barr5150

This is the stuff I use - http://www.menards.com/main/landscapeestimator/additionaloptions/sealer/gst-international-high-gloss-wet-look-lacquer-concrete-sealer/p-1762089-c-5651.htm Let me know if you have trouble with the link. Yes, I use it in my garage and yes you can paint over it. It has a strong odor but I only dip 12 lures at a time so it's not terrible. The first coat I do takes the longest because I let it soak in for a few minutes. After that it's just a quick dip and hang. I do 3 seal coats and then a dip in rustoleum flat white cut with acetone. Createx paint over that then 3 more topcoats of GST.

I use it on my wood lures with good results. I also use it as my wood sealer before the prime coat. I've tried most of the common topcoats aside from solarez and this is by far the easiest, for me anyway. In regards to durability/longevity I think only time will tell. I only started using the product in the fall and now with a foot of ice on our lakes I haven't been able to do much testing.

Keep us posted! I'd like to have something a little better then what I got now.

I wish my first lure looked like that!

I like the elbow pipe you have drawn coming out of the pump! That would move water through the entire water column. That was another problem with my design. The water coming out of the pump is moves alot faster then the water below it. I had to keep adjusting the lure to keep it right in the flow path. If it would get off a little the water pressure would push it down or to the side. Getting the water to move the same speed through the entire water column would be the key.

A hair dryer, no. But what I did find is after the last coat has been on for a few hours if you throw the bait in water it helps cure it. Not sure what it does but I know it works. Probably sounds crazy but I do it with every round now. I stumbled across it a couple weeks ago. Basically I had a bait that I screwed up while clearing ( I dipped it then dropped it), being the GST melts into the paint it's real soft. When I picked the bait up I smeared the paint. It wasn't so bad that I wouldn't fish with it but I couldn't sell it. After all the baits in that run were cleared I started messing with hook combinations. I was curious how big of a hook I could run with which split rings and still have the baits from that run float. I grabbed the bait I dropped which was going to be mine anyway, threw hooks on it then into a bucket of water. I figured the bait was already screwed up already so if the clear got messed up who cares. When I took the bait from the water I noticed it was no where near as sticky as it was before it had gotten wet. I repeated the process about a dozen more times trying different hook combinations. It changed my whole process. Now I clear the baits 3 times times waiting 2 - 3 hours minimum between coats. After the final coat has set for 3 - 4 hours ( when I can touch it ) in the water they go. Towel dry, set the rings and hooks and hang for the night. I could easily package them the next day but I like to let them gas off for a few days to keep the smell of the bait down. Also, another thing I found is not to let the baits touch in the bucket. Their OK to touch the sides of the bucket but not another bait. The GST will stick to itself at that stage.

A friend of mine suggested the same thing. Being a cheap a$$ I was trying to use what I had. Believe it or not the sock over the outflow was the key to the whole thing. It's like it diffuses the water coming out of the pump so it's not so turbulent.

Just a fish tank I had laying in the closet. It's pretty tall but only 2 1/2 foot long. I like summer a whole lot better! I can walk to the end of the street and test lures in a detention pond.

UPDATE - My idea sucked! I tried a hundred possible configurations and the best I could come up with is pictured below. Everything I tried just created a tsunami inside the tank. Definatly harder then I though. I think my original idea would work if the tank was about 3 times larger. The tank I have is just too small. The set up I have now isn't perfect but for what I have invested it works OK. Thanks for all the help and ideas http://i1000.photobucket.com/albums/af125/barr5150/FinalTestTank_zps09e7bc46.jpg <a href="http://s1000.photobucket.com/user/barr5150/media/FinalTestTank_zps09e7bc46.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1000.photobucket.com/albums/af125/barr5150/FinalTestTank_zps09e7bc46.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo FinalTestTank_zps09e7bc46.jpg"/></a>

I dip just the bait and hang them from the lip or the line tie. I try to keep the sealer off the lip as much as possible.

LOL! You guys are nuts! Thanks for all the ideas! I set tomorrow aside to work on the tank. I'll post what I find out. Thanks again!

I just bought 500 #4 mustad kvd trebles from barlows for $105 and change plus shipping. They are the double short shank in black nickel.

I saw that thread from around a year ago. Tons of good info there. I guess in my design I was trying to get the water to flow "over and under" as opposed to a circular motion around the sides. It seems with their designs you only get a couple inches between the sides of the tank and the tubes in the middle. I thought my way would give me more room where the lure is going to be.

I'm looking for some opinions. I've searched the internet and haven't been able to come up with what I'm looking for. Anyway, take a look at the photo and let me know what you guys think. I have around 100 cranks to tune next week and being in Illinois going to the lake isn't an option. I'm not looking to test the lures just tune them. I'm looking to create a flow or a current in the tank. I already have the sump pump and the tank so aside from a few fittings and a little time I won't be out anything if it doesn't work. My main question is do you guys think the water will flow around the "triangle" ( tin or plywood) in the middle of the tank creating a circular type motion? I'm worried the water might just be very turbulent and not really flow which wouldn't work. Any thoughts or suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thanks. - Bryan

I'd have interest in the sizing chart too if you find it!

Yes, you can handle it after it's heat set. Just be sure to apply the paint in light layers and heat set each layer.

Createx dries instantly if you heat set it using a hair dryer. Can't help you with the MCU and bloxygen, I'm over here in the US and don't use either of the products.

GST is a concrete sealer. Top coats are probably the most talked about subject here on TU. They all seem to have their pros and cons. Try the search engine, do a little reading and see which is a good fit for you.

Menards sells etex as well as various places on line. Cure time is long and requires a lure turner to keep the coat even. Search etex...lots of info here on it and all the other top coats too.

My name is Bryan Barr. I'm 39 and married with 2 sons. About 3 years ago I took a fishing trip to Wisconsin and that's where I got the idea of lure making. While fishing one morning I noticed schools of baitfish getting spooked by something larger. Figuring a top-water might be a good choice I tied on a smithwick devil horse that I purchased the week prior. I never did catch anything on it but I liked how it looked in the water. I liked the old school feel to it. I never owned any wooden lures aside from a few wall hangers from my grandfather. That night while unloading all my gear out of the boat I really sat down and looked at the lure. It seemed so easy to make that a monkey could do it! Boy was I wrong!!! I can't say I wish I never tried making that first lure, but I will say I wish I knew then what I know now. Fast forward to now, even with the time and money spent I'm really glad I got involved in tackle making. I thank TU and all it's members for everything I've learned. I wish I could contribute more because I really do take more then I give but the fact is most anything I need to know the search engine finds for me. It seems anything I need to know has been covered at some point. The new questions or current topics are usually way over my head!

Maybe the #3 heavy rings aren't crazy then. Thanks for your input!

The old school look is what caught my eye! I'd hate to sacrifice strength for quality though. What size would you consider typical?

Trying to get a feel for what people consider standard for a 2.5" flat sided crankbait. I have been using #3 heavy from jann's but it seems overkill. I have around 100 cranks heading to a show in a couple weeks and I'm out of split rings so I have to place an order anyway. The brass rings from LPO look pretty neat for a little more money. Thanks in advance. - Bryan

FYI - Not sure what your using for your top coat but I foiled a couple baits with the self adhesive foil tape from home depot and GST didn't like it. It wrinkled it real bad. I had no problems with etex though. - Bryan