SlowFISH

I've been doing quite a bit of this lately.... 1. The "clear" decals don't stretch... and don't transfer "full color" as inkjet printers assume your printing on a white substrate... so they are a bit difficult to predict what you will see (unless placed over white) and hard to place on compound surfaced baits.... the white decals have some stretch, but not alot. (Color looks much better on this material though) 2. Make sure you get ALL of the water out from under the decal... agian, make sure ALL of the water is squegeed out... I have a few that "bubbled" once I heated them a bit to dry the epoxy top coat... I was heating at 120 degrees in a small scientific oven... so this probably would have bubbled if it sat in the sun on a boat as well... I've had about a 1 out of 4 bubble rate... quite annoying after spending alot of time airbrushing the seams, glittering etc... 3. Don't even think of using DN.... they shrink/wrinkle.... don't ask me how I know!!! I even tried putting a enamel top coat over the final bait, having that dry for over a week, then DN it.... still wrinkled. I like the decal stuff because it's thin, but it can be a pain to work with.... plus as you probably know, you need to use fixative to seal it the print you make, then wait for that to dry before you can soak it and transfer it onto a bait... I wind up printing at night, spraying a nice heavy coat and let them dry for a day before using the decal... it's not a fast process... LMK if you have any questions... i've had some good results.... and some bad ones as well!!! I'll try to take some pics tommorrow and post up... J.

+1.... regular ship is usually 3-4 days for me and I'm in NY.

That's probably the case.... the tests I did last night I made sure to heat-set each color/layer I painted... and much better results. Thanks for all the help... once make a few more to cover the items I trashed I'll post up some pics.... I was hoping to share this batch as my first couple complete baits.... but I guess I'll have to wait a bit longer!!! J.

Yes sanding the body... but a purchased bait... not anything I'm molding... I did a few more baits tonight.... hit and miss.... heat setting definitely helps... tonight's batch was better. J.

Interesting as the Createx clear I use seems to solve the problem... maybe it's a Parma issue??? I don't beleive it's moisture (although I guess it's possible on the first set of baits I ruined) as part of my test baits lastnight I was using a heat gun between coats to heat set the paint... so it was/should have been nice and dry before dipping... The un-cleared tests still wrinkled... With these baits, I didn't touch the surface once.... purposly made sure to insure it stay contaimination free. The other possibility is room temp.... my basement isn't heated, but is probably in the upper 50's... maybe the DN isn't flashing off quickly in the lower temp causing it to stay liquid and eat at the paint a bit more than it should? J.

What I'm doing... I'm using all Parma paints.... no other brands in the case of these baits... so there shoudlnt' be a compatibilty issue there. I'm painting directly onto the lure body, they are white... I'm lightly sanding with 600 grit to get a bit of grip for the paint. The wrinkling is ONLY after I dip the bait in DN... it looks good for 20 seconds, then starts wrinkling. I tested a few lastnight that I sprayed with Createx Clear Coat before dipping.... so far they look great.... so I probably have a solution to my problem, but it's a little annoying to clear them and hope I have enough coverage to insure I don't ruin the bait. Also... the Parma paints seem very sensitive.... they are supposed to resist RC fuels... but if you lightly rub the paint with a cloth that has water / alcohol / or any solvent even lightly they will start to come off pretty easily. J.

Hey all.... Here's the deal.... I destroyed a few ratttlebaits I painted using Parma (Fascolor acrylic paints) by dipping them in DN. The baits I destroyed had been painted weeks ago so I can't imagine they weren't fully dried.... two of them were painted over Thanksgiving weekend and have been hanging in the open air in a warm part of my basement!!! I've already tried a few tests (after learning my lesson) by heat setting the paint, but even after doing this they still wrinkle/run within a minute of being dipped and hung. I think I have it solved using a coat of Createx Gloss Clear and heat setting that as well, along with dipping the lure and getting it out of the jar and hung as fast as possible... So... you guys using acrylics and dipping.... what are you using to protect the paint or am I doing something wrong I don't realize? I thought about thinning the DN a bit to get it watery and real thin, then dipping a 2nd time after a couple days or drying. Any help would be great... thx. J.

Thanks Bob.... I figured just going slightly past the body onto the lip was the best method.... I try to polish out the lips as much as possible, so using the DN to cover that small area that is tough to get to will help as well!!! J.

Sorry if this has been covered.... but I didn't see any specifics.... When dipping crankbaits in DN are you dipping the entire lure including the entire lip? I have a few DT knockoffs that have a pretty long lip, and just wondering if I should just dip far enough to cover the painted body and joint between the body lip or submerge the whole thing? Also.... on smaller cranks, I'd assume to dip the whole bait? Thanks guys.... J.

It took me a couple days to get a reply back to my order, and a little lag to ship as they make/weigh out each order after you pay... BUT... they sent me a quart instead of a pint as they misread my order... which they realized prior to shipping, but told me they would send me the quart for the pint price anyway!!!! VERY HAPPY CUSTOMER.... J.

