A-Mac

Larry Dahlberg has a forum. It can provide good info too, but nothing holds a candle to TU. The international reach is insane on this site.

BobP is right. You just need to experiment with the ones he has mentioned and see which method you like best. There is tons of info about all of them on this site (with the trails and errors). The search function is your friend! I would suggest either an auto clear coat, Dick Nites, or Solarez. On a hard plastic lure, there is no need to have a thick clear coat (like an epoxy), which if applied too thick can alter the action. Envirotex Lite (etex) is a thin epoxy if you decide to go that route.

I say fish them until it peels off, then fish them some more! I always try to keep the clear off the lip to prevent peeling, but if the lure works for you, keep doing what works!

I've never had the rhythmic hunting that Dave's lure has, but I do have a consistent and bold erratic hunt with my cranks. However, I'm intrigued by the rhythmic hunt now. I have an idea to try. Duplicating the action of a mass produced bait is difficult enough, let alone going off of a Sasquatch-type video of a lure Dave produced! The damn thing could have a microchip in it for all we know! Or maybe he just moves the camera up and down as the lure passes

It sounds like something on the top of the lure is acting as a keel and preventing the lure to swim.

If it catches a fish during tuning, its a 25% price increase! Thanks for the tips guys. I'm afraid most people do not know how to tune a bait, especially ones that hunt. I prefer hearing the " I caught the crap out of them" vs "this expensive POS doesn't work". Also, it seems people tend to talk more about what doesn't work to other anglers rather than reveal their fishing secret to anyone.

I like to test my cranks (whether they be resin or propionate sealed balsa) before painting and clear coating. I do this for 2 reasons: 1) It prevents me from wasting my time painting a crank that will never work 2) It prevents cracking the clear coat if major adjustments are needed. I'm trying to figure out a way to tune these crank bodies without going through the trouble of putting hooks and rings on (mainly rings). As you guys are probably aware, it's easy to warp small rings... even if they are owner hyper wires. I can tune my cranks without hooks too, but this can sometimes change with the addition of hooks. Plus, I normally tune about 20 baits at a time when I stroll to the pond. I'm just trying to save myself from having to put rings on and off 40 times to tune 20 lures and to prevent wasting rings too. Thanks.

Yup

I've been satisfied with my eyes from predator bass baits. The adhesive wasn't as great on my last batch, but it really just keeps them on the bait long enough for me to clear anyway. But they look good!

I've cracked a finish on my topwater bait... BUT, I've been paralleling rip rap with topwater, not all of them land on the water The finish is still holding well though.

But on the de-gassing part, you are doing right by leaving the lures out to air. I normally let them go at least a week, and also run them through the dishwasher before painting. I also have a small laboratory oven. I was told by the folks at aeromarine that I could bake the lures for 3-4hrs at 150F. You do not want to go above 150F do to the isocyanates (spelling), you need good ventilation, and an oven you don't plan to cook food in. I have since switched to alumilite, and haven't needed the oven as much (though it is nice for warming molds).

It is to my understanding that as long as there is a filler (microballoons) involved than there will be the presence of the small holes. I normally do a thick white base coat, which takes care of them. Rubbing some wood filler over the surface works alright too. Unless you pour a pure resin shell (like demonstrated on Larry Dalhberg's site) and then pour the center, I don't think it's possible to get rid of them.

I made my newest molds with a lip slot. My first pours look great and the lips are secure. In comparison to the masters I used to make the molds, the lips in the poured lures came out with identical placement (which was a major worry to me). I think my molds may not last quite as long using this method, but time will tell.

Thanks for the results. I tried using a separate uv clear (headlight restorer) over the solarez. It looked great, for a few hours. I looked at it the next day and the clear had cracks all over and the paint was being split. Totally different products, but if your trick still looks good after a couple days, then please post the spray clear you used.

Ahh. I've never used the polyacrylic before. Heck, if (when) I go back to balsa again I will probably try the Solarez clear on it. I still have my prop and it provided a nice finish, but I wanted something clearer (I never could achieve the glass clear, despite reading everything on here about prop). I think humidity was just too much of a factor. I wanted it for coating over foil before painting primarily. Anyway, this just goes to show there is more than one way to skin a cat... and every way is messy!

I'm surprised you were getting bubbles in the prop. I normally have 2 solutions of prop made up. One is thinner, which I use for the first coat or two, then I follow up with a slightly thicker coat.

I would skip the sealer if you are using prop. Same deal though, after the first dip do a light sand to knock of the burs.

D2t is very thick, IMO. I have thinned it before (denatured alcohol, I think) and it worked fine. I would suggest a search for that. But yes, you can sometimes have an impact on the action from the additional weight of the clear. I've used Enviro-tech before (which is referred to as e-tex on this site quite a bit) and prefer it, primarily because it is thinner. However, E-tex takes several hours to cure. Also, you can try heating up the D2t using a blow dryer just before application. The heat will reduce your work time, but it will make it more fluid temporarily. If I remember correctly, the addition of denatured alcohol (a couple drops) will slow the cure time. There are folks on here with much more experience at thinning dt2 than I though.