Fishwhittler

PVC can be sanded smooth, and I mean smooth enough to paint on without coating it with epoxy or any other coating first. Here's what I do: Start by carving the lure to shape, and try to get it as smooth as possible with the knife before switching to sandpaper. This isn't strictly necessary, but it saves some sanding later. Sanding only by hand, work through #100, #150, #220, and #600 sandpaper. Be thorough, and make sure you sand the entire bait with each grit of sandpaper. After sanding with #600, use printer paper to burnish the lure body. This method is time-consuming, but it gives a smooth surface to paint on without using epoxy (which kind of defeats the purpose of using PVC). I hope this helps. Ben

Here's my take on those patterns: American Shad Foiled American Shad Gunmetal Shad Crack I used holographic tape to make the scales, and I used 9mm and .22 caliber casings as punches for different-sized scales. They aren't exactly the same as the actual Lucky Craft patterns, but I think they're a pretty decent substitute. FYI, Barlows Tackle has several different holographic scale tapes that are similar to the pattern Lucky Craft uses. I hope this helps. Ben

Minwax Polyacrylic is not waterproof, hence it doesn't work for topcoating lures.

You might try egg sinkers instead, although they're not available smaller than 1/8 ounce. I epoxy a twisted-wire hook hanger into them and use them like you'd use a pre-molded ballast/hook hanger.

I've used both, and if I could only choose one I'd definitely go with a bandsaw. A scroll saws main purpose is to make tiny cuts no other tool can make (such as curves with a very tight radius), but that's about it. A bandsaw is a general-purpose tool, and is much better suited to lure building than a scroll saw.

This website right here will do fine, and the search feature is your friend. Search for "drying wheel", and you should get about four pages of posts related to your question. For starters, here's one good thread on this topic with lots of pics: Rotating Lures when Clear Coating.

I haven't had any problems with Permagloss not adhering. However, there are a couple things I don't like about it: 1. Smell. It has a very strong smell, so you can't use it inside. It cleans up with lacquer thinner, which is also highly toxic. 2. Cure time. It takes upwards of a week to fully cure. 3. This isn't as much of a problem, but Permagloss needs to be refrigerated after opening or it will cure in the bottle. It's possible to work around those difficulties, but I prefer to use epoxies instead. I really, really don't like messing with the toxicity of Permagloss and the solvents required to clean it up, and the long cure time is also a turn-off. My topcoat of preference is U-40 LS Supreme High Build.

U-40 Permagloss will react with createx paint, but it works fine if you seal with U-40 Color Lock first.

If you want to see the rest of a given members gallery pics, just find one of their images in the gallery. Then click on the "view all albums" link below the image. BobP, here's your gallery: BobP's albums