mark poulson

I soaked both that brush, and another, overnight in the restorer when I first got it, following your advice. I think that's when I accidentally switched the nozzles. I double checked. It is an HP-C+. My mac valve is an aftermarket Iwata valve that I put on my longest air hose, before the quick disconnect, so I can have it on my other brush, too.

I get the 3D effect after the third shot.

Thanks. A friend brought me case of it that he found after it had fallen out a delivery truck. I gave away a lot, but still have a lot left, just gathering sawdust. I'll melt it into sizes I can carve for masters. I think I may pour it into one of the soft silicone swimbait molds I have, and then carve additional detailing into to it, and make a new mold. Hmmm.....

My pleasure. I'm happy to be able to share. Or maybe I just want others to share my addition and pain. As my mother used to say, "Misery loves company".

Several months ago I bought another nozzle for my Iwata HP-C+, the one I use 99% of the time, just in case I had a problem while I was in the middle of a painting session, like always seems to happen. Yesterday, I was having a lousy time with that airbrush. I tried everything I could think of to get it to spray right. I ran acetone through it, broke it down, ran airbrush restorer through it, everything I could think of, including thinning my paint until it was almost water, but nothing helped. Finally, in desperation, I swapped out the nozzle for the new one. What a difference! I had bought the 080-8 replacement nozzle that Iwata lists for that brush. When I installed it, the needle point passed much farther out of it than the old nozzle, so it seems to be a larger nozzle, and it sprays like crazy. I was afraid I'd gotten the wrong nozzle, but I was able to make finer lines with my in-line MAC valve turned down, so the nozzle works. I think I've been spraying with too small a nozzle for years. Or else I accidentally swapped nozzles when I was soaking two different brushes at the same time. Whatever it was, I'm a new man now! And I'll be more careful when I'm soaking brushes not to mix up parts!

Glad to hear it works so well for you on wood. Maybe the resin absorbs a little of the alcohol, and it's released when you heat set the paint. Just a guess. I'm no expert on denatured alcohol...I'm more familiar with the other kind. Hahaha

What type of clay were you using?

John, When are you going to take it for a swim?

That's good to know. Now folks have another alternative for a wood sealer. Thanks.

Jdeee, I haven't tried it over wood, so I can't say. Sorry. You'll have to be the tester for the wood application.

I just posted a picture in the hardbaits gallery of the S Waver, painted in a light rainbow pattern.

The opening in the mouth/top is 2"X6", with radiused ends. The depth from the mouth to the bottom of the light box is 5 7/8". I've been able to hang cranks and lures up to 4 1/2" long, from line tie in the bill to the bottom. That way, I can adjust my hanger wire so I have at least 1/2" clear at the bottom. The insides of the box is very reflective, so the UV bounces around a bit. When I do the longer baits, I'm very careful when I lift them out and rotate them. Once I've done three minutes one way, I turn them upside down and do another three the other way, in case the top part didn't get enough UV's. It doesn't seem to hurt the part that's already cured. The bottom of the nail box, which is part of the throat when I turn it up to use it vertically, is removable, so I can actually cure baits fatter than 2" if I lay the box down with the bottom panel out, and hold the fat bait beneath it for three minutes, again turning it every 30 seconds. With my light box, the baits seem cured after two minutes, but I do three, just to be sure.

Thanks, but I don't pour enough to make buying a mold economical. I'll just play around with other stuff until someone offers them for sale again.

Is that the same as the bars of parafin wax I have in my garage?

Dave, Only the unpainted PVC bait is mine. The other two are S Wavers. If I could paint like that, I'd be...happy! Thanks for all your help. Mark

Thanks. I checked it out, and it's not what I need. Erick, it's a 3/8oz insert. It might work for you.

Thanks fishon, but I'm going to try and make the mojo sinker-type lead work for now. Erick, I was thinking I might use egg sinkers, strung together on a piece of wire to get the weight and location I want. The plastic should hold them once it's cooled, because of their shape, and that way I can move the weights to where I need them. Now that I think of it, I'll probably have to ream the hole bigger and use a small plastic tube instead of a wire, to get a durable hole that's big enough to thread my line through. Hmmmm.....another challenge!

Probably next to your drink glass.

Squirrel, This is a first for me. I've never corresponded with a squirrel before! Hahaha I know, that is weird, especially for a nut like me! Booooo!!! I tried PlastiDip years ago, to coat the handles of some tools, and I was disappointed. It never work well for me. It ran down to the bottom and formed big drips, and the upper part was too thin and fragile. I would never have thought of using it for coating a lure. The Performix Liquid Tape comes in an aerosol spray can. It is sprayed on. I spray it outside, because it has some nasty fumes. I found out about it from Nathan, so it's all his fault if it doesn't work. It comes out like thick paint, doesn't sag unless you put it on too thick, can be recoated after 30 minutes, and dries/cures in 4 hours. I did a thin coat, and then another, and it bonded fine and has held up to casting fine. I haven't been bit on the bait yet, so I don't know how it will hold up to a bass' teeth, but it is very tough and stretchy, and it bonds well. Getting it off places you don't want it is a pain, so take your time, mask well, and use a sharp knife to cut it away from the masking tape, or it will pull itself off the bait. So far, I've only done the one glide bait, but I did turn Butch Brown onto it for repairs to his Deps Swimmers.

Thanks Skeeter. I copied the original as best I could, in shape and size, and in hardware locations and size, to eliminate as many variables as I could. I was working with PVC trimboard, so I knew my bait would be different than the hollow plastic shells of the actual S Waver. But, using the tips in this thread, I "lucked out". Making the two sections sink horizontal, and at the same rate, was the real key, I think (thank you Dave), because it allowed the joint to have minimal friction, so it moves really freely. My bait is 49 grams, compared to 45 grams for the original, so I figured it would sink faster, and I'd have to retrieve it more quickly. But it turns out it falls and swims at the same rate. I plan to paint it and dip it in AC1315 tomorrow, and that will add a little weight, but not enough to alter the bait's action, I think. Fingers crossed! Of course, now that I've "mastered" the glide bait, I'm hot to try my own shapes, more trout-like, but with the same flat ramped chin that I think keeps the baits from sinking on the retrieve. Hahaha

Skeeter, I just did an online search for the difference between acetone and lacquer thinner. Turns out lacquer thinner is a combination of different solvents, including acetone, but, depending on the manuf., can also contain different amounts of some really nasty stuff. So be careful. Turns out acetone isn't as bad for you as some of the other solvents in lacquer thinner. Years ago, another carpenter and I were putting up prefinished 4X8-1/4" sheets of paneling in a big conference room over one weekend. We were using solvent based contact cement, and rolled it onto half a dozen fitted sheets and the drywall they were destined for, so we could make some time with the job. We didn't realized that the building was sealed, and they shut down the ventilation system on the weekends because very few people were there. So we were in a sealed room, breathing the fumes from half a gallon of contact cement we had just rolled out. Short story long we wound up staggering to the elevators, and pushing past the security guards in the lobby to reach fresh air outside. We had to sit on the steps outside for half an hour to sober up. After that, we only did one sheet at a time, and left the doors to the hall and the other offices open. All that is to say be careful.