mark poulson

I would say it depends on the mold. It won't hurt the mold to try it. If it comes out of the mold okay, you're in good shape. A release agent, like spray PAM, might help. Be sure you really dry out the POP (oven set at 170 for half an hour with the door ajar) before you try and remove it from the mold. You might even make the POP stronger by mixing in a little white carpenter's glue.

They do, but I can't remember where to get them.

I found them here: http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/VMC_Short_Shank_Round_Bend_1X_Treble_Hooks_7pk/descpage-VMCSSRB.html

When I want a smaller weed guard, I split the 1/8" guard in two with an exacto knife, and glue it into the 1/8" hole.

I use the Harbor Freight blasting sand for my injected ES mold senkos. I have a BT injector, and I spray the inside of the injector with PAM every time I clean it to reload. I hear the sand moving down the injector as I push the plastic through, but I haven't had any noticeable wear on the O rings....yet.

Frank, Do you heat the plastic initially to 350, to get it to "kick over", before you let it cool a little and add your colors?

Gary, I actually only coated some old Poe's bills that had been assembled wrong. I used a heat gun to soften the bills and twist them so they were level to the crossways center line of the baits, and then dipped both the bills and the baits in Solarez. I hoped the resin would add some strength to the bill material, in case the heating and twisting had weakened them. They have held up for more than a year. When I dipped those baits, I put a paper clip through the line tie and used that to hold them in the resin when dipping. Afterwards, I use the same paper clip to hold the baits while they dripped off back into my dipping jar. Once the baits had stopped dripping, I cleaned the last drop off of the bottom, made sure the hook hangers were clear, grabbed the belly hanger with some forceps, removed the paper clip and cleaned out the line tie, then put a clean paper clip into the line tie, and used that to suspend the bait in the UV light box until it was cured. I was able to clean off any cured resin that got into the line tie afterwards using some fine pliers to break it, and then cleaned up with a piece of sst wire chucked in my cordless drill.

The purpose of adding weight to a lipped crank bait is to make the bait bottom heavier so it is stable and stays upright on the retrieve, and to adjust the front to back center of gravity to achieve the side to side (X ing) action that you want. If your bait runs true and has good action without added ballast weight, more power to you.

I use a UV nail light box to cure my baits, or the sun, and there is no tackiness. Hard and strong. Maybe your light isn't the right light.

I would use a tip shared here on TU to warm your resin in hot water, to get it to flow more. Then you can dip it (with the doors and windows closed and covered so there is no UV light penetration) over the dipping jar, and let it drip back until it stops. That way you'll get a thin, even coating, so it doesn't add too much weight to your balsa bait, and you can check it as it drips for any problems with coverage. Brushing a little more onto any bare spots won't hurt, because it will flow down and blend smoothly. Once the drips stop, blot the last bit off the bottom of the bait with a paper towel, and then hang it in a UV light until it cures (approx. 3 minutes). If a drip does accumulate on the bottom while it's under the UV light and harden, you can file it off once it's hard, and sand it smooth. Good luck, and let us know how it turns out.

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Thanks.

I go with door #2. And be sure to get a plastic that has been degassed.

I have a drawer full of stuff I tried as colorants when I first started pouring, like my kids' old crayons, and candle wax colors. I learned pretty quickly it's much easier and safer to just use the colorants sold by the various plastisol suppliers, because they are designed for soft plastic baits. They actually work and the results are consistent and repeatable.

I would only add a very light overspray of black on the back, thinned so it's almost transparent, and done in really light coats, so you can quit when you hit what you want. Otherwise, you baits look great as they are!

Cory, Welcome to the Dark Side! As for the airbrush kit, all I can say it, like fishing tackle, the more you pay, the better the equipment is. Cheap air brushes (I own several) are not as well made, and can make painting very problematic. If you are just starting, I don't want you to get discouraged because you can't get the results you want, and give up. Buy a decent air brush, so that won't be a weak link in your system. Get a gravity fed brush, so it's easy to load and clean. Learn to keep it clean all the time, not just once in a while. The paint passages in an air brush are really small, and can get clogged up easily, making painting a nightmare. A compressor with an air tank will let you paint with a consistent air pressure. Cheap ones like from Harbor Freight are fine. Get a longer hose, so you aren't constantly catching it on something and spilling paint. Get a combination regulator and moisture separator to put inline before your air brush. That way, your paint will stay clean, and you can adjust your air pressure. Start with dedicated air brush paints, because they are meant to be shot through an air brush. Practice on a piece of white cardboard, so you can see how the air brush works and sprays, and on a piece of PVC pipe, so you can get a feel for painting on a curved surface, which can be wiped off after each practice session. Then go for it!

Crankbait 101 has always been rounder body equals more roll. If you combine that with raising the ballast, you should have a winner. If you try to get roll with a flat sided crank, you'll be fighting the water pressure on the flat sides, which tend to keep it from rolling. I've gotten tall bluegill spybaits to quiver on the fall by raising 1/3 of the ballast above the bait's centerline, but it only quivers on the fall or a very slow retrieve.

I'm having trouble finding mono that is heavy enough. I only need a leader length, not 100 yds. I'm thinking 100lb test would work, but I may be thinking too heavy. Any idea what test I should use? I have it up to 30lb, but it's too soft.

Be sure to take all the safety steps so you don't wind up with lead poisoning, or contaminate you house. I'm sure that info is here somewhere, in the search feature.

Dave, since when did not making sense become a disqualifying offense? Hahaha

Where did you find that info about what colors fish see in different colored water?

I'm looking for a fine wire to use for my weedless wacky hooks. Anyone here have an idea what to use, and/or a source? I used to use the Matzuo 3/0 with the wire guard, but they don't sell them anymore. Thanks in advance.

Will hitting the lure with a hair dryer, or some other gentle heat source, speed up the curing?

Could you coat the rough mold with the same engine enamel as Skimpy used to smooth his Essential molds?

Etex can be recoated easily, because the second coat will bond to the first. I've been successful fixing drips by filing them down even with the rest of the topcoat, hitting them with #400 wet and dry sandpaper to get rid of most of the file marks, wiping the whole bait down with denatured alcohol, and then adding my second coat of Etex. I always did two coats anyway, because it goes on so much thinner than D2T, and it's more flexible once it's cured. Epoxy doesn't like fingerprints, or any kind of oil contamination, so wearing plastic gloves, like the cheap nitril glove you can buy at a pharmacy, and wiping the baits down with denatured alcohol before you coat goes a long way toward eliminating fish eyes (places where the epoxy has pulled away as it cured, leaving a bare spot). I used to mix my Etex in a clear salsa cup from the Mexican takeout near me, heat it with a hair dryer after it's mixed to make it more runny, and then gently roll it around in the cup, so the bubble could get to the surface and burst. Lastly, the reason you get more bubbles on your last bait may be because you have accumulated air in the brush, and it's being pulled out as you apply the epoxy. Try cleaning the brush by wiping it against the edge of the epoxy cup, so all the epoxy with the bubbles is sqeezed back out into the cup. Reheat and remove those bubbles, and then coat the last bait. The Etex should still be spreadable, and the heat will make it more runny again.