eastman03

Hmmm an assortment of small jawed vice grips would be a bit more expensive, but very capable of clamping onto the wire hanger. That would allow me to hold the lure while clear coating, and just clamp the small vice grips to the turner (I have seen Marling Baits do this). Not a great solution if you have 100 baits to do, but I rarely make more than 12, and most of mine have lips. I apply my epoxy when I'm holding the bait by hand, which ironically I often use vice grips to hold the lure. But they are larger ones, with tapped up jaws so I don't mar the wire or bill. I like to hold the lure, so I can get a good look at it, hold it up to the light and make sure I don't miss anything obvious, then throw it on the turner.

I make mostly (ok all) large musky/pike lures. And I had made myself a wheel style drying rack, but I found the same thing. It was a struggle to get multiple heavy lures mounted securely across the wheel. I this is my solution so far, I have searched like you have for a better one, but for large lures without a crankbait lip I still don’t have a great answer. This is my solution so far. I have two Flat boards across my bbq rotisserie, real simple. Then I clamp or screw those metal spring style clamps in place to hold the lure. It works great for crankbait as you can just clamp the lip down on the boards. And I can turn at least 12, 10” lures

Sounds like a physics question. @Vodkaman will probably have a great answer haha. Or put this in the wire baits forum? It probably has to do with elastic deformation? I think I used some piano wire once and it will bend and vibrate, but spring back more than SS wire. I'm just guessing. I've had large spinnerbaits with SS wire and if a fish thrashes on it and it bends, it stays bent (plastic deformation) When you bend it back it seems to weaken that part. I've had several large muskie ones break at the middle bend because they don't handle 'tuning'. Perhaps Piano wire can handle this better as well?

That is a LOADED question! It very much depends on a number of circumstances, and even then there are no clear cut winners. If you are just making/painting the occasional lure for yourself, then cost and storage can be a limiting factor. What kind of fish you are going for can matter? Toothy pike and muskies can chew up some types of finish. Size of lure can matter. And what country you are in can be a limiting factor. Here in Canada, to import some of the products is huge money. Here are the basic categories anyway. Lots of guys will swear by KBS ( https://www.classicindustries.com/product/kb8404.html ). You can dip and hang, very nice for finishing small lures in bulk. Storage can be a problem and it is expensive. Good for high volume lure maker/painter with smaller bass/walleye type lures. UV cure like Alumalite UV or Solarez is very popular these days. It seems like a good product. I've heard Solarez has a very toxic smell (just hearsay), not sure about other UV products. You need UV cure lamps that match the correct wavelength for this to cure. Storage and cost are relatively cheap, but you need to have the lamps. Like DGagner mentioned, you can buy nail polish UV lights for cheap. I think this would be tough for larger lures as well? Not totally sure. Then there is slow cure epoxy. Envirotex is a popular one, BSI (bob smith industries), Devcon 30 min, west systems, TruCoat, Alumillite clear cast (there are many others in this category). I personally use these. I like them for the large lures. I like the cost, storage and useage of epoxy. I can put on a few layers and it looks great and protects the lure well. You will probably need a lure turner (like a bbq rotisserie) to let the epoxy level out correctly. So that is something to think about. There are other options like 2K I think it's called. 2 part automotive spray. Very hard finish, looks amazing, expensive, need ventilation and specific spray equipment. That isn't something I have any experience with. The polyurethane, or the clear gloss spray's like you mentioned are a tempting cheap option. But they really don't give you all that great finish. Probably good enough to slap on some personal lures and test them out when you first start. I don't think they are really 'waterproof', and I have heard the rustoleum stuff can 'melt' or kind of bind with other lures if stored together. Not totally sure. Those are just some of my thoughts from what is a very popular question on all the forums. There are absolute DIEHARDS who believe each one of these is the best lol. But each one has its pros and cons. And whichever one you choose, get good at it. They all have a learning curve.

Man that does suck, from everything I've heard and seen, True Coat can have an amazing finish. The only thing I can think of is something off gassing? or contamination from oils? How to you measure out the epoxy? I once used syringes that had some silicone gasket/lube and it gave me very frustrating inconsistencies.

I have used a few different epoxies on big muskie baits. It does seem hard with a big flat sided lure to get that perfect flat 'mirror' of epoxy. But I see people post them so I know it is possible. I have never used D2T, but it does appear like you have a very thick layer of epoxy. I run into constant problems when I have a thick layer, from waviness, to pooling, to trapped bubbles. I make sure my epoxy is warm when I'm applying it (so it is slightly thinner), and I can achieve a smooth coating. Hopefully you can figure it out. Epoxy looks amazing on lures, nice paint jobs too!!

https://www.amazon.com/Darice-2913-103-Metallic-Mesh-Silver/dp/B01MTLK35Z This is the mesh I use - it is harder and harder to find it seems. Sounds like some of the hobby lobby's in the U.S and maybe some of the Michaels have it, I managed to find a roll on Amazon a while back.

