Matt Moreau

Yes I use a hair dryer too. If you have a good light you can actually watch the paing go from a wet look to a "flat" look when dry. for a light coat 30 seconds should suffice but probably not a heavy coat. When I used MCU i dipped a min of 3 times waiting 2 hours between dips. Just try a bait with the acetone first that you dont care about to test it. If there is fine detail like scales you might lose it too.

Are you heat setting and letting the paint fully cure after each application? Are you applying in very thin coats? Are you cleaning the blanks? How many dips in MCU are you doing and how long do you let them set before the next dip? Even though createx is water based once heat cured it should be somewhat resilient. I have tried letting screw ups soak and scrub them and it is very hard to get off. I think that you are applying you layers too thick and not getting good adhesion to the bait. Then you clear with MCU and that adheres/ bonds with the paint. once you break the film layer/clear coat it peels because the paint is bonded better with the MCU than the blank. Personally when i first started painting all my problems boiled down to i was applying the paint too thick as i am inpatient. now instead of 1 or 2 layers to prime a bait i use 4 or 5 and heat set between each one. I sometimes clean the baits before I paint. I like plain old soap and water but some people like to dip in acetone. If you dip make it quick and don’t touch it. The acetone actually melts the top layer of plastic. After you clean them wear gloves to make sure you are not touching them adding oils from your fingers. hope this helps!

I get mine at tap plastics

The best and cheapest i have found...I goto the dollar store and buy the translucent cutting boards. they are 2 for a buck and cut very easy with an exact or scissors! They are very flexible too! cut a square bigger than the bait then draw the outline of the bait with a sharpie. Cut the pattern within the outline. now you have a reusable stencil for that bait that wipes clean with water and protects from overspray. if you want vacuum formed ones do a search and you will find some threads on that. Hardest part is getting the exact same pattern on each side.

The major problem with minwax is that its water based. Longterm exposure to water will compromise the top coat. There are a few people on here that use water based sealers and clear coats so like i say if it works for you go with it!

Yes my pattern is based on a lucky craft ghost minnow. You can go very light and i mean very light with transparent red and blue on the sides if you don't have candy pearl but its not as nice. For the olive i mix my own since created doesn't have a good one. half bottle yellow... a little blue and a little brown to get the colors you want.

A ghost minnow can be tricky depending on which retailer you are trying to copy. What i have come up with is a scheme i like a lot and is very transparent. Clean the bait or do like Mark suggested. Spray candy red pearl on the bottom third of the bait. (This is candy red pearl powder suspended in a base like createx gloss) candy blue pearl on the top half/two thirds of the bait (same as above but candy blue) transparent light olive on the shoulders cheeks and top transparent dark olive over a mesh on shoulders and top to give scale appearance gold pearl on the shoulders cheeks and top Red gills light rainbow sparkle over everything Remember to go very very light on all the applications. the candy pearls will look like nothing is there but appear at angles and in the sunlight. Candy pearl i believe is smaller particle size than regular pearl. I bought them at paint with pearl but you can source them other places and on ebay.

Yes epoxy will yellow over time. Also if using 5 min epoxy its really hard to get a uniform layer. If it works for you go with it! Otherwise do a search for top coats, clear coats or gloss coat and you will find all you can read in a year. Many different opinions and methods. Each has its place. Also most people that use epoxy turn the lures to get uniform coverage. You may want to look that up too!

If you want a thru wire constructed square bill where the line tie is in the bill you need to build the wire up thru a hole drilled in the bill. Thus, drill the hole and then construct the wire loops thru the hole and insert in one piece. its a PITA! Since all my square bills are shallowish divers I usually just hollow out the middle of the bill just to where it doesn't show when inserted into the bill slot. This lets you do everything separately but the line tie has to be in the blank and not in the bill

I don't know what glitter is on that bait but u can get cosmetic grade stuff for much cheaper than paint with pearl. Same stuff pretty much too. One place i like to use is coastal scents. Mica is generally the size of pearl so you probably want glitter. Type either of those in the search. Just FYI Mica Powder is very small I don't think you will like it. You probably want glitter size .008

WOW 2 of the OG's i am honored!!! Thank you both for your help with this.

Dave I poured a test yesterday on a big 14inch bait with a lot of mass. You can see the difference in the color like Squirrel said between the 2 mixtures. I wanted to put it through its paces so i did some tests. When I sanded it i could feel the different densities. The botton is rock hard and the top with MB is much easier to sand. That being said I did twist and torque on it to see what would happen and they didnt pop apart. I abused it a bit and nothing! I even cut a joint into it and didnt see any areas of concern. I think they actually bond together and essentially become one. I dont forsee any issues with weakness being a factor.