Hey all.... I've been learning alot reading through the posts on this site so I figured I'd try and give back a little on some of my trials and errors..... I've been trying to find the best method for "foiling" fairly complex crankbait bodies... I've used the following: Brite-Bak Tape (Silver and Gold) Foil backed polyester sheets Paper backed foil sheets Assorted silver/chrome paints Renolyds Aluminum Foil Dollar Store Aluminum Foil Aluminum Flashing tape etc... By far.... the Dollar store cheapo foil is the best to use. I know that's not a surprise to many, but I tried that material LAST on my list and was pretty mad I didn't try it sooner. It's the thinest stuff out there that has some stretch to it and will conform to the part, even those with lightly molded scales. Please save your money and time and just use this stuff... I adhered the foil with 3M Super 77 Spray Adhesive. Opinions on other materials.... Brite Bak... the silver is 2 mil, and gold 1 mil... therefore the gold forms a bit easier. This stuff works, but is best suited for lures that are big, and fairly "tubular" in shape, as once force to stretch over compound curves, it can crinkle and leave small bumps that are hard to remove. Foilbacked Polyester.... doesn't stretch... only good for non compound surfaces. Silver/Chrome paints.... the ones that are cheap aren't really shiny, and can be a pain to work with as your lure surface need to be near perfectly sooth. Hope this post helps and saves you guys some headaches... J.

I bought a bunch of Devcon 2T at a Harbor Freight tool store.... 99 cents a piece.... if there is one local, you might wanna give it a shot. J.

I made mine using this rotisserie motor/parts.... rotates about 1 rev per minute... http://cgi.ebay.com/BBQ-GRILL-BARBEQUE-ELECTRIC-MOTOR-UNIVERSAL-ROTISSERIE_W0QQitemZ360203268998QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item53ddc9b386#ht_2469wt_941 I think I got it for 15 shipped 2 months ago..... J.

I really depends on how the patent was written. You'd be suprised sometimes how little a patent covers, or how much. RIght now at work we are working for a client to package their product in another "container" technology (currently in a plastic jug) because a extremely large company patented putting the same product in plastic molded containers.... and they get paid 15 cents from our client for every package they make!!!! Ridiculous!!! My guess would be to agree with your suggestion that most patents would cover the method for adding subtracting weight.... although if written very well, might actually cover specific types of baits, materials used, and other specifices as well, further narrowing your field of options. You could see where they might reference adding weight to baits with multiple segments, and which segment the weight sits... etc... J.

I'm pretty new to making lures, but for "flat" eyes, I've been playing with painting the eye on a paper/foil/etc, then using a standard hole punch to cut it out.... does pretty reasonable job. I then glue that down on the lure body. Advantages are if you mess the eye up, no big deal, make another your lure is untouched untill you glue it down. I'm restricted in size to the punch I have, and therefore about 1/4" diameter unless I go buy another, which there are plenty of out there. Just a suggestion incase your a bit afraid/not super skilled/confident at painting... like me!!! J.

After reading through the posts again, I figured I'd add one thing I thought of / realized.... If you idea is based on an "image".... meaning your idea is a pattern, some sort of crazy "magic eye" print that makes Bass/Muskies go crazy, or a graphic of some sort that will be applied to a lure... then you MAY be protected with a copyright... But if you idea is based on the construction/physical design of a lure.... like a new type of hinge or special shape that created some sort of vibration that mimics injured baitfish... then you'll need a patent. Just figured I'd add this in, as in your first post you didn't say your idea was necessarily a "physical" design/idea. J.

I"m in the product design field and deal with patents alot.... both in creating products that patents are awarded, and designing products which don't infringe on known patents... A few things on this topic... 1. For a product/idea you need a patent, not a copyright as mentioned a few times.... 2. The reason one company doesn't want to speak to you until you have a patent is actually for their protection, not yours!!! Should they be working on a similar idea to something they are shown by you, it opens them to all sorts of lawsuits should they put a product out on the market you claim as your idea... winds up being a costly court battle. In many cases companies will not view outside designs/ideas for this reason alone. If you own the patent, they wouldn't be able to produce a product that is very very similar to your idea anyway... therefore they have nothing to lose by seeing it should you have an issued patent. 3. Patents are not the easiest thing to obtain... you without a doubt will need a lawyer... you will wind up paying a fair amount of money by the time you are done... you will have to have a patent search done to make sure your idea is significantly different than any other idea already patented... should your idea not be deemed "patentable" or overreaching in it's claims, it can be rejected.... and you can re-file if claims are adjusted, but of course this will cost you more moeny... 4. Just because you own a patent, doesn't mean it's worth anything.... so make sure your idea really is worth a considerable amount of money before going through the process.... this means it's reasonable to manufacture, and someone can actually make good money producing it... alot of ideas... even those patented, never make a cent.... and actually wind up being a losing proposition, as unless you can manufacture, market, distribute, etc. the product, you have negotiate with someone that will.... and in many cases, won't wanna pay much for someone's idea as that just adds to their bottom line... and in some fields/markets the margins are so tight, paying you a nickel for each one might not make it worth it to them. Just a few things I figured I'd throw out there... I didn't mean to be to negative about the topic.... but unfortunatley a past employer of mine would do work for individuals whom had "ideas" and wanted to develop something they could patent and then sell to a large company.... in most cases, after paying our design fees, prototyping costs, patent lawyers, patent filing fees, etc... wound up with offers for less then they invested in the process... not cool in my book. Good luck, and I hope you have one of those few big ideas that will get you everything you want... J.

That was what I was suggesting... mine is a bit sloppy there, but it only rotates a bit, so I haven't messed with it. J.

I'm using a rotisserie motor as well... I'm using the metal rod it came with and there is a bit of slop... this causes the rack assembly to slightly "drop/rotate" when the heavy part is at abut 2'oclock and then stall a bit until the motor catches up to it.... I could probably put a bit of tape around the rod, and it would sit snug and rotate just fine... is yours doing the same? J.

If you look at the specs.... it seems like this stuff (Dascar) is the same as Alumilite at half the cost.... thanks for the heads up!! J.