mark poulson

Keakar, I think he has the Do-It Essentials molds, which are sand cast, instead of machined. They all produce a rougher/sand finished bait.

I once left a plastic salsa cup of homemade "salsa picante" on the motor cover of my van overnight. When I found it the next morning, the plastic had softened and sagged. So I'm always vigilant when I use them for mixing. But I never mix more than a quarter salsa cup at a time, and wipe the cup out with alcohol when I'm done. That said, I don't use epoxy that often any more. If I used it all the time, I'd get a silicone mixing cup, like the NorPro measuring cups use to melt soft plastics.

Try spraying the cavities with a cooking oil spray, like PAM.

Too much salt can make baits grainy and weak. Look at how easily senko's break, and what they look like inside.

Did you mix baits from different materials, like elaztech (Z-Man), or add in some Power Baits?

Lurepartsonline sells circut board for making bills. It also works really well, especially on shallow divers. http://www.lurepartsonline.com/Online-Store/Lure-Lips-Bills-Bibs/12x12-Fiberboard-Sheets-1-sq-Foot.html

Try using POP, with a little yellow carpenter's glue added for strength, to make hard masters that you can then use to make additional RTV silicone molds. Seal the hard master with something like diluted epoxy before you make the silicone molds.

Ask this question in the Soft Baits Forum

I do the same thing to my .035" R bend spinnerbaits with 26 gauge wire, and coat it with gap filling super glue. My spinnerbaits don't open up after a good fish, and they seem to vibrate just fine. I get bit on them. I bought some twist wire .045" 5/8 oz spinnerbaits, and the heavier wire doesn't seem to vibrate as much.

Does grout sealer make the POP waterproof?

A word to the wise: Consumption of alcoholic beverages DOES NOT qualify as detoxing.

I made a mold using Solarex UV dual cure resin, designed for surfboard repair, and it didn't warp. Maybe it's because of the UV cure, so there's no "hot" catalyst.

Bondo is strong, and it doesn't shrink. To make the cavities smoother and stronger, coat them with runny super glue.

Thanks Mike. The friend who gave it to me said the same thing.

Do you folks know who made this crank? My friend bought it for me several years ago, but I forgot what brand it is. Doh!!! Thanks in advance.

I guess the plus for the silicone mixing cup is that it is reusable forever, so no plastic or foil waste.

Did you use a solvent based primer, like a rattle can primer?

I do it as a hobby, too. I understand wanting to try to get as close as possible, so you don't waste either plastic or mold making material. If you want to get close, weigh some similar baits, and then weigh 4 oz. of plastic. Figure out how many similar baits it takes to weigh 4 oz. You'll have to subtract some for the sprue, and there will be a little waste anyway, but that should get you close. It is not an exact science. Be prepared to fail. We all do. If you make a mold with too many cavities for your injector, you can always eliminate some cavities until you get it right. Remember, perfect is the enemy of good.

I usually make 6 cavities for smaller baits, with individual sprues. That way, if I run out of plastic, there will still be some baits that are good. If you're making a one sprue/multi-cavity mold, I'd probably only do 4 cavities with a 4 oz. injector. If it's still too much for your injector to fill, you can always block off one cavity at a time, until it pours right.

Could the MCU need to be thinned?

Since you're the one who turned me on to Airbrush Restorer, I'll give the acetone backflush a try. Thanks.

This is a confession. I am lazy. I thought I had a really good air brush cleaning system that was fast and easy. I typically backflush my air brush with clean water after each color during each painting session. I do a final backflush when I'm done for the day, using first Windex and then water/dish washing liquid soapy water, wipe down the needle, and then shoot some more soapy water through the brush before I hang it up until the next time. I only paint once a month or so, whenever I get the urge to make a bait, so my air brush sits in my hot garage a lot. I've never had it work so well that painting wasn't a struggle. After having to paint with high pressure only in my last painting session, I decided to do a thorough cleaning. Last night I shot and backflushed some Createx Airbrush Restorer, and then broke the air brush down completely and soaked the parts overnight in the Restorer. This morning I went back down into the garage to finish the cleaning and reassemble the air brush. As I removed each part from the Restorer, I used Q-tips and a fine wire to clean each individual part, blowing air through each part as I went along. I have never been this thorough in my cleaning process. Wow! The amount of old paint I removed with the thorough cleaning process was amazing. It was like blowing your nose when that sinus problem finally clears up. I have never seen that much old paint in my brush before, but, then again, I've never been that thorough before. I won't make that mistake again. The air brush shoots so well now, with a full spread spray instead of one side or the other being heavier, I'm inspired to paint again soon. And I just broke down my other Iwata HP-C brush and put it in the Restorer to soak until tomorrow. So "don't neglect your earmuffs, Mr. Longbottom". This may be old news to you guys, but it was a real eye opener for me.

I've tried to use the tap brush method, and even dropped a pinch of powder paint over the heated spinnerbait head. I learned pretty quickly I'm not Smalljaw or Cadman. Grrr!!! I use Rustoleum Etching primer (thank you Ted) on my spinnerbait heads, and then paint them with Createx and an artist's brush, heat setting each color before I add the next. I found I have much better control doing it that way, and get decent results. I top coat with clear nail polish, and it holds up really well.

One more time, you make it look easy. A word of warning. Don't try and use Glo Nation powder instead of power paint. You'll melt the lead before you get the Glo paint to stick. Don't ask me how I know. Hahaha

You know you've been living on the edge for a long time! Hahaha