Fishwhittler

Today I received my order from them of two pieces of PVC board, and each piece has a woodgrain on one side. The piece I got from them on my last order was smooth on both sides, so I sent them an email about the PVC. I got a phone call from them a while later, and it turns out they have two different styles of trim board: one with a woodgrain texture on one side, and the other is smooth on both sides. So in order to make sure you get smooth PVC, request smooth PVC in the comment section of their online order form.

The lacquer might work, but Spar Urethane turns yellow. I've tried both of those at some point, and here's what I found: The Urethane was tough enough and had pretty decent build, but it takes forever to dry and it turns brown. The lacquer was clear and after I solved the problem of it reacting with paint, it seemed to work reasonably well. But then I ran into problems with it not fully curing, and I eventually abandoned it. Now the lacquer not curing could have been due to inadequate stirring on my part, so that may or may not be an issue. The main reason I don't use it is I just don't like messing with it. The Laquer I used was Minwax Clear Brushing Lacquer. I did a submersion test on a lure coated with it, and it proved to be completely waterproof with zero softening or water absorption after three days underwater. It's also tough, as I found out when I tried to strip down a bait coated with it. It can take on the color of soft plastic if left in contact with it, but it didn't soften up or react in any other way. The only way to find out for sure if it's going to work is to try it on some lures. Give it a shot, and see if it works for you. I hope this helps. Ben

It sounds to me more like you don't have enough ballast. Many baits that don't run straight the first time can be tuned to run straight, but only if the bait has enough ballast to keep it upright. I use egg sinkers for ballasting; the two sizes I use the most are 1/8 ounce for medium-sized lures and 1/4 ounce for bigger lures.

I've got some of the non-UV Blast stuff, and it looks pretty good. I used it on some PVC lures, but I won't know how tough it is until next year when I get a chance to fish it. It has a nice gloss to it, and it's slick and hard in hand. Ease of use is also a plus. I have yet to perform any immersion tests on it, so that's something you might need to watch. I don't really think it will be an issue, but I'll see if I can do some tests on it. I would say that this topcoat is best suited for plastic lures (repaints or knockoff paints) rather than wooden lures. It's not thick enough in my opinion to provide enough protection for a wooden lure. I'm sure it's not for everyone, but Seal Coat may work for some uses. I probably wouldn't end up using it on all of my lures, but for example if I had a new prototype I wanted to get finished and tested quickly I could topcoat it at night and fish it the next morning. Or it could work on lures with 3d scales, where you wouldn't want to use an epoxy that would cover over the details. I spray mine through an airbrush. It takes several coats to build up to a nice, shiny gloss, but you can heat-set each coat with a hairdryer. When you're spraying thicker coats, be careful not to use too much heat. That causes the Seal Coat to dry too fast, and you end up with a "crackle" effect. I dried thicker coats by starting with the hairdryer just blowing air, no heat. Then switch to low heat, and finally hit it on high. I think I took from 1-2 minutes on each setting, probably taking the longest time on cold. You'd need to be careful about putting another coating over UV Blast. If it reflects UV light, a UV-protected topcoat is going to cut down on this effect or possibly even eliminate it. If you do want to topcoat over it, I'd suggest either regular Seal Coat or Envirotex. I don't believe E-tex is as UV-protected as other epoxies, so it might not affect the UV Blast much. I hope this helps. Ben

I've made some deep-bodied baits with wide, rolling actions. I only did a couple before I abandoned it, but they are 3" long, 3/4" thick (that may be thicker than you were thinking?), and 1 1/2" tall. The bill is angled steeply down, and the line tie is small and close to the nose of the lure. The shape of the bill is similar to that of a Bomber Model A, with the widest point being close to the middle of the bill. Here's a pic I posted in the gallery. This bait dives down to about 3', and it has a very wide action with a lot of roll. I don't think it had any tendency to spin or blow out. For this kind of bait the bill angle should be steep, and the line tie should be close to the nose of the lure. Then, you'll just have to keep experimenting to get the action you want. I hope this helps. Ben

Welcome! This topic seems to be coming up a lot lately. I'd recommend you use the search feature, and see if you can find the info you're looking for. With that said: 1. I use a Master G22 airbrush. It's available in a combo kit on amazon for less than $100, and that's with a compressor, hose, and pressure regulator. I've had mine for about six months now, and I'm perfectly satisfied with it. Here is a link to it. I know a lot of guys say Iwata airbrushes are the only way to go, but I really don't think there's much I could do with an Iwata brush that I can't do with my G22. Much more depends on the painter than the brush he's using. Even if you only have a "decent" brush, you can still do good work. 2. I use Createx paint almost exclusively. I never bother with primer; I just shoot with either white or black to get a solid base coat, and then paint. The black covers better when you need to mask over another paint job, so sometimes I spray black and then white in order to get it covered faster. 3. This website right here is a good place to start. There are many, many guys on here that can help with whatever questions you have. Let me go a little farther answering your third question: there are a lot of places that someone will come on and ask for help, and all he gets are references to other sites. V-man said something about this a while back on another site (no I'm not going to say which one ), and it really started me thinking about it. If you send someone to another site for help, why bother with the first website at all? Back on topic: I can't think of too many painting videos out there, but then I never looked. You might look in the Hard Bait Color Book sticky at the top of the page, although a lot of the pics that were there have been removed or lost. However, the best way to learn how to paint is to get an airbrush and start practicing. I hope this helps. Ben

The trim boards are indeed smooth on both sides, with no plastic film.

Here's a good, inexpensive brush: Airbrush and compressor combo kit. The airbrush is a Master G22, and it's very easy to use. I've had mine since June of this year, and I've had no problems with it. Try Chicago Airbrush Supply for airbrush paint. Hope this helps. Ben

I got some AZEK PVC from Vintage Woodworks. Their PVC doesn't have a "skin" that needs to be trimmed off, which makes it a lot easier to work with. They've also got several different thicknesses from 3/4" to 1 1/4", and each thickness is available in several different lengths and widths. I've only ordered from them once, but I'll definitely be ordering from them again. Ben P.S. You want the Trim board, not the Decking board. The Decking board has a woodgrain on one side, which will decrease the useable thickness.

You are adding too much water. Not all paints are the same thickness right out of the bottle, so a given formula for thinning may not work on another color of paint, or even with another bottle of the same color. I just use a dropper to add water to the paint in the airbrush bowl until I get the paint to the desired thickness.

Well, I've got it almost finished; all it needs is another coat of epoxy, but I'm going to wait until the pond freezes over to put the last coat on. I just got my reel for it the other day, and I did some practice casting with it. The handle is very comfortable and sensitive. I don't think blisters are going to be an issue, but I won't be able to give it a thorough shake-down until next summer. As I said before, the epoxy I used is very slick and smooth, and once I polish it it will be even smoother. I'll post pics when I've got it all the way finished.