danderson

Crankpaint, I'm pretty sure that the directions I read said to mix on a 1:1 ratio by volume. If it wasn't volume they're ripping us off because we will have more of the heavier part when we run out of the lighter. This has been discussed many times on here and I am pretty sure that it always comes down to volume not weight. Either way you have to mix very thoroughly.

It is similar I think. Is that the one at Lowes? I have tried the one from Home Depot called Super Glaze but it is a little harder and/or brittle than Etex. Not sure about the one you are talking about. The company that makes Etex makes several similar products so it may be one of those I don't know for sure.

Didn't fatfingers do that already? Something about "flawless finish". It's as thorough as anything I think you would need and he's talking about the most common top coat, Etex. Maybe it isn't there anymore.

I love to paint natural schemes but recently I've been thinking we are probably off a bit. Why are fish colored the way they are? Usually to stay out of sight. You'll notice a lot of popular color schemes are close to natural but may be off a bit. It's probably that "offness" that makes it more appealing to the prey fish. I've just been thinking about this a lot lately. I'm not sure we are going the right way when we try to match a fish exactly. However, saying that, when we put a natural looking bait on a fishes nose it may be more appealing but still I think we catch fish with some of the more obvious paint schemes than the natural ones. I also believe, as was said above, that action catches many more fish than color schemes. That being said the I think most of the time color schemes are what probably catch the fishes attention first and then the action makes them bite. I don't know how many of you have read the book "Knowing Bass" but it is a great book. It really gets into the science of what bass see and hear and smell. It makes you think about all species when you read it even though it is specifically about bass. There are some things that are across the board such as light refraction and how far down certain colors are seen, that sort of thing. It also made me think about some of the red line claims that some of the companies made. In most water like they say red is only seen about a foot or two down. They claim that it becomes invisible after that. It is true that the red color isn't visible but that doesn't mean the line is invisible. If I paint myself red and jump in a lake, chances are you'll see all 215 pounds of me. Some claims that companies make are just funny. Fluorocarbon lines are the real deal but for different reasons. This is a long post. I hope it makes some sense. It's just my two cents anyway.

McMaster-Carr has about everything. Not sure they are always the best prices but they seem reasonable to me.

They have it at Lowes and Home Depot. I get mine from McMaster-Carr.com. I'm sure you can also buy it from a local glass shop also but make sure you ask for polycarbonate not plexiglass or acrylic.

That comes from the "shad" fish. There are several different species of shad but they all have a spot. Some like the American Shad have more sometimes. Since we can do whatever we want when we paint sometimes we put the spot in different spots but I think it basically comes from the fact that shad have spots. There is a debate as to why the real fish has them. lol Some say it is an eye spot to trick predator fish. doesn't really matter, we just try to make our lures look like the real thing. Or at least sort of. haha

I forgot to post about the Water Putty. It worked great. It's water based as I said before so it is pretty easy to work with. Just mixed in water until i got the consistency I wanted and then slapped it in the spots I needed it. I wasn't worried about it being water based. I was just stating that because I know that some people do. I have enough sealer on a bait to get a nice smooth paint coat that I doubt water will ever get to it. The thing about things being waterproof is kinda a moot point with me. I understand it and I don't want to use things on a topcoat or something that isn't waterproof, but how often do we really use the same bait for 12 hours in a day over and over again. We all know on days when this does happen it is so good that no clear coat would stand up to the fish we would be catching. I long for those days.

Awesome. I went to the site and it sounded like the holy grail we all seek. I noticed it recommended a primer for it but I'm not sure that would apply to what we are doing. Hope not anyway it is another 45 bucks or so.

To me it sounds a lot like the properties of CS vinyl clear. Frankly I love the stuff but the problem is it reacts with polycarbonate. I'm not talking about the seal coat they have. I am talking about the old stuff. I love it for spinnerbaits but you couldn't put a soft plastic lure like a swim shad or something like that on it for very long because it would react. Anyway, what I was getting at would be checking to see if it would react with poly and soft plastics. Just a thought.

I'm getting ready to try water putty. I have some that I had to fill holes in my plaster wall. It will soften if water gets to it, but so will the paint so I figure I'd give it a shot. I'll let you know how it goes.

I'm pretty sure it will yellow as a top coat. It could work as a sealer maybe but I wouldn't use it as a top coat. I have a pool and inevitably I have to replace joints and parts due to the freeze. They always yellow after being in the sun awhile.

I mix pearlized paints all the time with good results. I have also mixed pearl with regular solid paints with less flashy results but it still works. You will have no trouble mixing createx pearl paints though. That's what I use. Not sure why you didn't just try it. It's not that expensive or anything. Just mix some up and see if it satisfies you. Just my two cents.

I should have been a little clearer about the hot lead thing. I use thru wire construction on pretty much all of my baits so I don't need to epoxy in the ballast. I would not pour hot lead into the bait if I was using that as an anchor for a screw eye or something like that. Just thought I should clarify.

The consensus for lip material is usually polycarbonate such as lexan or the other is micarta or garolite or circuit board. They are all the same thing. Well the last three are the same thing. It's fiberglass in resin made into sheets. There are different grades of it but they have all been used by builders and seem to work as far as I know. As far as your other question, I pour my baits with hot lead but a lot of guys on here don't like that because they don't feel it is consistent enough. I just mark my bits so that I get it pretty close every time. Either way is fine if it works for you. I have never had a lure bust or anything but you do have to be careful because it will burn the wood a bit depending on what kind of wood you are using. Just my thoughts on it.