captsully18

Bester, yes you can. But clean up is a b***h, and there is really no need to airbrush it. It goes on quite smoothly and is self leveling. However the bait does need to be turned for 45 min to 1 hr. David

What Dean said! He's the man that knows. David

Dick Nites is the easiest, clearest, hardest hands down. David

Musky, not sure I can adequately answer your question, but here goes. The first thing you need is a good master or buck. You use this to make your silicone mold. You can make a one piece mold or a two piece mold. The one piece mold is the quickest. I do this by gluing the master to a piece of plexiglass. The end that is glued to the plexiglass is going to be the pour hole. Then you cut a piece of PVC tubing that is at least 1/4" taller than the master and big enough around to give you plenty of space around the master. Then you mix your silicone (I use the silicone from Alumilite as it pretty well degasses itself) and slowly pour it into the PVC on side away from master. This allows the silicone to work itself around the master and gather the detail. 24 hours later you push the silicone out of the PVC. To remove the master you will probably have to cut along one side (at least) and carefully pop the master out. Don't discard the PVC as you will want to use it to hold the mold together while you pour. I find that powdering the outside of the silicone helps it to slide in and out of the sleeve easier. Oops, forgot to mention that if you are using a crankbait as a master you may want to take a piece of wooden dowel and taper it like sharpening a pencil, then glue it to the tail of the bait, then glue the big end to the plexiglass. This will form a funnel to pour into. When using the featherlite you will want as large a hole as possible as this stuff is fairly thick. After you have removed the master you are ready to pour your bait. When using featherlite I pour and usually wait about an hour before removing the bait. I then wait until the next day to sand it down and get ready for paint. This gives it plenty of time to really harden as it may be somewhat soft for a few hours. Probably not what others do, but this is my procedure. Perhaps some of the others that work with this type of bait making will let go of some of their "secrets" and I can pick up some pointers as well. Hope this helps. David

Mark, anxious to see results. Sounds like a good idea to me. David

You da man!!!

Not sure about this, but I think he adds just a little more weight toward the rear. Would be nice to know as I would also like to have a frog that walks like that. David

I order mine from Smooth-On David

Does that matter? Really? I'd hire a cook. David

Matt, featherlite floats well. Alumilite needs microballoons added to make it float. Without the microballoons it sinks like a steel bolt. As far as molding it, A bait can be molded in one piece and then cut into segments or the segments can be molded individually (this is my preference). Building a mold in which you can mold the weight in is a bit tricky and time consuming but does make a neat looking part. By far the easiest way is to mold the pieces then drill for hardware and attach. Some just drill and screw screweyes in and some set the screweyes or other hook hangers (twisted wire) with epoxy (again, my preference). I use both Featherlite and Alumilite and don't find much difference in sanding between them. They are both easily sanded and worked with after the stuff cures. Not quite as easily as balsa, but works nicely. Hope this helps. David

A little bird told me that I should add my .02, so here goes. As several have said here, Createx MUST be heat cured. Heat each layer. You can see the difference as you heat it and feel the difference after heating. Molecular action, smolecular action...... I don't know beans about such things. I'm just a dumb, old fireman. Admire those of you who have such knowledge. I just know heating each layer will bond it to the previous layers and there will be no delamination. Enough about this. Now for the top coat. DickNites is #1 in my book. It is harder than anything else I have used and I have used D2T and Etex. DN goes on so smoothly, so clear, so quickly, and there is no mixing. Plenty of working time, too. I know for sure that it bonds to the paint better than anything else I have used. I know this 'cause I have had to strip some baits after clearcoating 'cause I found flaws that I couldn't be satisfied with. Both the D2T and the Etex pealed off easily. However, the DN had to be shaved off with an Xacto knife 'cause it would NOT delaminate. Now before everyone jumps all over me for what I have just said, let me say that this is just my opinion and preference. All you need to do is check out the work of Fatfingers, Tigger, Mark Poulson, BobP, to mention a few. I think some of these guys use DN once in a while, but they also use others also. What I'm really trying to say is simply that DN is the hardest stuff I have used. JMHO. Also must add that Taterhog's Spa system is actually powered by his squirrel roaster not that st...st...st...st...oh hell, you know what I mean. By the way, Dean I got a couple of really good used radiators behind the garage...........if you're interested. I think this epistle should satisfy that little bird. If it doesn't......... David

John, you are an inspiration to all of us. Can't speak for others, but I hate you . Damn, a man that can build like you, a man that can paint like you, how come you got all the talent? Seriously, keep it up. David