KelpKritter

Looks like I’ll go with the paints from spike-it. Hopefully I’ll have my new molds made in the next two weeks. Looking forward to trying something new. Thanks for the help. DaveB.

I spend most of my time making hard baits and multi-color soft plastic pours. I am in the process of making two new soft plastic swimbaits that I want to paint after the pours. The only soft plastic paints I can find are the ones from Spike-it. Impressions on that paint, if you use it, or other recommendations would be appreciated. Thanks, DaveB.

Mark, I have found, at least so far, that I prefer the AC1315 much better than the GST concrete sealers for hardness and issues of curing fully on my hardbaits. Although I was having some issues with the GST not fully curing on a number of baits of different color schemes I have had a few issues with the AC1315 but only with Createx and Folk Art Pearl Whites. I also had a plastic swimbait that came in contact with a bait with one of these brands white color and had the plastic start to melt but I caught it after only a few days. It was not melting into the hardbait at the color change. When I get a little more time I want to do some more specific testing to see if I can isolate the problem. DaveB.

For some form of reference I can de-mold, insert all components for new bait, mix and pour resin in roughly 15 minutes and essentially have a bait ready to paint. The slot "pins" integrated into the mold made s HUGE difference in appearance and time saving. DaveB. KelpKritter

This was my least favorite and hardest part to get right when I was using wood and PVC to shape my jointed swimbaits. When I changed to resin I incorporated the slots into the mold and they are clean and perfect every time. My method was to take a piece of schedule 40 PVC pipe and ripped it lengthwise on the table saw. Once I had a two foot long section of now crescent shaped pipe I slowly heated it with a heat gun and when it became pliable I pressed it between two sheets of plywood and let it cool. Now I had a flat piece to work with. I then ripped the flat stock to the desired width. Then moving to the bandsaw I cut small sections to fit the mold. Before the mold was cast in RTV I cut the slots in the master with a Dremel bit, inserted the PVC, and filled any gaps or imperfections around the area with filler. Now I was ready to pour the mold. Once the new mold had cured I removed the PVC from the master and could then use them in the mold with a little Vaseline brushed on. After pouring the resin and having it set up the PVC pulls right out. My molds hold everything to make the final bait including tow eye, ballast, hinge screw eyes, hinge slot "pins", and the hinge pin as well as a "key" to make the tail slot. Once poured and removed from the mold all that needs to be done prior to painting is sanding the parting lines and adding the tail. DaveB. KelpKritter

Sprayed eight baits but have not been able to doing any testing. The coats go on super thin so I sprayed them all once, went back and sprayed them again and repeated the process for three sessions about 24 hours apart. They still do not have the same thickness as a dipped bait so we will have to see how they hold up. One advantage is I do not have to worry one bit about cleaning up a drip edge and what I found to be somewhat problematic because that little spot always seemed softer than the rest of the bait. Hopefully going to throw the baits a little this coming weekend. DaveB. KelpKritter

Mark, I have been following the other thread and it looks interesting as well. One thing about GST that I had a problem with is the little excess on the drip edge of the bait always had a little extra material even after wiping away because it is so thin. After s couple of coats that remained soft even after extended cute times. This resulted in a number of baits sticking together at the joint. This ruined a few baits. I still have about 120 ounces of GST and have eight baits to finish so I am going to try a few things to keep learning about it. DaveB. KelpKritter

Wanted to add some info from my recent experience with GST. When I first used it earlier this year it went on great dipping as it was water thin. I stored a smaller amount in a sealed canning jar that I dipped the baits in. After a short reprieve from lure building early in the summer I did a batch of baits and at the time was attributing the issues I had with the heat of summer. Baits were becoming tacky almost immediately and not flowing out as easily. I thought the heat was causing them to start setting up even faster than before. Well after opening my jar the other night to dip some baits the GST was hard enough that I would never be able to dip a bait again. I believe what happened over time was the jar began to attain a higher viscosity as the material was exposed and dripped back into the jar in the steady, but thin stream. By repeatedly doing this the material was beginning to set and ultimately over time the whole jar began to harden. Has anyone else seen their concrete sealers react like this? I have only used about 8 ounces out of the gallon jug I have and it only has affected the smaller container as the gallon jug is like new still. DaveB. KelpKritter

