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The additive that is being sold to make plastic float is a very common filler that is used in a lot of different industries because it is extremely cheap and fairly easy to get. Some of the products you have in your home have it in them (potting soil, ceiling tiles, etc.). I currently work as a chemical engineer at a manufacturing plant that uses it daily. The danger with it is getting it in your eyes and lungs. If you get it in your eyes, DON"T RUB THEM. You will scratch your eyes and do a lot of damage. Also, do not inhale it. It can embed in your lungs and cause issues. Since the material is very light, it will form dust clouds when working with it in large quantities. When working with this material you should always be wearing safety goggles (that are sealed to your face so it cannot get in your eyes), and a dust mask (we use the white disposable dust masks that you can buy at any hardware store). I have personally gotten it in my eyes and have always been able to wash it out with lots of water. I have also inhaled it in small quantities and ended up coughing for an hour or two. Like many things in life, if you take the proper precautions and treat it with respect, you shouldn't have any issues. Eric

Check out MF's sinking plastic. I use their soft sinking plastic for all Senko style baits. The plastic will sink slowly without salt whereas other soft plastics will float. I can get away with using very little salt in the sinking plastic to get the proper sink rate and do not have to add softener resulting in a much stronger and clearer bait. Do a search on TU. There are a few discussions about it as well. Eric

Looks very similar to Yammy's pumpkin with green and black flake. I would use amber and rootbeer to get the base color.

If you want to stay with Calhoun's, I used to use supersoft and still had to add a little softener. I now use MF soft sinking plastic. Much less salt is needed to get proper sink rate and no softener is needed. Also makes a more durable bait due to less salt and no additional softener. Just my 2 cents.

The medium was too hard for my taste. Extremely durable but not enough action/wiggle. I am using the soft and love it. My stix are more durable and use less salt. I also stopped using the "sugar" flakes from senkosam with this plastic. I have noticed that it doesn't pour quite as smooth as the standard MF supersoft plastic but haven't had much of an issue with this as long as the mold is hot. I have not been able to pour swirls with much success with the sinking plastic but I have only tried twice so far with cold molds. Eric

I believe there is a previous post with this. I know I had to use rootbeer to get the color right. I think I used a mixture of Del's and LC's rootbeer, but I'm not positive. I will look when I get home if I remember. Also, I had to use flake from senkosam to get it right. All the other green flake that I've tried will fade to teal when heated. Eric

152, I am going to end up using a little softener from the results I got last night. I will have to wait for my 5 gallon jug to figure out how much though. Eric

I poured some sticks last night. I was able to get my standard density for the sticks with a fraction of the salt. I can now make whatever color I want since the baits are nearly clear before dye/flake. Are the rest of you using the soft or medium? I had some medium to test and the baits are a little harder than I was hoping for. I may just end up using some softener when I get my 5 gallon bucket. I will be field testing this weekend and will post my findings next week. Eric

Bob used to make that mold. I believe I still have an aluminum version of it from him. Are you interested in getting the mold or baits?? Eric

Can somebody post a pic of a skirt form Del's mold??? Eric

as i posted on Del's site....just buy some aluminum rods at Lowe's and test it. i wouldn't cut the originals unless i knew it would work they way i wanted it to.

bobstackleshack.com I've used the frog but I don't own the mold...yet. It has great action....

You may want to ask what brand they are used to. Most of the guys I pour for are used to yammy's 308 color. I have to add a little green pumpkin to del's light watermelon to get the right color. Just a thought Eric

You will see a cold crack by doing this way but I've never had a stick separate when fishing. I think this is the best way to get a consistent bait. Eric

Black Del's light watermelon seed LC green pumpkin White Black Grape

At least enough cavities to fill one bag of lures. Also, depending on the size of the bait. Larger, bulkier baits take longer to cool so it's better to have enough cavities to pour continuously and not have to stop and wait for the baits to cool do you can de-mold them. If you tell us what type of bait you're talking about I'm sure we could give you a better answer. I've found that it's better to buy one or two molds and pour with them a couple times. You'll quickly learn how many more cavities you should have to be able to pour continuously. As an example, I have 3-4 cavity molds for 5" sticks. I put 10 in a bag and I can pour all 12 cavities before I need to reheat. If I had another set of molds (3 more) the first three could cool while I was pouring the second set of 3. Unfortunately that would be a large investment in molds but it would make pouring go a lot faster. Eric

My vote is for Smooth-on. I've tried others but Smooth-on's Oomoo RTV was the easiest to use and picked up the best detail. Eric

I just cut a piece of cardboard (I used an empty Ritz cracker box). I made two sections and taped them together. Worked great and was fast and easy to do. Eric

Check out upperhand scents. fishing scents He's a TU member and his stuff is very good. Eric

I've been pouring for a little over 2 years and I am just now to the point that I need to order more of Del's light watermelon (I started with a 2oz bottle. I use this color in most of the baits I make. Eric

There is a company that makes them for mister twister but I can't remember who. I'm sure someone will come up with the answer. Eric

http://getbitlures.com/Psycho_Skirts.htm Great skirts, great guy. He's a member here as well. He'll make whatever color you want. Eric

I've done a lot of experimenting with this. You can get different amounts of swirling depending on how the divider is cut at the pouring spout. If you let the different colors meet before coming out of the pouring spout you'll get more of a laminate effect. If you bring the divider to the end of the pouring spout you'll get more of a swirled effect throughout the bait. That is my experience at least. I have a couple different cups with the divider cut differently at the pouring spout and I can get different effects depending on which cup I use. Hope that made sense. Eric

I made some for a customer once. I think I ended up putting some LC amber in it to get the shade right. Eric

Chadk, Lurecraft makes a tomato dye. I have it but I haven't used it yet. It's probably what you're looking for though. Eric