blazt*

Has anybody tried using one or more o-rings to replace the packing in an airbrush? I have the cheap harb. frt. deluxe and the packing seems to be shot. I'm going to get another probably as a backup so that when one goes down I can put it on the back burner...but I'm just trying to explore some options such as slicing tubing into tiny pieces (after which I would have enough to replace the packing every deep cleaning!) , stacking rubber washers in there, etc. I realize the radius of an O ring might not seal flush against the barrel but maybe if it was compressed enough with the packing screw? Or maybe it might require so much load that the needle would stick. Parts of course aren't available for my AB and for those running Iwata, etc. IIRC it is pretty much criminal what they charge for a little piece of rubber. My AB is going Ppppppffppfffftttttttt right now. I've been around town a little bit; finding anything small enough is the problem. But there are some tiny orings on ebay.

Why do say that?

Given the low vis and high abrasion resistance of fluoro you'd think there would be bills made from it by now. I assume the reason is probably low mechanical strength - or maybe cost - but what if you were to melt down some used line and give the front end a dip? Seems like this would reduce visibility at least some, much like Yo Zuri Hybrid or Floroclear.

I would just mold them in, if you can.

I would guess an alcohol dunk for killing. Not sure if it will damage them or not but I want to try this on some small bluegills that I'll want to color match. Hopefully it won't alter the color or shimmer.

I'll try that if it happens again...but today thing were back to normal for some reason.

No, I asked about this and he said they are not Mustad. Apparently generic. These are ebay only items, not found on bustinbassbaits.

A day or two ago when new replies were made to a topic this would be indicated by a dark blue or red quote bubble, with no new replies indicated by a light blue quote bubble. Now I see new icons, with profiles pics and whatnot. Very hard on the eyes, and I can't tell anymore when my favorite topics are on the move. Is there a setting I can change, or is the TU brain just thinking for itself again? Because this truly bites.

I have some urethane thinner. I know it has MEK in it, possibly toluene. I'll have to try that - hopefully I have a red guinea pig hook lying around. Maybe that would work...I need some triple grips really bad because I keep losing bass on small factory hooks but the only ones at a decent price I can get in the sizes I want are red. The water is stained right now but when it gets back to 10 ft clarity I'm going to want bronze or especially silver. Of course I'm sure removing the red will reveal bronze, but at least that will be camo against weeds, etc. I don't really know if I buy the "red dissapears" theory in clear water. Bustin bass has some Triple Grip knockoffs on ebay. Not sure if they are good hooks or not.

Is there an easy way to remove the red finish from treble hooks? Maybe mild acid or something?

There have to be a hundred ways for any bait , including topwaters, to suck. I remember a Cabelas walkin' dog (normally a great lure, landed a 7.5lb lm on one) I got would lay sideways in the water and just kind of flopped around when you tried to walk it. I should have known. It was on sale, and an item put on sale @ Cabela's automatically triples the defect rate. Heh. Another example would be poppers. With some you can work your full repertoire of plips, plaps, splips, spits, PLOKs, and other classic notes from timid to panic while others are one trick ponys - they only do a medium plop and dive when you get even a little agressive.

I'm not sure if anybody figured this out yet. Things got weird after the "upgrade" 1. Click on member name 2. Click on "find my content" button beneath profile pic 3. Click on "gallery" near top of next page...or whatever else you want to view such as "posts". That's it.

As you spray, keep the air going even if the paint's not going. Make it a policy. Shoot dry air for a couple of seconds before putting the brush down, also. This will help prevents spits and clogs. Keep a piece of paper or roll of masking tape handy and test your spray every now and then, after color changes, or if the brush has been sitting for more than a minute. Better that than to get chunky spits on your bait. It happens with water based, hardly ever with urethane colors. Keep a moist q tip handy or something to take care of the spits that do land on the bait. Watch out for dust. Continously check the lure for dust, spits and other defects. Dust is better removed with the paint thouroughly dry, spits wet. Don't let your coats get too wet as you spray or lint and dust will stick to it more. I had to kind of retrain myself this way when I switched to water based, but things go a lot more smoothly. If you run at higher PSI and go easy on the trigger you'll get better atomization than if you run at lower PSI and floor it.

Have to agree with you here....seems like some pearl colors are really awesome over a black base. Adds extra flash and deepness. With others it just takes to much pearl to cover well. But I bet gold would be good over black as these are complimentary colors. I'll have to try it with gold.

I used to spray Lure - Craft Poly -Sil, a 2 part clear, through an Iwata HP-C. 0.3mm tip iirc. Shot beautifully. The poly-sil paints can clog your brush to the extent that not even MEK will pull it out if you don't clean soon after the session, but the clear seemed to be less problematic. Many auto clears require not only a respirator but that the respirator be air - supplied along with a shoot suit. You have the most absolutely killer looking swimbaits I've ever seen.