A-Mac

i use a highlighter to draw it on... then heat set. however, i've found that DN topcoat will make this line vanish. so normally i have to reapply the line in between coats of dn. i know it is some extra work, but the highlighter seems to give me the best chartreuse line color. Also, I like my chart line to not be quite as intense as most lures (it looks good over foil).

If you are shooting on clear plastic lures I really love to use the white pearl createx! I use this color a lot on jerkbaits. I'll normally put down a layer of mesh for a scale pattern, then shoot a fine line of createx opaque white down the back followed by fading the back down the sides with a white pearl. Once you pull the mesh off, its killer... and man does it work! Only thing I add on top of this is a kill spot. Nice thing about this pattern is that you don't have to pull out the fumy paint. However, I suggest at least wearing a paper mask with createx. It might not have quite the list of carcinogens as auto paints, but the pearls do have metal flakes in them! I shot with the sun beaming in through the window one time and the room was sparkling with the flakes floating around. Made sure I had a mask on for any paint ever since. FYI, I base my ghost pattern off of the husky jerk ghost minnow.

I'm not referring to the original brown colored Gorilla glue. They make a clear gel-like super glue.... and no, it doesn't foam.

I use the gorilla super glue... very small drop before clearing. Haven't lost an eye yet since I've been doing this. I suggest getting the bottle (vs. the aluminum tube). The bottle has a ton of glue, its the perfect consistency (about as thick as gel), and the cap has a NEEDLE inside... It's one of those things you just go, "WOW!, why doesn't everyone do that!" Oh, I'v had bottles opened for nearly a year without any sign of the glue drying up. So if you love some super glue, I highly suggest trying this out. Another tip... since I'm GLUED to it! Syringes with the long needles are great for injecting super glue into diving lip cut outs without making a mess of your paint work.

Pretty sure Tater hit the nail on the head w/ the humidity comment. In the winter, my casting seems to very considerably more than in summer (Oregon summers are dry... not humid). And man, trying to get consistent pours in the wet winter months can get irritating! However, I've had excellent results with pouring throughout the summer. I kept thorough details of weight recordings via Excel of my lures for the last 2 years too (really helps to save time and $). By putting the dates in as well, I can definitely see where humidity would be a key factor. Keep in mind I also do not use alumilite.

I've been using a product called xtend-it from smooth-on for my DN. This is intended for urethane resins; however, its worked just as well as the bloxygen so far for me and you get a LOT more shots. I ordered the quart of DN and distributed out amounts into the 1/4th sized mason jars and from these into even smaller jars. The less often that you can manage to open your main container (holding the most DN) the better! This is why I distribute it in levels to the smaller jars. After opening the smaller jars enough, the DN will thicken (regardless of using bloxygen every time). Every time the lid is cracked moister is absorbed. From the smaller containers, I use a syringe to remove only enough DN for the lures I'm working on and quickly seal the container (with a shot of xtend-it). I strongly suggest getting bloxygen or xtend-it before you crack the seals again.

My favorite scale pattern (for small cranks) comes from a Taiwanese ratchet's handle. I've had it since I was in 6th grade and it has never even been used for its proper function; however, I bet its current use will last longer then its intended use. Lots of tools have nice diamond patterns on them. Also, another thing to look at would be wood bur bits.

Whadoyaknow, it seems I learned why mine didn't work too. According to the specs, my line tie must be too high on mine as well. Good thread, glad you got them to work out.

Tried it myself a couple times. My lures failed, didn't wiggle, and I threw them in the reject box. I needed a lure for a tourney and didn't have any made up and took the grinder to the lips, rounded them out, and voilà every lure worked perfect. I don't know how they get square bills to work, but if all else fails grind it and see if it performs. Good Luck!

I haven't found a resin that didn't have bubbles yet; however, you can reduce bubbles significantly by pouring in an area with a constant temp. I pour in our guest room (man that one really ticks the lady friend off!). I've noticed that right around 60F has worked best for me. Don't get me wrong, I do get bubbles and if your adding mb's then there is no way around it, but making sure you do everything exactly the same every time will help. The price is right for aero, and it seems just as good if not better than anything else I've tried (but haven't tried alumilite). I weigh and record my swimbaits 4 times for each section. I'll weigh the poured section, then the trimmed and drilled pieces, then weigh after paint and clear, then a final weigh after weighting (for desired rate of fall). Even by doing everything the exact same (to the second when stirring the resins!) I can still have a gram difference FOR EACH SECTION between 2 different baits. Hard to believe that a piece that weighs only 3 grams (on average) can come out 2.1 grams for the next pour a half hour later (does anyone know if alumilite is the same way?). However, each section is consistent with each piece within that pour. For example, if you pour a 4 piece bait, each piece will have the same proportions by weight in comparison to another bait. So if you do get a section that seams a little light, all the other pieces from that same pour will be just a little light as well. What does all this mean? Well if you keep a record you can look up a previous lure with a similar weight and add the correct amount of weight to make it do what you want. Sorry, kind of getting obsessed with this... just take my word for it a record everything. It will save you time and money.

I'm not sure what those guys are using. I'm using a resin from aero marine. However, it is hard and doesn't have any flex, so I can't help much there. I think on the alumilite website it has a variety of different resins you can chose with specs listed for stuff like "hardness." I've also used smooth-on featherlight (which has the balloons added) and hated it. From what I've seen, a lot of resins will come out similar regardless of brand name. The only reason why featherlight sucked was because you had to mix the whole thing (microballoons separate from resin). Several people on this website do like this stuff, but I preferred mixing my filler for each use. It will take a lot of trial runs before you get your desired buoyancy if you go this route, so its not the fast way. If you do decide to mix in your mb, be sure to keep record of how much mb you put in to "x" amount of resin, otherwise you'll make that perfect lure and not be able to replicate it.

Thats awesome! Its amazing how variable but simply genius the "tricks of the trade" are. As for the smallie on your swimbait!!!! INCREDIBLE! I'm sure that one made your day!