Anglinarcher

Depends on the lure. Most of the time it is tough to get a lure to float with just Alumilite White and Microballons, even with equal volume of ballons and resin. But, it can make a slight difference and then it is a problem if you don't figure that into the design. I always just figure it into my design now.

I friend got up during the middle of the night and put Carmex on his lips, but, it was actually Preparation H. ROFLOL He had the tightest lips for a couple of days.

It is probably a little of all of the above. I don't have problems with the paint straight out of the bottle, but I use a different airbrush. I use to have problems, but after enough practice I kind of developed the touch. I have painted with lots of different paints, from Createx, to hobby paints, to taxidermy paints, etc. Each one is different, each one needs a little different handling, but each one works well. Even Black and white are different to paint with, with black covering better, but drying faster, white taking lots of layers to cover, but drying less fast (tip dry). So hardware trouble, it is possible. Being used, I would take it apart and make sure that the needle is clean, straight, and polished (non-pitted). Paint issues, well it will take time to get each paint figured out. Pick one brand and figure each color out, then work with other brands. Lots of the "Hobby or Artist Paints have pigments that are not ground fine enough for normal airbrush work, but with a larger needle they will work. My Talon allows me to use three different sized needles so I can go up for "dirty paint" or metallic paint, or down for detail work. Operator trouble, it may take a few tries, or lots of tries, each of us have different sill sets. Just remember that everyone of us started the same way, and each of us had to go through the same learning curve. You can do it too, but how fast depends on so many variables that I cannot predict how long it will take.

And no, they do not make a "white plastic" but they do have white pigment, and it is always opaque.

I have also considered making baits in halves with resin. The biggest thing is getting a dimensionally stable mold so that the two halves match up all the time. I was thinking of trying that with VacMaster 50, but that is a project for the future.

Because it sets up in about 7 minutes or less, I normally let it cook for two or three then pour. Then I just rotate it with my hand. But, I have been looking at making something for that. Check out the following link for an idea of one of my next projects. LOL

No, I don't. I have not looked for one to make in some time. The cake syringe looks interesting, but for safety, I will probably get my next one out of metal. I am currently using a hard plastic one that is no longer sold.

I know that Larry Dahlberg, host of Hunt for Big Fish, does that. He really likes it. I just don't like reheating anymore then I have to.

"Neon colors which emit a glow. Work best over a white base color such Opaque White. Fluorescent colors are NOT lightfast. The color’s fluorescence is due to the pigment being in a rapid state of decay. Fluorescent colors are not intended for permanent finishes." Yes, I see that write-up. It is unfortunate that their information is somewhat less then accurate. Neon colors do indeed emit a glow, but only when exposed directly to other light, mostly white or black light (UVa). It does not glow "in the dark". Indeed, they do work best over a white base coat. Technically, no, Fluorescent is NOT lightfast, so don't use it if it is exposed all the time. Fortunately our lures are not exposed to light all the time. They tend to set in our tackle boxes most of the time. Being lightfast means that they won't fade when exposed to light, mostly UVa light, but again, it takes time, time our lures will not be exposed to. The following link is a bit technical, but might help some. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luminous_paint Yes, the pigment is in a "rapid state of decay", but that rapid state means it will decay in years instead of decades. I would not worry about it for our purpose. True, no Fluorescent color is intended for permanent finishes, so if you want your lure to look like a fluorescent color for your great grandkids, your out of luck. The information about Fluorescent colors is true no matter who makes it. Considering the grammatical error in Createx's write-up, I guess that even a big company can make mistakes.

You never know, but look at the Live Pointer. It just uses flexible steel wire through the multiple joints. On paper, the wire is very strong, 80 pounds or more I guess for each strand, and very flexible. But the strength of wire, or bead chain, is measured in tension, or pull. It is not measuring shear which is what is created when the joint is flexed hard when a fish is fighting. Mark made the best suggestion here, test it in the shop first. I have tossed dozens of Liver Pointers away before I stopped buying them, just because of broken joints and lost fish. But, I have considered replacing the wire with Spectra............ Again, you really never know until you test it. Try it and let us know what you think.

It really depends on your experience and current skill level. Plain water works really well for me unless the air is really dry or hot, then I prefer a thinner. Also, if I am going to be doing a big spray, lots of lures and time with one color, then a thinner mix that helps with tip dry is valuable to me. Buying a thinner is fast and sure, but it does not necessary work better then home brews. The problem is that not all home brews are the same. I do believe Musky Glenn said it best.

