nitro98

Geat job as usual! That sound painstaking!!! What do you use to dry the acrylic paint? Never really worked with them much.

Lol mike that would be one big tooth brush

Close up of eye

Thanks Mr. Hopkins for your feedback. Love your work as well...i'm still working my way up there lol! It is actually, for lack of a better term, a "craft eye" or "safety glass eye"..i can pm you a link to the supplier if you like. I think it gives a more realistic 3D look than stick on eyes

Just got done with this one and was looking for you guys opinions.

Thanks for the info. I have been brushing it on as well. I primed a bait last night and am going to put a light sealing layer of etex on tonight. The primer did a great job of filling the tiny holes that the ctex and d2t wouldn't fill. Now the bait is nice a smooth. If all goes well I'll have a big batch made this weekend. I have about 10 baits that swim awesome but I haven't wanted to finish them b/c I was getting some crappy results as you can tell from my previous pictures

What would be the best way to apply the epoxy? With a brush? Dipping? While the lure ison the drying wheel?

maybe this will help Document1.pdf Document1.pdf Document1.pdf Document1.pdf Document1.pdf Document1.pdf Document1.pdf Document1.pdf Document1.pdf

The alumilite can take a fair amount of heat. I have thought about sealing with clear before painting but the D2T is a pain at sharp edges and it always ends up retracting from the edges by a 1/16 of an inch. Also the microbubbles leave these very tiny holes on the surface of the lure..especially toward the back of the bait. The D2T also does not like to bridge these gaps. The paint will fill these little holes but the epoxy wont.

I can pull the pins out and do each section but I like to do it as one piece. Is there any paint out there that doesn't have to be cleared?

the bait is made of alumilite. i heat treated the paint as recommended by ctex. but one thing im still a little skeptical of is the ctex. the resin has tiny pores from the microballons and the hinges have recesses that can not be completely sealed with a top coat of clear. this theoretically would allow moisture to penetrate behind the paint and foul it up. any thoughts on this theory? anyone had the same problem?

i used the D2T out of the smalll tube. I thought that squeezing it out gave the right mix propotions but maybe not? I also left the bait in the boat in the sun and noticed the D2T yellowed. Maybe it was a bad batch. Have you use etex? im thinking about buying some and trying it out. The D2T just isnt working for me.

I painted the lure with createx and the top coat used was D2T. However after using the lure for about and hour i noticed that the paint appeared to be bubbling under the top coat. Not dramatically but i noticed it. Do you guys think i need to have a sealing coat before a base coat is laid down? Or would using an acrylic paint be any better than the water based createx? Heck it could be a rushed top coat missed a spot. Any advice would be appreciated.

Got this one done last night. Looking for some painting advice though

I typically use a good quality paint brush but im doing some more experimenting. Im looking to sell these lures and i want to provide a quality product so im always looking for ways to make it better

Thanks for the compliment. There is a tutorial somewhere around here that shows the basic process. I actually do the photo finish before i cut the swimbait segments. Just have to be very ginger when cutting as not to damage the coating. I use your basic tissue paper and everyday aluminum foil. And i do use spray adhesive, it is a little more forgiving when glueing to the bait.

Well tried foiling with a photo finish last night on my latest swim bait prototype and it actually turned out pretty good. I kinda rushed it trying to gauge the time that would be involved. But it is really pretty easy for the look. What do yall think. Sorry for the not so great pictures one day the iphone will have a really good camera.

I have always put the weight on the bottom of the bait. If you go to far into the belly it shifts the neutral axis of the bait. The problem was bouyancy. I didnt have enough to keep the bait in a vertical position with a very slow fall when the ballast was added. i got it now though

I used little more microballoons but i was pretty close to that ratio and i get the problem solved.

Thanks for the link. Do you know what the inside diameter of the eye screws are? It is hard to find that information on any of these sites? Im not worried about a long length of the threaded shank as devcon and my casting resin have some pretty good tension capacity but I am looking for that smaller inner diameter to cut down on the width of the slots in the bait segments. It would lust make the bait look cleaner to me. What I am using right now will work but im always looking to do a little better where I can. Also if anyone is looking at a way to make scales on a resin bait, get one of those mesh body scrub things the ladies use cut the rope that holds it together and glue it to the blank let it dry before making your mold. stuff works great . gives good detail, dont have to paint the scale (for those of us who are painting challenged) and you can make hundreds of baits with the mesh in this thing for less than a buck!

It was a 100% bouyancy issue. Added more microballoons then reballsted it and presto. Actually got a great sink rate perfectly horizontal and it swims true vertically. I did shorten the head slightly before i recasted it with more microballoons. Mother nature knows what shapes work so no need reinventing the wheel there. Thanks for everyones comments and help. As soon as i get done with the detailing and paint i will post more photos. The best thing about my last test is i had about a 3 lbs bass follow the bait. Talk about blood pumping on a bait you made! consider me hooked on lure making!

Thanks for the advice! Yeah i get great "snaking" action. I was actually suprised at how easy it was with a little preparation.I think im going to tweak the head a little. I think is is too long and is acting like a kite in the wind. Right now with no weight the bait sinks slowly and evenly just on its side. the more weight i add the less neutrally boyant i am getting jand im not gaining anything that i want. Also can someone tell me where i can get some smaller stainless eyescrews? I have the smallest that home depot sells but id like some that are a little smaller in diameter. Again thanks for all the help!

I have gotten my swimbait complete. It is made of resin and has mircoballonns. The action is great but it cant for the life of me get it to swim with the body vertical. It swims at about 30 to 45 degree angle ot being vertical. I have tried a ton of different weight locations to no avail. Again the swimming action is great a high and low speeds it just wont run vertical. Anyone have any ideas for a fix? Attached is a photo if it would help.