Fishwhittler

I don't usually try to paint extremely detailed baits, mainly because I use rattle cans and so it's much more difficult to do a very detailed paint job. For the most part, I focus on bright colors (or trying to fix a paint job I messed up ) or whatever I think will look cool on the bait. Unfortunately, the fish don't always agree with me on what looks good . That leech pattern looks good, I may have to try something like that. Ben

If you're using epoxy, try using a heat gun to pop the bubbles. Be careful not to overheat the lure if you use this method. I've tried using a flame to pop bubbles in epoxy finish before, and it's very easy to ruin the finish this way. There's also a new product called Bubble Buster™ that is supposed to remove bubbles from epoxy. I haven't tried it but it looks good in the video. Hope this helps. Ben

By "new patterns" do you mean lure shape or color? I'm always trying new lure shapes, whether that means a completely new lure body shape or merely moving the line tie up or down on the lure body. I don't often paint the same color pattern more than once; I like trying new patterns too much! One color variation I've been trying lately is to take a color and flip it so the dark side is on the bottom. This would create more contrast and so the bait would be more visible to the fish. I would be interested in seeing this color. . .

I've also been messing around with PVC swimbaits lately and I found that it takes a very large amount of weight to sink even a small one; it took a 3/4oz. lead slug in the throat of a 5" swimbait to sink it . You might have more room for weighting if you don't through-wire your baits, but then twisted-wire hook hangers or screw eyes may not be strong enough if you're fishing for large fish. I've never fished for anything larger than bass and catfish so I don't know how well screw eyes hold up to fish such as pike and muskie. Just a thought. Ben

Here's the method I use to ensure that I get good results with epoxy top-coat. I use Flex Coat Ultra V finish, but some guys on here have said that Flex Coat and E-tex are about the same so it should work with Envirotex as well as Flex Coat. This is actually based on Fatfinger's epoxy tutorial on this site but I've modified it to fit my lure-building methods. Anyway here it is: What you will need: Epoxy finish (NOT Devcon; it's a 30 minute epoxy and so it will set up to fast to use this method) Epoxy syringes Mixing bowl (preferably foil) with a lid or something to cover it with Mixing stick Heat gun (a hairdryer blows too hard and isn't hot enough) Epoxy brush Timer or stopwatch (this isn't necessary but it will make timing the mixing easier) Note: I find that this method works best with amounts of epoxy from 6cc's to 10cc's. Any larger and it may not get mixed thoroughly; any smaller and it really isn't worth the effort. 1. Wash your hands to remove any dust. 2. Wipe down the mixing bowl and stick with Isopropyl alcohol to remove any dust. Even the smallest speck of dust can ruin the finish. 3. Draw up equal amounts of resin and catalyst. It may help to heat the parts with the heat gun, as heating thins them slightly and makes the epoxy flow better. 4. Squirt the finish into your mixing bowl, heating each part as you do. Heating the epoxy makes it a little easier to mix as it makes it more liquid. 5. Start mixing. Mix for three minutes, heating it every once in a while to pop the bubbles that form. Make sure you scrape the sides of the mixing bowl with the stick. At the end of three minutes heat it again, but don't overheat it. Place the lid over the mixing bowl and let it sit for ten minutes. 6. While the epoxy is setting, wash your brush with soap and water. You don't want any dust in your finish, and washing the brush will remove most of the dust. 7. At the end of ten minutes, remove the lid and mix it again for one minute, heating it occasionally. Then heat it again and let it sit for five more minutes. 8. You are (finally ) ready to coat your baits. You can use the heat gun to pop bubbles on the baits, but make extremely sure not to overheat them. To much heat and the paint underneath the epoxy will bubble. Once your baits are coated, hang them to dry on whatever you normally use. 9. Clean up (I'm not very good about doing this part ). That's the technique I use, and if it is time-consuming, I haven't once had problems with the epoxy not curing fully since I started using it. Ben

That is a seriously cool bait.

What is the best glue/epoxy for installing hardware in PVC baits? Thanks in advance. Ben

I don't have any idea when they will get the rest of their unpainted lures listed. I noticed on their site that they do have about 1/3 of their unpainted bodies listed already so it shouldn't be to long.

They didn't shut down, they're moving to vanndalizer.com.

Wet sanding before sealing will help. Also, try sealing with a thin sealer such as lacquer first, then sand and coat with epoxy. Hope this helps. Ben

If you put your topcoat over the bill that should fill in most of the scratches. If however there is glue on the bill then you may not be able to fix it by top-coating. In that case it would probably be a better idea to simply paint the bill. As far as holding baits for painting, I hold my baits with a pair of needlenose pliers and then hang them on a piece of bent wire.