mark poulson

I just want to say it is really cool that you both share your equipment and techniques with us home pourers! Fascinating!!! Thanks.

I've experienced the same thing. It began over the holidays when TU got hit by a spam invasion, or something, according to Jerry. I think some kind of Trojan horse program must be running on the site at the same time as the regular program, and eating up computing power from the server. But, then again, I'm a carpenter, so what do I know?!! Maybe they need to get a bigger hammer! Hahaha It's been a little better the last few days for me, but it's still like when I first got the internet and had to wait for everything to load. Sloooooow.

If I were you, just starting out, I'd start with Solarez as a top coat, instead of epoxy. It is quick and easy, and works. Check out the threads here.

Great read! Thanks.

Air brushes that have Teflon seals are not ruined by cleaning with acetone.

I use a similar method for the pin holes in my swim baits. I put the right sized bit into the drill press, and move a flat piece of wood with a cut off brad around on the drill press bed until the bit comes down onto the cut off brad, and clamp it in place. Then I mark both sides of my bait sections with a awl where I want the holes, put one of the awl dents onto the cut off brad, and drill the first half of the hole. Then I turn the bait section over, set the drilled hole over the brad, and drill down through the second awl dent until the hole meets the first half. They always align, but I do run the bit all the way through once I've drilled both halves.

I use 1/4" lead wire that I bought by the lb. from Cabela's, years back. Here's the link: http://www.cabelas.com/product/Fishing/Terminal-Tackle/Weights%7C/pc/104793480/c/104779980/sc/104685480/Hollow-Core-Lead-5-lb-Roll/1372292.uts?destination=%2Fcatalog%2Fbrowse%2Ffishing-terminal-tackle-weights%2F_%2FN-1100373%2FNs-CATEGORY_SEQ_104685480%3FWTz_l%3DSBC%253BMMcat104793480%253Bcat104779980&WTz_l=SBC%3BMMcat104793480%3Bcat104779980%3Bcat104685480 It's handy, because 1/8" of the wire weighs 1 gram, which makes matching my test weights easier.

I spoke too soon. It is much slower this afternoon. Maybe it needs a nap. I know I do.

I use a drop or two of runny super glue to seal/strengthen the wood around and inside my hardware holes, and then epoxy in twist wires.

For some reason, it wasn't there when I scrolled down last time, but it is now. Thanks.

Where do I find Tutorials?

It's actually a lot faster today. No up to speed yet, but much better.

I agree. I had to drill out some ballast after I coated two swimbaits, and found the top coat added 3 grams. The Solarez drilled really easily, and didn't chip. I have had to clean it off hook hangers, and it is a pain. That's why I hang whatever I coat for five minutes+-, to let whatever wants to drip drip, so I can clean it off with a paper towel and then hang it in the UV lights.

All of the rattle trap-type baits I use have either a flat "forehead" or it is slightly concave cupped. The forehead of a rattle bait acts line the diving bill, due to the location of the line tie. So it seems to me that having a forehead that catches the water, as opposed to how a curved shape allows the water to pass easily over the bait, causes the lure to stay at whatever depth you let it fall to, and enhances the side to side wiggle. I use a concave forehead on my three piece swimbaits, so they stay down more easily on a fast retrieve.