So I had a buddy who asked me to repaint a Savage Gear jointed swimbait and agreed knowing I had two options to clear coat it based on my resourses and experience. Because I dip all of the swimbaits I make in individual pieces in GST before assembly I knew my only option with this bait was to spray it on. My testing of brushing the GST was not good as it flashes so quickly I was dragging through the paint leaving obvious marks in the paint. My other option was to brush on Solarez. My preference is the GST so I went ahead and bought a $12.00 Adjustable Mini Touch Up Spray Gun from Harbor Freight to see if it would do the job. My biggest concern was cleaning the gun and whether on not I would clog the tip because it flashes off pretty quick from my experience dipping and trying to brush. Well it cleaned up just fine and it sprayed one bait just fine. The only issue I had was seeing a little ball of the GST starting to form at the spray nozzle when I took it apart to clean. Seems like it would be easy to pull away while spraying if needed. The finished results look promising. The coats go on a lot thinner than dipping and I am not sure how many I will ultimately put on. The downside is the excessive overspray so there is some waste. This is not a method you would necessarily want to use for a single bait. I see using the sprayer when I have a lot of baits ready and can whip through them using the spray gun in a minute. As I finish the bait over the next couple of days with more coats I will let you know how it goes. DaveB. KelpKritter

The Rapala is a Magnum. Marketed as a saltwater bait it has been around for years and can still be purchased new today at most major retailers. DaveB. KelpKritter

Ben, I did not even think about YouTube. To much technology around me that I forget to use it sometimes! DaveB. KelpKritter

Did a search for any info on techniques for painting a fur effect that you would find on a rat or mouse bait and came up with nothing. Does someone who has painted with this style care to share how they get that look. I am wanting to blend two colors to get get that hairlike appearance. Thanks, DaveB. KelpKritter

Same deal in California, I could only get the low VOC. Works well for what I do. I do not see any Maryland dealers on the GST website but you might call some other vendors and see if that version can be shipped to your location.

Matt, Like I mentioned in one of our PM's if it is not fully cured, in my experience a couple of weeks, it will stick to things even if it appears fully dry. The first bait I used after curing for a couple of days stuck the the gunwale of the boat after a day of fishing when I left it there to dry before putting it back in the tackle box. It felt totally hard and dry before fishing the bait. On the other hand I left a few finished baits to cure for a couple of weeks on the rack and two have now been sitting on their side on a table for a couple of months and they did not stick on bit. Not sure what the magic time frame for curing is but be sure to not let multiple baits or bait segments come in contact with each other to quickly or they will stick like magnets.

I would have to check on recommendations as to humidity levels but the air temps have been right in the middle of the optimal range. The thing that makes ease of application so great with the GST is that letting the bait drip for a few seconds and then dabbing the last drip that won't fall off on it's own literally takes just a few seconds. If you you wait much longer than that you will pull the GST from the bait because it starts to become tacky almost immediately. I can't see any value in putting the baits on a turner. I just finished a dozen baits, some of which I will be packaging and others that I will fish this weekend, so I will have a batch to do some more experimenting with. It is just odd that the baits are clearly dry but have a tendency to "stick" to things they are touching, especially themselves.

Making four piece jointed swimbaits and my first on the water experience went really well with the baits I tested. However I am noticing a problem that seems to be confined to one area of the baits. It appears that the end of the piece that has the drip on it is significantly softer than the rest of the bait. Even after dabbing off the final excess and letting the pieces cure for a few days some of the pieces easily stick together when they come in contact with one another after final assembly of the baits. The baits are dry to the touch but soft in feel. I have one bait that has been curing for two weeks and at one hinge the pieces still stick together when they touch. I also had a bait that I fished that is hard and is clearly dry but it stuck to the gunwale of the boat when I left it overnight. I popped it off and the finish was not harmed but it makes me wonder what will happen if I store a bunch of baits together in the box I throw them in. Thanks for the heads up. DaveB. KelpKritter

Been trying to find a creative way to get some GST or Eagle brand solvent based sealer to my home in the ever increasing land of a million rules that is California. Could not find anything at the big box stores and could not get it shipped so I assumed it was simply not available here. Lo and behold I looked at GST's website and found a local dealer in the masonary field and they carry the High Gloss Solvent Based Lacquer. Only downside is it is roughly twice as much as it is being bought for at places like Menards in the midwest. Either way, looking forward to giving it a go as none of the topcoats I have used, outside DN's, resists chipping on the edges of the joints on my four piece swimbaits. Hoping for good results. DaveB. kelpKritter

I agree with Tater Hog on this one. My buddy caught a 11 pound 7 ounce calico bass on a 5" plastic swimbait. Anything over 10 pounds is considered a real trophy and this fish would be considered a fish of a lifetime. The crazy thing about this catch was that the big calico was still digesting a one and a half pound calico measuring approximately 14''. The smaller fish still had it's tale sticking out of the bigger fishes mouth when it ate the bait. The swimbait was probably a 20th the size of the fish already in it's throat. I have never fished for muskies but I assume it is probably a pretty opportunistic feeder considering all the things it will eat. When I am trophy hunting I start with big baits but sometimes big baits just won't get bit so we have to downsize. DaveB. KelpKritter

