin. The cure times are stated at 70 degrees. It will cure faster at higher temps and slower at lower temps - but it will cure. Never try adjusting the 1:1 mix ratio. The 1:1 ratio provides the right amount of each chemical to complete the cure reaction. Too much hardener and your topcoat will not harden because there will be excess hardener that never gets combined with the resin. Too little hardener and there will be resin that never gets hardened. The result in either case is soft epoxy that never cures hard. Etex also contains some solvent to help it release bubbles and level out on the surface. The warmer the environment, the faster the solvent will flash out of the epoxy and the faster the chemical cure will develop. My wife has never noticed any smell from epoxy and I don't think it's detectable more than a foot away. I've used Devcon in my garage at temps down to 40 degrees with no problems. It adds a little to the cure time but it gets there. I bet Etex is similar.

I used a tankless airbrush compressor for several years and it worked OK but there are advantages to a more powerful compressor with an air tank, if your painting environment is OK with the noise and the size. Tool compressors are cheaper per PSI, develop higher pressure, turn on less often, and the air tank buffers the air supply to your airbrush to eliminate the pulsing that small "instant ON" airbrush compressors tend to have. The bigger the compressor and its air tank, the less often it will run. Right now, I'm using a Porter Cable 2hp 135 psi compressor with a 6 gallon air tank, which I "liberated" from one of my sons. I added a pressure regulator and a moisture trap (about $40 total). It sits comfortably under the work bench where I paint crankbaits. You have to decide where you will paint, how much equipment will fit the space, how much noise is too much, and how much you want to spend for your setup. IMO, at the minimum, you want a compressor that is rated for 60 psi max pressure. This will run an airbrush at a sustained pressure of around 45 psi, which is the maximum pressure that most of us ever use (actually, most of us shoot at lower pressures than that, 10-35 psi, but you want more pressure there when you need it). Also JMHO, the sweet spot for airbrushes is one with a tip diameter of .3 to .35mm. If you use only one airbrush, that tip size will shoot just about any airbrush paint and do a good job of it. Some airbrush companies like Badger or Paasche don't state their tip sizes. If you want to use one of their models, simply know that their tips are typically larger than those found on airbrushes from the Far East, of which Iwata is the best known. Personally, I use an Iwata Revolution B with a .3mm tip and it would be my choice if I were going to use one airbrush. It sells for around $75, which I feel is a bargain price for such a high quality airbrush.

Jon, The TU search feature can help. Search the Hardbait Forum for "sealer", "undercoating", "paint", etc. Clearcoats are historically the most discussed topic here on the forum and a few searches on it will provide more posts than you can read in a month.

Dick Nite S81 moisture cured urethane has been the best lip coating for me. It's thin, clear, and adheres very well. I think any similar product with the same characteristics would be the same as long as you can dip or spray it.

I draw an imaginary line from the point of the nose to the tail, then measure the down angle from the rear point of the lip slot. You always want to cut the slot just after cutting out the basic lure blank, so you'll be cutting it at a square 90 degree angle to the sides of the bait. Another thing about lip angle: the actual angle as the bait swims is what counts, and it is the one you cut into the bait PLUS any additional angle caused by the lure swimming nose-down. Bottom line, everything affects everthing else and that complicates things. You can say "lip angle X" will tend to perform a certain way compared to "lip angle Y" on the same bait, but I think that's about the extent of it.

Mark, I think most of the hotrod spools available are from Japanese Domestic Market shops that import them to the U.S. for enthusiasts. Check the enthusiast forum at tackletour.com for some sources. I bet you'll be gobsmacked at the prices they charge! BTW - what's this about an "OLD" Chronarch 50MG? That ain't old! My 1970 era Abu ProMax reels are old! My Chronarch 50MG is still a baby!

The idea of BASS Elite anglers wanting to be "held to a higher standard" is a joke, I agree. They just want to damp competition down and keep the status quo. It's interesting that the Alabama rig has forced them to also outlaw double fluke rigs, forerunners, and dropshots using a jig as the weight - all of which have been used for many years. Otherwise, they couldn't have logically banned the A rig. Also outlawed is using a shallow draft aluminum boat to access areas unavailable to competitors driving 21' fiberglass rigs. Not being a tournament angler, I don't really care what foolishness BASS gets up to.

A majority of builders use water based paint. A minority use airbrush lacquers (not auto paint). Each has advantages and disadvantages. Lacquers make very nice, vibrant colors and are consistent to spray but they require breathing protection against organic solvents, an ingition-proof ventilation system, and solvents to clean equipment. Few hobby builders want the extra expense and trouble of that. Just as in the auto painting industry and probably because of it (helped along by our friendly EPA), water based paints are rapidly improving in quality and results. They clean up with detergent and water and are much less toxic (but not non-toxic). Lacquer and acrylic paint cost are usually equal.

I wouldn't use screw eyes on a jointed balsa swimbait. I like cutting a balsa bait in half and rejoining it with epoxy to provide a strong backbone for the whole bait. I lay the hardware into grooves and I make the wires extra long with bends in them but I don't use a continuous wire frame. I'll also make extra grooves in stress areas just to hold extra epoxy. Swimbaits take a lot of punishment around the joints and it's a lot of work to build one so personally I'd choose a harder wood.