Frank

I own the first set of Basstackle Twinjectors ever made and still have them. They are tanks and built well. I have a video from 2008 that I used then in and to this day have never had an issue. Look me up and see how they have evolved to what you see now. Franksrooty2 is my YouTube name. Just a fair warning There’s no beer or drums I am doing this to show how I use the Twinjector. Not entertaining just teaching.

I am sure shipping to Australia is not cheap so be warned the Oxblood in Mel’s picture is not the same as my picture. Mine is the current version they sell. Mels I believe is from more than 12 years ago. I had some of that one back in the day. My bottle has the same number 267 on it.

Funny how thing are different now. Here is the Oxblood I have from Lurecraft and root beer from Spikeit. In my mind the Rootbeer was more red. Top one is rootbeer 8 drops per 4oz. Left top is 6 drops per 4oz. Bottom is 8 drops Oxblood from lurecraft. Bottom bottom is Spikeit Oxblood cut it out cause it was way off

Looks like Spikeits root beer. Add drops slowly and get the right shade

I am in the Bay Area.

If I heat 8 oz of plastic for 2 minutes it will be ready to shoot. If colors are changing then they are overheated. Or heated for to long but I mean hours not minutes. Check your process and get a second temperature reading device. Make sure they both read about the same. Also one thing about heating that small of an amount of plastic makes slight heating mistakes a big deal. Make a larger amount and the heat will be less of an issue.

The paint made for painting soft plastics is available from Spikeit ( lureworks). They offer a water based version which like you said needs to have a top coat but does not need to be dipped. You can clear with there solvent based version. The reason for this is not to protect the colors it is to keep them from sticking together. There water based paint will do that. With the solvent based will not require the top coat but will let you know that a respirator will be needed. It has a smell that will clear out your garage when you smell it. Now don’t get me wrong anytime you atomize anything you should wear a respirator. For holding your baits it’s is a good idea to leave on the Sprue to hold the nose and possibly just that might work for you. If not I have used long finishing nails In a piece of wood to pierce the belly of the bait. If it has a hook slot the a piece of sheet metal with an angle bent like a t will be another option. One thing that is over looked and causes more trouble than anything else is the airbrush. Most airbrushes come with a needle that is to small and dries on the tip which causes it to clog. You mentioned you bought a master airbrush. That has to be my go to airbrush even though I have some really high end ones. The reason for this is that it has a huge needle (.8) and will spray any of these paint with ease. Some might say that’s to big but it is adjustable so I turn it down when I need and up to give me more fluid. So in my experience that is the most important thing to have. Unless you like cleaning your airbrush more than actually using it. I have painted for the public and just for me so not sure if there’s any difference other than what I just stated.

Look on eBay most are very usable for what we do. Get one bigger than you think you need it will help in the future. Mine is a 4 gallon one. And yes vacuum when it is cold not hot.

Vacumn before you heat it. Save a lot of errors like you mentioned.

Another choice is https://www.clearbags.com/6-x-4-hanging-zip-top-bags-100-pieces-hzb64.html

With either temperature devise you need to be stirring while you take the temp. Some would think it will be different but at least with me it does not matter. I like stirring and taking the temp with an infrared which does not touch the hot plastic. With my probes the heat seems to migrate to the plastic tops and eventually cracks.

Lower the shooting temp down to 300-315. It will be thicker and won’t pass through so easy. Get the plastic to 350 and let it cool a bit. It is way to thin at 350. Especially if it’s a new injector. Takes time for the o ring to get settled in. As time goes on it will get better. But not if you keep changing the o rings.

You never mentioned who’s injector it is. But if they are new sometimes they need a little time for the rings to set. But most of the time that comes from plastic to hot and to much pressure from your hand. Is your temp on your Plastic always about the same? Or does is fluctuate? Don’t think new o rings will get you anywhere.

Ok then letting him in on changing the way he builds a mold is important. Cause he said he was making an open pour mold with a flat top. And the pictures from Travis show just that.

All good suggestions but how is he going to get the master out of the pop mold when done? With the picture from above I can’t see how.

Just understand what he wants to do. He want to expel as much plastic back into a presto pot and leave it in there till it is needed again. Never clean it out. And with two injectors. For me having it on my injectors is necessary because I do the same thing he wants to do. When you fill the injectors and shoot molds the plastic cools and becomes thick and sometimes jelloy. This causes you to need more pressure to expel the remaining plastic. Which in turn gets remelted with the plastic left in the two presto pots. If I did not need the tips to lock then I have the option to not lock them. But in my case I need to lock them. If you don’t have anything to lock them in then there is no option. He is sounding like he wants more production from his system he uses now and he can with some simple modifications.

Ok that sounds about right then. There is a slight angle to the small presto pots but if you think it will work then I hope it does. There are two sizes of presto pots and the larger one has a much steeper angle. Found out that the hard way.

Well then post some pics to show what not to do and help.

Yes mine does. Are the Doit two color ones wide enough to get them both to the bottom of the prestos?

I would guess that means there other sb paint colors not the plastisol colors. But I could be wrong.

What are you trying to do? The only thing that is safe to use as a color in this stuff is powder colorant. What color do you want?

Well then let me put it this way I have injectors with thin walls and they work fine. Including a Twinjector prototype with thin walls and it holds just fine.

What do you mean you should be able to buy a system with all the money you are saving making your own Baits. That’s my story anyways.

Ok that will work. But try and take it one step farther and set up some sort of material stop so bot are at the same place. Then both can be used in either injector. After you are done polish the inside of the tube really well so it does not cut the oring. You will be a lot happier with the pins. Peace of mind. The pin goes in the tip. The wall is for the slot. Work good but if you drop it it could distort the slot. Not super likely though.

I did do the first one on basstackles Twinjector. I am not familiar with Do it tips. When I did it I did it on a mill. Drilled a hole from the outer tube and the tips. Removed the tip cut the slot and over a bit so it would lock. Then drilled the correct hole size for the pin you use. The most important thing is drilling them at the same time. Good luck.