After a bit of a hiatus from building my resin jointed swimbaits for anyone but myself I am back in the game a bit as I have had a good number of requests for the baits to be available again. With that said I am pouring a good number of baits to offer soon to those who have asked. Like many of you I am always looking for the optimal painting and top coating option for the home builder. The saltwater calico bass that we target with these baits have a nasty set of sharp, heavy grit sandpaper like teeth that definitely leave a mark. I have used a number of topcoats and inevitably there is always a failure. I have talked to pro-staffers and tackle store owners in SoCal who are intimately involved with some of the major swimbait players and two themes seem to always come up. First, the topcoat is always the biggest challenge for bait makers that are not at a corporate level using whatever it is they use. Second, even the most popular jointed baits have trouble keeping sharper edges at the joints free from chipping and other wear. Both of these are frequently talked about here and we would all wish to avoid these issues. I have used MCU's, epoxies, etc. over water based acrylics and some baits have held up better than others with epoxy finishes being out, at least for me. Following is a Facebook post and picture of one of my baits finished with epoxy. This is what remained of my Kelp Kritter bait after a recent trip to Clemente. Dave makes a great bait and after 2 straight hours of non stop 4-6lb fish, including doubles and near triples, the bait was destroyed yet still swimming straight and catching fish. Good times! I have never had an MCU bait get nearly that beat up. So here is the question and what I am considering after reading up some more here and visiting the local Sherwin Williams Automotive and talking with their paint tech. Using a adhesion promotion product like Bulldog they then recommended a flexible solvent based primer. The rationale was that they would etch into each other and the adhesion promotor into the bait giving a solid base. The resin bait is pretty slick even when scuffed first. The use of of the water based acrylics would not be an issue. Finally, I am going to give the solvent based concrete sealer a go and if I am not satisfied will go back to Dick Nites, which has given me the best finished product. The downside to this approach is what seems like a higher cost as the Bulldog runs $27.00 for a single aerosol can and a quart of the primer is $53.00. Probably get a good number of baits from the primer but not sure about the aerosol can of Bulldog. Any thoughts or experience with similar products would be great. Thanks, Dave B. KelpKritter

I live a bit inland from Mark, but essentially the same locale and I have not had any issues with hazing on my baits wheter they are dark or light color schemes. I specifically paint a majority of my baits with darker shades; black, green, and a number of shades of brown. Not sure what the issues of hazing are linked to, but they are not a problem for me. DaveB.

Not sure where the original packaging is stuffed away in my garage. The product is 3M and is just a simple return mailing label for postage. If I run across the packaging I will let you know the specifics.

I use transparent label paper to sign my baits and have never had an issue with DN or epoxy based finishes. Not 100% sure but I believe the printer I use from work is an inkjet and I have had no problems with the ink running or anything like that. Best bet, as I did, is to print some labels and do some testing. Not terribly expensive to give it a go and it ends up being very consistent and easy once you have your font size and location on the label perfected. Plus you can make a ridiculous number of labels from a single sheet. DaveB.

A couple of stainless pins set vertically in the rear of the lip should be more than secure enough to keep the lip in place. You could also incorporate a few small holes in the lip for the resin to set in. I have pins keys in my mold to set the slots where the screw eyes seat on my jointed swimbaits. Using the Aeromarine resin I could easily remove the pins. My first few baits molded with the Dascar RP-40 take a lot of effort to remove the pins even coated with petroleum jelly. Seems pretty strong without anything added so I would think there would be a pretty strong bond.

A-mac, I read your recent post about the oily residue which prompted my questions about the new resin since I had never used it before. From what I have seen the Dascar product is much harder initially out of the mold and is very dry. I used the Aeromarine resin for close to two years and noticed differences when the baits came out of the molds but was not pouring consistently enough to put the changing weather conditions into the equation for possible reasons for the oily surface that I got at different times. Even though I still have some of the Aeromarine resin, one part's viscosity was changing and the baits became harder to pour and the material became more like a foam, expanding nearly double in volume. Now I have to swim the baits to see what properties may have changed and make the appropriate adjustments to fine tune the pouring process.

Just received the RP-40 resin today and cast a few pieces and really like the way they came out. Using the same ratios as I was with the resin from AeroMarine the pieces weigh virtually the same but the sink rate is much quicker with the Dascar product. I will have to fool around a bit to see what adjustments I need to make. My question for those of you that use this resin is how long are you letting the blanks cure before painting and clearing the bait? Are there any other tricks you have found useful prior to painting? I found with the AeroMarine resin that there was a greasy feel to the cast pieces and they need a good deal of time to "dry" and then they were cleaned with denatured alcohol before the painting process. Even then there were times where the paint would bubble after the bait was completed. Hoping for good results as I move forward with this new product and the Solarez I have been fooling around with.