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Clemmy, I would definitely call Dennis Hatfield, he slip-cuts the skirts he sells and I believe he gets the roll material from Z-Man. He is more likely to work with you than some of the bigger outfits. Hatfield Ent. 616 677-5215 Good Luck!

Very good, Kevin. I agree with Bob, your blending is definitely on the right track. Look forward to seeing your future work. I've got one of those $6 airbrushes somewhere in my shop, think I will go dig it up and start over. Keep up the good work.

That is just absolutely outstanding, Mr. J. The expresion on your face says it all. And 'Thank You' for acknowledging the members of this site, it is not said often enough. Now go get some material to post a picture of that fish's mamma.

Sterling you are correct. Hagen's IS the distributor for them. They are made by Tru-Turn who has a deal with Hagen's as their distributor. If I remember correctly, they are like $65 per thousand, half of what Barlows turns them for. I haven't researched any overseas sources for them, so that could be an inexpensive option. If you find one, let us know.

rsinyard, help me out with this one. Just where on the GLC Fishing website do you find the skirt tabs? I have hunted all over that thing and kept coming up blank. Will they send you a color chart and price list? Is there a minimun quantity to buy? How are their prices in comparison to say Skirts Plus or Hatfields? Thanks in advance.

Good info Widowmaker, I learn a little more on this subject every time I visit it. I concur on everything you mentioned about Dennis Hatfield, he is a top shelf businessman and much more. In a conversation I had with him several years back, I believe he said he got his roll material from Z-man, and yes he cuts his own in his shop. Now just trying to recall a post on this subject that mentioned that Z-man received their material from Viet Nam (not totally sure on this). Another large supplier, Skirts Plus, gets all their skirts from Viet Nam and they supply some big names like Terminator for one. I think that the product that Skirts Plus provides is very good and that is why I buy from them. I have tried to ignore the fact that they are made in Viet Nam, the truth is if they were made here in the states, we couldn't afford them. I am not interested in generating a discussion on global economy as that is a whole different bucket of worms with many opinions to be shared. I did my tour in Viet Nam back in the '60's. Didn't really care for it then and do realize that it is a changed and more advanced country now somewhat due to our influence. Still not crazy about it now . . . . but! Enough of my soapbox, sorry to be so windy.

As near as I have been able to find out, just about all of them come from Viet Nam. Go to www.viet-imports.com which is linked to www.glcfishing.com and dig around and see what you can find out. Not totally sure, but I think they supply just about all the major suppliers of skirts here in the states. If you do find an outfit stateside, please post it to let us know. Good luck

Mr. B and Jigmaster are dead on. One other suggestion. When it is cool enough to remove, grab the sprue to remove it rather than the hook or wire. Good luck.

Hey Etch, that is one awesome frog. Have you tried it out yet? Would love to see a pic of it hanging out of one of those monster's mouths. Great work!

Hagen's carries them for around $.29 ea. Nice little clamshell and the spinnerbait can hang with blades to right or left.

There is getting to be quite a group of you out there in the Carolinas. Ever thought of following Nathan's lead and have an annual gathering? That is such a cool idea there should be more of that going on around the country.

Same here, 3 in 1 oil. It does the job plus I kinda like the smell of it as it burns off. Ditto on 'some oil is better than no oil'.

I think the clumping is caused by moisture. It also seems that some colors seem to clump no matter what. Watermelon is a good example of this and seems to be heavier than most colors. By heavier, I mean they don't seem to fluidize as readily as other colors like white and black. In previous posts on the subject of powder painting, some members say that they don't use the vibrator on their fluid bed, only the air. Reading this, I experimented by using air only and air and vibrator together. I noticed that the vibrator feature will break up the clumps while air only will not. I use a lot of clear with glitters and I will turn off the vibrator because it seems to settle the glitter while air only keeps it suspended more. These are just my observations. I also leave my powders in their cup. Must have 20 or so with different colors and clears with various glitters. Haven't had a problem with moisture getting in. Those little caps are so tight they are often ridiculously hard to remove. The bottom line is, powder paint is very sensitive to moisture and precautions should be taken to avoiding contact with it.

Hey Landor, Beautiful man, now that was a classic for sure. I loved it. What a great attitude and outlook on life (not to mention the tip on the 'free' gauze pads). The Big Picture, eh?

Riverrat, Don't be afraid to take that next step, you will be glad you did. The airbrush you choose must be decided by what you want as far as performance out of the brush, not the price of it. I know that price forces some of us to take that path, but regret it eventually. I powder paint my spinnerbaits also. I use a Paasche VL dual action brush which is a great starter tool to learn with and become quite good with as well. I use Createx waterbased airbrush paints. These cleanup easily when making mistakes, just wipe with wet rag and the mistake disappears. Use the clearcoat of your choice, but make sure that the Createx is DRY before clearcoating (run a heatgun over it for a few seconds). These are not necessarily the best tools or methods, just the ones I use and am familiar with. They work for me. I can not speak for a Badger or Iwata airbrush because I have never used one but may graduate to them some day. Whatever you choose, I know you will have a blast. I look forward to painting the baits because it can bring out the creativity in you and you might surprise yourself. Just remember. PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE!!! And once you think you have the hang of it, practice some more. Good Luck.

Benjamin, have you tried MEK? That stuff is pretty good for removing paint from leadheads, don't know about flux but it is worth a try. Let us know how you do. Good luck!

Exactly! The hook is too small for the groove in the mold. Are you using the hook recommended on the mold? If so, I would get hold of Do-it and pitch a fit, they may replace it. If not, they won't help you. You could try the next size hook if it is feasible to do so.

