Fishwhittler

I use "Rust-Oleum Painters Touch 2x cover" white primer when I use primer. Actually I don't use primer a lot of the time, I just sand the sealer smooth and paint. I cover my lures with 3-4 coats of epoxy though but maybe you would have some problems if you were using a thinner topcoat. Hope this helps. Ben

What topcoat did you use?

Using the syringes, it takes about 1cc to cover an average sized (2-3") lure. I don't know how many lures you can coat out of the 8oz. kit (which is what I get), but it's quite a few. The finish may yellow, but this is the result of unequal measurement or not mixing thoroughly. If you measure equally and mix thoroughly you shouldn't have any problems. Hope this helps. Ben

You got me. If the problem isn't with the line tie then I don't know what it would be. You'll have to mess with it until you get it to wobble. You might try bending the line tie or shaving a little off the sides of the tail and see if that does anything. Or you can remove the bill and put in another one (it's much simpler to make a new lure though). BTW, why is the line tie bent the way it is?

If you tie your line directly to the line tie that may be what is killing the action. Try using a snap or a split ring to connect the lure to the line and see what happens. Hope this helps. Ben

I use Flex Coat epoxy (brushed on, not dipped) and I don't use a drying wheel, I just hang the lure by the line tie and let it cure. The resulting blob of epoxy on the tail can be removed with a dremel or a file.

His flies are simply incredible. The level of realism on them is unbelievable.

I had Flex Coat recommended to me on BassResource and I really like it. If you do get it, a good place to get it is Mudhole. Make sure you get the "Ultra V" not the old stuff. The non-Ultra V will yellow in a short time (as I found out when it turned yellow on one of my swimbaits ). Also, I recommend getting the Flex Coat syringes to ensure accurate measurement. Unequal measuring may do one of two things: it may turn yellow (I haven't had that happen yet) or it may not fully cure (been there done that ). Hope this helps. Ben

I use 1/16" lexan sheet from US Plastics and it's worked great for me. You can also make bills out of metal and micarta. I haven't used micarta so I can't help you there but for a while I made all of my bills out of metal. You can use just about any metal for bills (as long as it won't rust); steel siding works great. Hope this helps. Ben

I haven't used any other brands than Rust-Oleum, Krylon and Tamiya but whatever you use will probably work just fine. The brand I use the most is Rust-Oleum. My favorites are their "Painters Touch", "Specialty" (which includes flo. and metallic paint) and lacquer. I also use Rust-Oleum "Stops Rust" and "Bright Coat" but I dislike the Stops Rust because it takes 24 hours or more to dry. Another paint I like is Krylon X-Metals. These can be sprayed over silver paint or foil to get some really cool colors. As for size, I wouldn't recommend getting small (3oz.) cans; go with 12oz. cans because you will run out fast if you get the small cans, especially if you're painting large baits. Hope this helps. Ben

Love those bottom two...

Can't wait to see The Rookie's latest creation! I got the idea for my Tusker swimbait from looking at his lures. I hope the gallery's back up soon so he can post them. Ben

Great video! I really like those swimbaits. I made one sort of like that a while back that had a very good action but I lost it the first time I took it fishing. Guess I need to make some more... Ben

I use 1/16" lexan from US Plastics for my bills. I trace the pattern for the bill on the plastic film on the lexan, cut it out with tin snips about 1/8" from the line and sand it to final shape using a dremel with a sanding tool I made. Pics of the tool are below. You'll need aluminum flashing, closed-cell foam, #80 sandpaper and a dremel cut-off wheel mandrel. Trace a 1 1/4" circle on the flashing and the sandpaper (an empty spool of thread works well for this), cut out and drill or poke a hole in the exact center of each. Cut a smaller (7/8-1") circle out of the foam. Assemble by putting the sandpaper on the screw first, then the foam and then the flashing. Once you have the bill sanded to shape you can polish the edges by hand with finer sandpaper. The tool can also be used with #50-80 sandpaper for sanding lures. Hope this helps. Ben

I thought thats what it might be. Thanks!

What is the "Set your status" feature in my profile?

Congrats on the fish on your first lure! To bad about losing it, I hope you get it back. Now go make another one... or two. Ben

Your paint looks good to me. One thing you could try is using a darker color for the back and stripes and maybe a little orange on the throat.

This may help: Fatfingers epoxy tutorial In order to get exact epoxy measurement try the epoxy syringes from Mudhole. I use the syringes and mix the epoxy for three minutes. Three minutes may be overkill but it greatly decreases the chances of unequal mixing. In my experience it takes about 1cc of mixed epoxy to cover an average size (2-3") crankbait. Hope this helps. Ben

Great tutorial! One thing, try using vise-grips to twist the wire. It's simpler and it has worked very well for me. Ben