Marling baits uses a vacuum chamber to degas his hot plastisol. I just recently poured my first two plastic paddle tails and noticed lots of bubbles too. I think it was mostly stirring a lot, i'll take better care to stir slowly and try not to whip it into the plastic, then let it sit a bit to release some of the bubbles at least.

lol, hopefully people read this. Most of the people with entries have multiple pics or entries. I have a question, if my lure is a hybrid (hard wood body with soft plastic tail) which category should I put it in? I'm thinking hardbait as the tail (which I made) is more of an accessory.

I'm in Manitoba, we have about 21 cases mostly in Winnipeg. I live out in the country where I mostly self isolate by choice (even before the virus lol). I'm very fortunate to be able to work from home at the moment. I teach at our Power Company's lineman school (I'm a lineman by trade). So right now we shut the school down, but finally have time to do a in-depth program review... necessary but boring. I'll be hanging out on the forum more often than usual lol. Stay safe out there fellas, create something awesome!

Cool, great idea! I was thinking about some sort of joint sticking out, but once again, I just wanted to get moving haha. I'll test out this tail/lure design, and then look toward a better method of joining them, thanks! Has anyone ever dipped an entire hybrid lure in clear plastisol? I know soft plastics are often dipped after to give them a 3d look and to 'seal' them. But an entire lure! lol now i'm just talking crazy.

Thanks Vodkaman. Hillbilly, keyed joint? Are you referring to giving the end of the wood and rubber a interlocking shape, like dovetail, to allow more glue surface area? I studied the new rapala hybrid that just came out, and they kind of inset the soft part into the hardbait. Of course it's incredibly well done and beautiful. They really do a good job, but my issue with all the off the shelve lures is either they are too small (like the rapalas), or they are a giant one piece rubber, like the svartzonker mcrubbers. Those giant rubber baits are cool, but hard to find for me, expensive and they still get destroyed by a few fish. I can tell some of the brands have resorted to stronger, tougher rubber, but I feel that has taken away from the tail action. I want real soft rubber to give a nice big slow wobble on a slow retrieve, so that is what led me down this rabbit hole of pouring my own soft baits. I can have a tough wooden body and all the benefits of that, but a real soft replaceable tail for a nice slow wobble. Now that I've opened up this aspect of lure making, I have a million other ideas I want to try lol.

Well this thread was full of great advice, and I ignored it all. Haha. Stupid virus has me working from home (which lets me help with the kids, so no complaining here, just happy to be working), anyway I decided to just go ahead and see if I could make a mold with what I got. I did a simple open pour mold with the alumilite silicone. Knowing it wasn’t enough I filled in gaps with 100% silicone to get enough depth. Then I let that set up and filled in the remainder with silicone. It was a huge mess but I was bored. Now today I used an old pot and my torch to carefully melt some of the alumisol! I got it up to 350, and stirred it the whole time. Then I added three drops of the red dye, and a bit (probably to much) pearl powder. And after letting it cool I had my FIRST ever soft plastic pour. Man this could get addicting!! Need some other supplies to do it more consistently, but it was an awesome first result. And now I can visualize this big lure finally coming together! I used screws in this particular lure, and a corkscrew wire in another one, anyone have any tips as to what works best? What glue would you use to join them, regular super glue?

I pretty much do exactly what Hillbilly does as well! There are lots of great pages on this site with tips for finishing. If I'm prototyping a bait, or just want to get out and fish with a lure I made myself, one coat of epoxy like envirotex provides lots of strength. It wont last as long a several coats, but it will do! Here is a really good list of pointers for getting that glassy finish...

Well for sure move to a high quality slow cure epoxy. Joe Peterson's Tru Coat, Envirotex, Alumilite Clear cast, Devcon 2 ton (slow cure), BSI 30 min, there are a bunch of them. All of them can provide much higher quality results! And for the most part, I would do 2 or three thin coats, depending on the epoxy I suppose, and depending on the potential use of the lure. Making large wooden muskie lures, I like 2 or three thin epoxy coats. And I love the look of epoxy when it is done well!

The two piece mold has always been on the table. it is a better product as you have said. I just figured as my first mold ever, I would keep it simple. But heck, might as well make a 2 piece.

Nice! That stupid virus can't stop bait building!

Ok now I totally get where you are coming from. Being a non flexible mold with POP, I need to destroy my master, or change the shape, or make a 2 piece mold. I'll come up with a solution that works, thanks!

So i'm looking into making a pop mold based on recommendations, and I think that is a great idea for prototyping. And that way I don't have to skimp on a real silicone mold and have regrets. I'm just curious @Travis what you mean with some slight modifications? What do you think I would need to change to make a pop mold instead of a silicone mold?

Ok thanks for the advice. Talking about that vinegar smell, I know exactly what you mean. I probably have some of that stuff somewhere!

Ok interesting. Good idea. Thanks! Don’t want to skimp on a mold. This was part of a soft bait kit that came with a bit of everything. Gotta start somewhere!