You might try Bear Air, they carry most airbrush names and plenty of different models throughout the price range. I believe they will also send you a video on learning to airbrush, which will be useful to you. Picking one is a matter of preference, but since you have no experience with one, my recommendation would be a Paasche VL. It is a dual action brush which I have found relatively easy to use. A full kit runs around $60 from Bear, which is a decent price. Others on this board will have their favorites to recommend. www.bearair.com Good Luck in choosing one, you will enjoy the experience!

David, I have two, one is a top load and the other a front load. I use the front load and the top load is stored. The top load is a Conley and much older but in great shape and works perfectly. Go to www.conleycasting.com to see their equipment. The front load is a TekCast, don't remember the model number. Go to www.tekcast.com to see their equipment. What is the best one? For me either is fine as they both perform the job well. They say ergonomically that the front load is easier on you over a long day of casting, not as much bending and lifting but I don't find it hard at all. If you like to keep your equipment clean, the top load is the ticket as well as very easy to lubricate and service. With the front load, cleaning, lubricating and servicing are major events (all just my opinion of course). Another manufacturer is Contenti, which makes both the front and top load models and are comparable to both machines mentioned above. You can see their equipment at www.contenti.com. I hope this is some help to you and if any of the above web address' are wrong, which I believe them to be right, just Google the one you are looking for and that should get you there. Good Luck and if I can help you any more, just PM me and I will get back as quick as I can.

I have ordered them, use them, and the quality seems to be very good. Price is what it is and a while back I did an extensive search for these little things and Hagen's is the place. They are the distributor for Tru-Turn that makes them. Call them, they will send you a sample so you can judge for yourself. Someone on this board does make their own. Seems like they pour the jig with a straight wire in it and then put it in a drill to twist it. Do a search on Hitchhiker and read the posts, he will be in there.

I run two fluid beds, one for color and one for clear w/glitter. They both act differently. I too have noticed the different colors fluidizing differently, some seem to be heavier than others and require more air to fluidize. Watermelon is terrible for me, white and black and chartruese work perfectly. I always try to set the air so the level of powder raises and NO bubbling. Increase air til it bubbles then back off to where the powder is moving across the top. As you use paint and the level decreases, you will get some bubbling and it must be adjusted. Want to see what is hitting the air of your shop? Try this. Have your fluid bed running the way you would have it when painting. Turn off all the lights in the room. With a flashlight, shine it across the top of the powder cup and take a real deep breath. You might also try swithcing powder cups from one bed to another to see if there is any difference, I have had success doing this.

OK, my turn! I use a piece of .050 spinnerbait wire about 4" long and tapered on the ends. As soon as I remove from the fluid bed, I stick the wire through the hook eye, reach around and grab the tip of the wire that you just pushed through the eye and continue to draw the wire through. As you are drawing it through, rotate it between your thumb and finger. This allows the paint to grab the wire and you spiral all the excess out of the hook eye hole. Leaves a very thin coating of paint on the hook eye and looks great. I use the same size piece of wire on 3/0, 4/0 and 5/0 hooks. I never have to mess with the hook eye again, put them in the oven to cure. Good Luck!

I've got one. It works pretty well. It is a Badger that has no needle, the paint is siphoned into the gun via a tube in the jar. Vey low air pressure must be used for this thing to work correctly and you will have alot of powder everywhere unless you make provisions to capture it while spraying. Good luck if you get one.

I saved some styrofoam from shipping items. They are about 2'X2' and 1" thick. Used 2" masking tape on the 4 edges so it is lapped over the top and side. Then with an Exacto knife I made a cut through the tape so the cut goes down the side and over the top. Make your slits about a half inch apart and you can get about 100 on a sheet. Then I just hold the jig by the hook bend and pull it into the slot to let them dry. I use the correct size weedguards, they are snug, I use this method for insurance more than anything to keep one from finding it's way out, if it can happen, it will happen to me. As for glue, I use Jet Glue - Extra Thick. It is a superglue that you can get in Radio Control Hobby stores. Comes in a 2oz. bottle that lasts forever. You can also get a fine nozzle tip to put on the bottle that really allows you to control the amout of glue going in that tiny hole. Jet Glue has a website, try www.jetglue.com and if that don't work, do a Google for jet glue. Hope this all is of help.

They should have come out nice and glossy. I had the very same problem with Pro-Tec white a couple of months ago. Opened a new container and it had a pink tint to it. I didn't think much of it at the time. Preheated the head and dipped in fluid bed, nice and glossy. Cured in oven at 375 for 10 minutes and they came out dull. Tried different temps with no change. Contacted CSI and they checked what they had in stock. Same stuff, same problem. Sent it back for them to test while they sent me a new batch. It had a blue tint to it. Preheated the dead and dipped in fluid bed, nice and glossy. Cured in oven at 375 for 10 minutes and the new stuff blistered and ran like water. Totally ruined 200 buzzbaits on this trial. Contacted CSI and explained what the new batch was doing and they had been testing the old batch and found same results as I had. They took and experimented with the stuff and found that if they mixed 2 to 1 pink to blue, it worked like it should. So they sent me enough to compensate. Now you are having a similar problem with the black? I worried now. I have always found CSI to be some great stuff to work with and they stand behind their product, but I can't afford to do their Lab work for them, nor should anyone else. If I were you, I would contact them ASAP and get it resolved. During my episode, the pink and blue tinted white was all they had in stock. Made me wonder how many others got bad white, and now the black is in question. Yep, I'm really worried now.