How many does he want? If it is a duplicate, does he/you have any samples? Assuming he does, you can make the mold out of VacMaster 50 or HS1, you can even inject. As usual, the cost is in the original mold, but it is inexpensive compared to having a mold machined. The cost for a couple dozen would be high, but the cost goes down from their.

I have seen something on YouTube about making one, but the guy had a metal lathe. Still, check out YouTube and see what you can find out. I have given it some thoughts as well, but safety is pretty important so I have not followed up on it.

When I intend on using strictly resin and microballons and want it to float, I rotomold it and leave the center hollow. I never pour with 100% microballons (with one exception) and if I am rotomolding I only have about 20% microballons, just enough to make it a little sticky. I use Alumifoam when I want to pour a floating bait that I don't need to worry about. I get very consistent results and it is the density of cedar. Plus, Alumifoam is tough as nails.

PM me and I can help some on getting the right densities with resins. Once you get it figured out, it is very consistent. I suppose that is why injected hollow plastic become so popular, easy to reproduce. But, having said that, I still miss the wood Flatfish made by Helen from my youth, so much more action then the plastic versions made today. PS, for those that love to work with pine, I love the smell as well. I cannot make lure very fast, but sometimes the relaxation from sanding one down and just 'smelling' the work is all I need.

The topic is UV enhanced paints, but, in all honesty, one needs to understand a little about UV, ultra violet light. UV light does not penetrate paint or pigments at all for our purposes. It might penetrate a few nanometers (nothing for us), but what that means is adding UV enhancers to paint is unproductive. That means that only the UV enhancer on the surface as the paint cures will work. On the other hand, adding UV enhancers to clear coats are marginally productive. The enhancers cloud clear coats if used in substantive amounts, but they can "collect" UV light. Adding a thin coat will glow in UV light (black light) which can penetrate water to some depth in certain water conditions. A little helps some, more helps more but then starts to cloud the finish. Still, if you are trying to "sell" UV enhanced lures, how much is really enough. Even a little is enough if your primary colors are white or fluorescent because in reality, that is what most fish will see. I have attached an old answer and write-up on UV that might give some insight. Phosphorescent is different then UV, but that is also covered in the attached article. Determine if you are doing UV for yourself, or as a selling point. Then, once you make the determination, then proceed. I contend that companies are "selling" UV enhanced lures mostly as the current marketing scheme. But, I don't want you to be discouraged. You are asking the right question. UV Light.pdf

I love wood, but always keep in mind that densities vary from the core of the tree to the bark of the tree. Densities vary from one tree to another depending on soil conditions, water conditions, etc. Trees vary in density from the north slope of a hill or mountain to the south slope. "IN THE DAY", when wood lures were king and little else was used, it was not uncommon for on out of five lures to have that "special" action. Pros use to search out those lures and keep them just for the tournaments. A lot of great information has been presented here, but always remember that densities, quality, how it was dried, what moisture content it was dried to, will always vary. Just keep that in mind, and then, send me some samples of .................... to test. LOL

Depending on where you live....... IN Washington State, I usually never got water in the separator. In Utah, I have never seen any water in it. In Louisiana, I had to drain it all the time. LOL

I have two, one for quick and dirty jobs, super quiet, and one for big jobs, but a lot more noise. My large 6 gallon unit is a 135 psi 6 gal Porter Cable like BobP uses. I wonder if his is black also. Now, for my smaller unit, the one more suited to an apartment environment, I use one I got from Harbor Freight. It came with an air brush and a small compressor combined for about $100, but that was several years ago. As indicted, the small chamber means it is pumping a lot, but it has done me well and can easily do the pressures I use. But, it is also true, you can spend more money and get a lot longer lasting unit, but how much are you going to use it?

I always spray two or three coats of UMR when I do Vac 50 on masters. I think the Sculpey seems to soak it up. I have also used petroleum jelly on the Sculpey masters with excellent results.

Having fished for those Specks in Louisiana, I can sure see that being a killer option.

TU carries a lot of weight in the tackle world. We have some of the best designers, best innovators, and some of the best builders on site. They say any publicity is good publicity, but I tend to think that good publicity on TU are better then bad reports.

On a repaint, I consider the eyes lost. I will even grind them off with a Dremel tool if needed and replace them. Dinger, yep, been there, done that, and the Dremel tool is NOW my method of choice. LOL

Just don't use BB's. LOL, I did, thinking they were copper. THEY ARE NOT, they are copper coated steel and they rusted and destroyed the color. In my defense, that was 30 years ago.