mark poulson

You are good. I still can't find it.

Dale, The high gloss I use is the Rustoleum X2 Clear High Gloss as a top coat. I use their X2 White Primer as a base/build coat, because it has a lot of solids/pigment. It is a matte finish. Both of the X2 paints are solvent based, and have to cure 24 hours before fishing, or painting the next coat. I use that white primer when I am not in a hurry, and use a hair dryer to warm it and speed up the cure. I also use Wicked White as a base for some of my paint jobs, because it can be heat set with a hair dryer, and I can finish a paint job in one day. It is fast to apply several coats, heat setting each on, so I can build it up. Then I go over it with Createx Pearl White when I begin my actual paint scheme. Sorry if I wasn't clear before.

It sounds to me like multi cavity molds are a pain to try and pour more than one at a time. I am glad my buddy does the pouring. I do the powder coating, skirt tying, and I build/paint the cranks, but he pours like a fiend!

I like the nail polish because it is light, so I think it doesn't slow down the blade rotation. Since I'm just making baits for myself, I don't mind having to touch up a blade from time to time. I make several at a time, so I can rotate if some polish flakes off of one.

That's the same thing my buddy said about pouring the Arkie and Sparkie molds. We fish mainly 3/8 and 1/2 oz, so he loads two hooks at a time, and says he goes faster than with the multi cavity 3/8 oz football mold. Have you ever tried using magnets to hold your hooks in place?

Well, bad news. My buddy just emailed me to say the same size multi cavity football head molds don't have a number on them. And I was misremembering . The Arkie and Sparkie molds he has are the ones with different sizes. I guess it's just CRS again! I have no clue why they stopped making the same size multi cavity molds, but they did. The only pro series same size multi cavity molds on the Do-It site that I could find now are in the round head jigs. Sorry for raising false hopes.

I wipe them down with acetone, and then coat them with nail polish.

I wonder if making some kind of a cap to put over my open pour swimbait molds so they cool more slowly will cut down on the shrinkage?

I tried one for wood working that had a short hose that clipped on something away from the work piece. I learned pretty quickly not to clip it to my belt behind my back. Memories of last nights beans.

We all judge others by ourselves. That's the only frame of reference we have. People who want custom painted baits either don't know how to do it themselves, or don't want to take the time. Either way, they should know no one works for free, and asking to be paid up front is a reasonable request. If he gets offended he's not a trustworthy customer.

Good luck! It's in your genes!!

So can a person living in CA buy the KBS thinner?

Ted and Mr. B, My pouring buddy is going to check the numbers on the molds and get back to me. I'll share them as soon as he gives them to me. Hazel.

I wait until I'm ready to demold before I remove my respirator. If I can still smell the plastic, I put it back on and run the fan a bit longer. If you can smell it, put the mask back on.

You can try contacting Leonard at Baitjunkys, and ask him to help you figure it out. He is really generous with his knowledge.

The can says 24 hours at room temperature, but it says you can recoat anytime in the first 30+- minutes. I spray a bait lightly outside in front of my garage, wait 10 minutes, and then recoat. If another coat is needed, I wait another 10 and then hit it again. Generally two coats is plenty, because it is really high in solids, so it covers really well. I usually paint mid day or early afternoon, when it's the warmest part of the day. Once I've got my coats on it, I let it hang in my garage to off gas most of the solvent, and then take the bait upstairs and hang it next to my computer overnight . It is ready to paint the next day, but I hit the primed bait with my hair dryer before I start my painting, just in cast there's any solvent left. I've begun using the X2 Gloss as a top coat, and it works really well. I follow the same procedures as with the solvent, including hanging the finished lure inside overnight. I let the bait sit another day before I fish it, just to be sure that it has really cured. I've made quite a few baits with that as a top coat now, and it has held up to a close to 20" striper that bit right at the boat, and bit so hard it bent one of the tines on my #4 KVD short shank treble to the side, like I had T'd the treble. I still use Solarez for my balsa baits, because I think it is a harder finish that protects the soft wood better.

Heat will make water based paints dry faster. I don't ever get my Createx paint hot enough to cause the cross linking that makes it waterproof, like happens when you iron it on T shirts. But my hair dryer dries it much more quickly, so there's not trapped moisture in the individual layers. Heat will also make solvent based paints off gas their solvent faster, and speed up chemical reactions in epoxy. Alcohol is a solvent in the Copic system, so heat should make it set faster. I use a hair dryer to "heat set" solvent based sharpies, so they don't run when they are top coated. I think all it's really doing is driving off all the solvent. Letting the sharpie markings sit overnight in a 70 degree room would probably do the same thing. Solarez has some kind of "tone" solvent in it (it cleans up with acetone), so I'm sure by heating it I am drive off some of that, too. I stopped warming it when I noticed my dips were becoming uneven. And UV eye protection is really important.

Wow, I'll have to check that out!

Their X2 white primer is great, and is solvent based. You need a respirator when you spray it, or do it outside downwind.

I like how I can fan their guards out, so the jigs come through wood better, and they stay fanned.

I'll ask my buddy for the numbers. He pours for me, I make cranks for him.

You do need a respirator, and you should have the fan behind you, blowing the fumes away from you and out the door. Otherwise, your eyes can absorb the fumes. Been there, done that. Home Depot sells a 3M painters mask that has the organic vapors filters you should use. http://www.homedepot.com/p/3M-Medium-Paint-Project-Respirator-6211PA1-A/100653900 The disposable 6001 filters only last for about four hours, and then they need to be replaced, or you'll be inhaling fumes.

Dale, I'm pretty sure the idea to coat the wood before drilling with super glue was Ben's, but I'm happy I could share it and that it works for you. Travis, I use patterns, too. Actually I make my patterns out of the cardboard from the back of a tablet of paper, and coat it with clear lacquer to keep it somewhat stiff. I'm too lazy to make them from wood. I just cut them out with a pair of scissors.

I use gap filling super glue, and fit my LPO weighted belly hangers in tight fitting holes. Once I am sure they go in dry, I coat them with the super glue, and push them back in. The gap filling glue gives me more time to get them positioned, and then I add a drop of accelerant to set them. I've done the same with twist wire hangers, making sure that the glue fills the whole hole, and squeezes out when the twist wire is pushed into it. Super glue is really strong stuff.

I am sure I bought a Do-It Arky jig mold with multiple 1/2 oz cavities, and now I don't find it on their website. Am I misremembering?