I want to say something to guys just starting out, or who are still struggling to find the "perfect" top coat. Over the years, I have gone through a bunch, from rattle cans to epoxies to urethanes. You can probably find me posting on every top coat thread for the entire time I've been a member here, trying to find the right one for me. If I had found Solarez when I first started, I would have saved myself a load of time and money. Solarez is very user friendly. In coating your baits, remember, incandescent lights and regular fluorescent lights don't put out enough UV to initiate the curing in Solarez, so do your coating indoors, and then either put the lures in a UV light or take them outside and let them cure. The smell and fumes are minimal. I work in my garage, with the big door open, and don't use a fan while I coating. I have a hanging area on my work bench, with three layers of paper towels beneath it to collect any drips, where I hang my dipped and brushed lures before I cure them in the UV light. The drips on the paper towels are still soft and gooey the next day, so the interior lighting doesn't have enough UV to make it set. That gives me plenty of time to make sure the lure has stopped dripping, which it does, and to clean up any excess that's built up on the bottom hook hanger, or bottom edge of my swim bait sections. You can clean your brushes, tools, and hands with acetone when you're done. I use a nail light box turned with the mouth facing up. I cover the light box when it's on with a paper towel to protect me from the UV light, and wear UV protected sun glasses when I'm loading and turning the lures if the light is on. This may be overkill, but I have had protein growths in both eyes from working in the sun with no UV protection, so I'm careful. I haven't made any lures for toothy critters for a long time, so I don't know how Solarez holds up for them, but, so far, it's held up to largemouth and big stripers with no problems. I hope this helps you decide to try it, and, no, I am not sponsored by Solarez.

Castncall, Put some paper towels under your lures when you put them in the tanning bed, just in case. Solarez sets rigid, so I doubt it will work on "soft" plastics, unless they are truly rigid to begin with. Biggamefish, I cure my four piece swimbaits in sections, and then assemble them. This stuff cures really fast, and doesn't need to be turned. Just coat it, let it hang over your work bench for a minute or two, remove any drips or bottom buildups with a paper towel, clean out the hook hangers, and then, once it's stopped any accumulations and dripping, put it under the UV light for three minutes, turning it every thirty seconds. Solarez seem to take enough of an initial set while hanging over my bench to let me clean up any bottom drips, edge buildups, and hook hanger closures before I hand it in my nail light box, without further sagging in the light box. Joetheplumber, I don't know how it holds up to sharp teeth, but it doesn't "run away" from the edges of my lures. It is viscous enough, like honey, to stay on the edges. Crzyjunyer, I hang my lures after I've either dipped them or brush coated them to drip off the last of the excess. I use a paper towel to remove any drip or build up on the bottoms of the lures. Once it's stopped accumulating, I put the lure into the nail light box. Like you, I brush it on larger pieces that I can't dip, and it works great. The first time I did it, I worked too fast, like I was dealing with D2T, so I wound up with uncoated areas, but I was able to apply a dab more over the dry spots and it filled in fine. After that, I realized that I had enough working time to brush it out really well, using a 3/8" artists fine bristle brush, and the results have been great.

I find that the cheaper nail polish yellows over time, the Sally Hansen not so much. I'm guessing it's not designed for long outdoor exposure, but more like for hours under fluorescent lights in an office. I know my daughters change their polish long before it gets a chance to yellow.

Nail polish with glitter in it seems to lay down better for me. Maybe it's the heavier body of the polish, I don't know exactly, but it works for me.

The main reason I won't add glitter to the Solarez is that I don't want anything to potentially weaken my top coat. While it's an extra step to add a glitter coat first, I still think it's a better way to go than adding it to the Solarez top coat.

Maybe the recent spam attack left a residual Trojan horse of some kind that is slowing down the site, or some other kind of "infection".

I got mine here: http://www.solarez.com/productsnew/gloss.html

I would try mixing the glitter into some clear moisture cure urethane and applying it first. Once its dry, you can coat with Solarez. That way, you don't mess up a bunch of Solarez experimenting. Even the flake in boat paint schemes has a clear over it.

Short term, you can put clear Sally Hansen Hard as Nails polish on the area where your hooks swing. It works. Long term, the Solarez seems to be tougher than D2T so far, but hard enough to cut down on hook rash. I have started turning my hook hangers 90 degrees, so all my trebles can hang with the belly facing hooks to the side. That cuts down on hook rash, too.

It's maddeningly slow for me, too. I agree with Ben. If it's a money issue, we members need to chip in and help resolve it. Jerry, maybe you should revisit membership fees, or some kind of an upgrade charge. Maybe a vanity fund, where we can donate, and receive a medal of valor, along with coupons for nothing. Hahaha