Bump for some fresh eyes hopefully....

Hey Squirrel, I have played arounf with this too but my results were less favorable than when i use lead. What MB ratio do you use on the top 1/3? Are your lures sinking or floating? You may have ignighted a curios flame on opening day baseball night...HOW DARE YOU!

Everyone has covered this but another option is...You can also use medicine cups to measure. The medicine cups are cheap and have measuring lines so you can be very precise. like everyone said mix the crap outta it and when you think its good mix some more!

Hi Guys, I have a friend that wants the norman sour grape color on some cranks. I couldnt tell from pictures so i bought one to see what the pattern entails. Its a pretty simple pattern but i cannot for the life of me figure out what color the flake is on it. Almost looks like a translucent blue or something. If anyone has painted one and knows what a good match is please let me know!

Just found this post and great info here. It took awhile to get through it all. Thats great there is a new player in town for you guys. I wish I could get it but Comifornia will not allow me the pleasure! I wonder how the new waterbourne/waterbase Top Coats do with a submersion test. If anyone has tried let me know. Didnt seem like anyone covered them in this post. Also if anyone knows where I can get any of the solvent based ones please pm me! Thanks Matt

I thought abou this awhile back when the deps SS first started the rage. Havent been building much lately got married and work is killing me....BUT my idea was Clear brush on latex. Never tried the stuff and dont know about durability but just a thought if someone wants to try it.

Dont use a release agent! I can still get 40-50 baits from a mold without a release agent. I had the fisheye problem too... I started using gloves to handle them and stopped using a release agent. seems to have fixed it for now. I have heard that a baby or talk powder can be used too. put it in shake around and dump excess out then pour your resin. Never tried it tho!

I remember seing the ping pong balls post too. I think it was in a proportionate post. I never tried either of those so i cannot comment on them. I have tried melting plastic cups and that worked ok but i always seem to revert back to expoxy as the base/sealer. Lmao - Sorry I didnt really offer much here

Let me start by saying i have no experience with this product. Generally speaking in an automotive application "Pearl Powder" is mixed in with clear and applied over an existing color in a few coats. Then they apply a few more coats of straight clear. This process gives it depth and makes it "Pop". You can also mix Pearl powder into a similar color but this dilutes the effect. I prefer the later method. Generally pearls are very small. They are much smaller than "Flake" which people do make a base from. It takes many MANY coats to get a base of pearl. I have tried it and didn't really like it. It took me 10+ coats to be "almost" decent. That much clear has a lot of buildup and actually gets weaker the more you put. Go Figure! You probably bought a holographic pearl if it doesn't say white pearl or anything like that. I would probably use this as a final accent over a pattern.

Hey Mark, Dascar RP-40…. A fellow musky builder here recommended it about 2 years ago and i haven't looked back! Its easier to use and stronger than all the others i have tested. It does cure fast though!!! Just some advice so you don't waste it like me…. It takes about 3 minutes to cure from initial stir of parts A and B. I mix part B (more viscous) and the MB's very good then mix Part A in until it starts getting hot. Not warm but HOT. About 30-45 second and pour immediately. AlsoiIt will rise like yeast 5-10% on a 7 inch bait. I have bought a few different MB's but i recently got a deal of the century at Tap Plastics for them and I am set for life. Those are the ones i am using now. They have the same consistency of 3M i feel. Hey Pete, Offer is always good for fellow TU builders. Tracy Costco is 20 mins from me, so you are very close just shoot down Grant line. I just got married last month so lots of honey to do's but if you shoot me a PM i can give you my # and sure we can work out something on an upcoming weekend when we are free.

I cannot view the video on my phone but from the pics I would guess that flat section on the nose is the culprit. Since this is a molded bait then you have the luxury of playing with it until you get a version that suits your needs. If it were mine I would round that off. I would move the front nose weight down so its as close to the bottom as possible and the rear weight more forward. If you are looking for an S-Waver action then I would give the front a little taper(Kinda like a bullet) so it isnt pushing the water but rather cutting through it letting the rear section catch the vortecies. If you wanted a swiming action you need another joint and not the medicinal kind! All in all a great looking bait and if it has caught fish what are you "fixing" it for? You could always come over to my place in Disco Bay for some R-and-D too. My backyard is water and i have most of the tools you would want/need. As for your mixture of 91% resin to 9% mb's what does that equate to in volume? I have found for a wakebait I like 2 - 1 Resin to MB mix. This requires a little lead to be added to help stabilize it. I do not like alumilite either i prefer Dascar. Its cheaper and stronger IMHO!

I wish I was savy enough!

Thats pricey.... go on ebay or order from Tap plastics or Alumilite . they are like $8 plus shipping from tap and alumilite... both are also a quart i believe.