Luretrekker

You should definetifly wear a respirator...otherwise you will recognize that the fumes are not good for your health...irritated mucous membranes in the throat, your eyes and in your nose will be the first signs without protection. I'm currently using a 3M Mask, but I'm still not sure which is really the right filter to get full protection. Does anybody know which filters to use from 3M to get a proper protection??

I think there are two origins of bubbles in a mold. 1. Bubbles generated during mixing of the resin. They will of course be somewhere in the mold. 2. Bubbles which emerge by air that is getting encolsed in the mold during pouring...for example in a fine detail where air gets trapped. Another thing I was thinking about is if a blank with a high proportion of microsperes is able to produce bubbles under the clear coat either. Would be interesting how stable these microspheres are before they explode and degas under heat... So vibrating the mold would prevent bubbles with origin 2. The best way to prevent bubbles with origin 1 would be prepare the mixed resin under vacuum...this pulls the bubbles out of the mix. But this would presume a long curing time for the resin...otherwise it will cure under the vacuum...

A-Mac, I made the experience: The longer the blanks are degassing (some did over weeks because of no time) the better was the paint stucking without bubbles under the clear.

This is a really interesting topic, because every lurebuilder who is working seriously with resin molded baits will have exactly the problems you guys mentioned. I had some problems with bubbles in the beginning...and still there arise some bubbles here and there, but I restrict potential bubbles into areas of the mold with no detail where I can fix the holes afterwards whit resin again and sand it down. I'm positioning the mold in a way the bubble collect in the area whith minimal work after curing. I alwas make a check for hidden bubbles by through-lighting the blanks with a strong light source..it helps finding potential bubbles to fill them. For me bubbles are the thing I really hate...its the worst thing and everything else than lurebuilding fun...but it has to be fixed to get a perfect product at the end. The other thing...with bubbles or hidden bubbles which expand under our topcoat and paint in the heat is also tricky. As rookie said it worked for me either to let the pieces cure for a longer time and let them gas out. I was thinking about heating them, but never tried it until now...this will be the next thing I will try.

Bob, first I like your through-wire construction! I'm afriend of tough wired baits. In my opinion your problem is concerned with the shape of the lure...your swimbait tail section makes a bow. This causes lacking area in the ventral "belly" section of the bait- This area is important to get the lure running...maybe you should try adding putty. Good luck