mark poulson

My first airbrush was a Badger siphon, with a .5 tip, and all it does is work. I use to spray white undercoat when I have a lot of lures to paint, and it never clogs.

Kris, I just posted a Rustoleum/Nail polished plopper in the Hard Baits Gallery.

It's getting to be shad spawn time, so I decided to make a smaller plopper in a shad pattern. It swims and plops even at low speeds.

Wayne, I just pulled my head out of it's usual resting place and ordered one from Amazon. $8, with free delivery!

Not, as AZ Fisher said, not even close. But it is much easier for me to use on jointed baits. When I made and sold jointed swim baits, I'd coat the inside faces of the joints with Devcon 2 Ton, and coat the outside faces with E tex, because I knew that combination would hold up to lots of abuse, and I didn't want unhappy customers. When I topcoat a bait with Rustoleum X2 Clear, the next day I put a coat of clear nail polish over high impact areas, like when hooks swing, or where joint faces meet, to prevent hook rash and chipping. I just finished painting a new 4" whopper plopper I made yesterday, and I sprayed it with two coats of the Rustoleum Clear. Tomorrow I'll put a coat of clear polish on the hook rash belly area, and over the 3D eyes, to make sure they're secure. I am just a hobby builder, so I only have to please myself and the fish. So far, we're both happy.

Smalljaw, Does blade size have any effect on what size clevis to use?

Use whichever one is the right size for your wire diameter. http://www.lurepartsonline.com/s.nl/sc.17/category./.f?search=clevis

I thin only what I'm going to shoot that day. I use Createx 4011 reducer because it keeps the film strength of the paint even when it's thinned, so I don't get the ripples. I always spray thin coats, and heat set/dry between every coat.

Thin your paint with the manuf. recommended thinner/reducer to the consistency of skim milk. More thin coats is better than one thick one, both from the standpoint of drying between coats, and from ease of spraying.

I'm sure you're right. I just stir and read the temp with my infrared thermometer because that is what I have.

If the joints need to stay flexible, I would find a way to mask them. I like the Rustoleum because it goes on thin, and doesn't affect my swimbait's hinges, but I use screw eyes and hinge pins. Even if it gets on the hinges, it's too thin to lock them up. I spray with the bait hanging tail down, and then hang them to dry.

A rattle can spray is what I use. I use Rustoleum X2 Gloss Clear Acrylic, at least two coats. Don't let it lie in contact with soft plastic baits for more than 30 minutes, or it will soften.

What he said!

Good luck. I hope it works out for you.

I've read that, too. What I read was dyes have much finer particles, so they bleed, no matter what.

That is almost exactly the same answer I got on the Coast Airbrush Facebook page. They said I could mix it with any of their paints, and the ratio didn't matter. Thank you again.

I am just a small time hobby pourer, so this might not work for you, depending on how much you plan to pour. I have found that it's difficult for me to heat less than a cup of new plastisol without danger of overheating it. Smaller amounts just seem to go from close to scorched really fast for me. If I'm going to use salt, I add it before I begin heating the first time, because it takes a while for the salt to get hot, too. I also add some heat stabilizer, and any softener or hardener, before I begin the initial heating. I heat it to 350, and then add my glitter/flake. I've found that glitter/flake affects the final color, so I stir it in first. Once it's reached 350, it never has to be reheated that hot again. Finally I add my colorant. By the time everything is stirred in well, the plastisol is too cool to inject, so I put it back in my microwave, and reheat it to 335+-, depending on which mold I'm shooting. Having an infrared thermometer is crucial in letting me heat my plastic without overheating it. Remember, a microwave heats from the middle out, so stir you plastic before you take it's temp. That way you'll get a much more accurate reading. I've found that already cooked plastic is much easier to reheat in smaller amounts. I don't know why. You will "ruin" some plastic. There is no other way to learn. Just take comfort in knowing everyone who pours has done it, and likely more than once. It's kinda like leaving the plug out of your boat, or leaving one of the trailer straps attached when you launch. Everyone has done it.

Thank you.

I found an unopened 16 oz bottle in my garage, that I brought up from SoCal when I moved 4+ years ago. It's no longer offered on Coast Airbrush's Createx pages. What is it for?