Palmetto Balsa

Matt's got it... This is a great way to go if you aren't going to use gold foil. The Gold Pearl Pigments are expensive and take a little practice. Then the clearcoat is where the gold will realy pop for you. 1) Black base coat, 2) 3 thin coats of gold pearl pigment and then 3) a great clearcoat and it is true gold like a custom painted car. Looks the best when painted and cleared with lacquers. The Solvents help the pigment rods in the pearls align better and that is where the FX comes from.

Jim Harter was a good friend and he loved the outdoors and everything fishing as much as I do. I only hope to live as rich a life as him. He was the maker of the Original GULP Balsa Crankbait. He started carving balsa baits in the 60's and started producing the GULP Crankbait in the early 70's. The GULP was the original Flatsided Balsa Crankbait (as far as I have ever heard). Every baits he made was a 2 piece balsa plug with a single wire through harness. All ballast was internal. Jim helped many other lure builders start into business. Jim built the first sets of internal harness jigs for Carolina Killer Balsa Baits out of Brevard, NC. I have seen over 15 copies of Jim's baits and none have caught Bass as good as a GULP. James E. Harter Taylors James Elaine Harter, 83, husband of Julia Jordan Harter, died March 11, 2011. Born in Charlotte, North Carolina, he was a son of the late George Emerson and Lorene Perkins Harter. Mr. Harter was a retiree of E. I. Dupont Sales Department. He served in the Pacific Theatre on the USS Houston in World War II. He was a member of Hampton Heights Baptist Church for 53 years and served as a deacon. He was an avid outdoorsman his entire life. He was a charter member of The Piedmont Woodcarving Club, the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society, the National Wildlife Federation and an honorary member of Davant Plantation. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The first 2 baits are big 2 piece balsa baits that were made by Jim in the 60's, and the next group is GULP baits made from the 70's through 2009. Almost no changes were made after the late 70's. Jim will be missed.

I am still around. I've just been very busy with life's pleasures for the past year or more. I still have some of the propionate pellets. You are welcome to message me if you are looking for some. I hope everyone is doing great, and I do check in every week or so to see who and what is new.

They were all over ebay 4-5 years ago. They would sell them 8, 12, and 20 at a time. Most of them could be bought for $1-$2 each. If you bought a group of 20 you might get 3 styles with 3 colors. Groups of 20 would sell for $15 and never over $35. None of these were ever in a package, no hooks, and the seller would never call them a Thundershad or use the name Awesome Bait Company. I think it was just a way to move some old inventory and turn it back to cash. This seller sold groups every week for about a year straight and them off and on for 2-3 years after that. I saw a few groups on there in the past few months and they were listed the same way. Handmade Balsa Crankbaits would find them. The paint jobs were a dead give away. The last time I saw them they were in smaller groups of 3-5. They still didn't use the names or have a package. Good luck

You should be able to find the VLT in the automotive section of Wal-Mart. Quarts and Gallons. I never found a good quality plastic cup or plastic utensil that would hold up good. They look great and will waterproof but the slightest impact and it shatters like glass.

I have just sent you the invoice. Thanks, David

Sending invoice now. It will be Monday before I can ship but you will have it soon. Thanks, David

bsgorilla, I am sending a paypal invoice now. I can ship it out soon after payment is received, and you will receive a delivery confirmation # when I print your shipping label. Thanks for your request, David

Glad to hear it arrived so fast. Once you get it dissolved and start sealing, I'll be glad to help if you have any questions. Good Luck, David

Charlie, I have just sent you an invoice. Thanks for your request, David

When Propionate is mixed, it is about 5%-10% Propionate pellets and 90%-95% acetone. Anything that would be damaged by a dip into straight acetone would suffer the same effects being dipped into the Propionate solution. That is why it is best to spray 2 thin coats of clear over the painted wood baits before it is dipped for topcoating. This will protect the paint from the acetone. I spray the Propionate as the clear before I dip and it works great. It is dry and ready to dip in about 5 min. from the time I spray the clear prop.

Propionate is an excellent topcoat and it is easy to use/dip. It works great with solvent based paints. All you would need to do is spray a 2 thin coats of clear paint for your final step when painting and then you are ready to start dipping the topcoat. It will etch into and bond to the paint and make a lure will not chip, flake, or peel. Dick Nite is also a great topcoat. Both can be dipped. Cure times are about the same. Propionate can also be used as your wood sealer and it doesn't go bad. Propionate would be a bad choice for guys that are repainting plastic lures.