RPM

My takeaway is this, great review. Thank you. There are many factors to consider but the one I must look at is the finished product, That given it would seem lure builders would want the best finish possible. Clear, hard, durable, and easy to work with is the key. I suggest watching the video many times to make your own determination, but remember this, I have found a product that is Rock hard, bullet proof, and almost indestructible as far as a finish is concerned, the only down fall is the cost, pot / shelf life and does not lend it's self to doing a few lures at a time, to bad but if you want the very best finish you can get at all cost, look into Sherwin Williams, Rexthane Amorseal, the only problem is cost per lure. So this brings us back to how many lures are you clear coating at a time? and how many do you do in a month? if you don't do several hundered or thousands, the Rexthane will not do you any good. Seems the best products have the shortest life span, so now lets be honest and say if your looking for friendly usability you will have to compromises, thus let the battle rage on of which clear coat is the best.

Guys, this technique was designed to take a floating lure and turn it into a suspending lure, or a sinking lure, it's called drill & syringe? I did some research and talked to one of my crankbait buddies who has forgotten more about crankbait fishing than I'll probably ever know. LOL He said it was used by lots of tournament fisherman back in the 70's where he came from, the Carolina's. Pretty awesome when you think about it, you can adjust a plastic crankbait in a non permanent method, because you can take the water back out and reseal the hole and the lure is back to factory. Anyway, sorry to anser my own question, but I thought some of you crankbait guys might want to hear the story. Thanks have a great day! Rich

Hey guys, my neighbor and long time fishing partner were sharing fishing stories, and he brought over some cranks for me to look at, he asked if I had ever seen a plug with this modification? What he showed me was an older Cordell Big O, with a pin hole drilled into the bottom side. I said yes I have, went into my shop and brought out a few with just the same thing. He asked if I did the mod, which I did not, but I have heard from some old crankbait guys, that this was a modification so the angler could use a syringe to add water inside the plug to add weight to make it dive deeper / quicker or alter the action. My question is what is this called? and do any of you hardcore crankers still do this today? I have several older lures that have been done like this and was wandering, also I was wanting to tell him what it's called and the exact reason for doing this. Thanks for the help, it might help shed a light on this old trick / technique.

geforce, Welcome aboard! I'll try to help you. Do a search here, (at the top, left of the page) there are many discussions about this. Also as far as a template, you can probably find that here under the search as well, but half the fun is designing, testing, proving your own design? and the sky is the limit, whatever you can imagine would be a good place to start. A lot of guys take a proven design, lure and start from there, but from my experience it's much more satisfying starting and perfecting your own. There are many crank bait builders here, and the questions you have can be found under the search tab, tons and tons of information shared on this site. Best of luck and happy building!

Cadman you are correct, and I have used both style of heads and do prefer the heads without the hook, just add split rings and hooks it's rather simple and has proven very effective from what we have seen. I agree about the pictures and guys copying the idea, Thanks for your input.

Guys, I saw on another forum a question on swing head jigs, so I thought I would share my ideas, opinions. I have been tinkering with this all summer. I bought some swing head jigs that had the hooks attached to the wire in the head, I cut off the hook eye, removed the hook and added split rings, then hooks of my choice. I've made several variations, and the one that has really caught everyone attention is one that I rigged with double hooks, and trailers. I have also thought about adding multiple split rings with the main ring big enough to place a glass bead in between the two hooks, then add trailers of your liking? I also fished one with a punch skirt in front of the swing head, the sky's the limit, and these lures have proven to be very effective. Just a few thoughts and ideas I have been playing with this summer. I hope this info is useful and gives you an idea of things you can do to be creative, when it comes to customizing your baits. I'm known as the Jig man to my buddies and don't really make or mess with Jigs as much as I used to, but the swing head does open up our ability to be creative? Thanks

Thanks Bob, I agree and appreciate your input. Sounds like MCU is the way to go and I'm even thinking about using your method of tapping the can and brushing it on. I've never really liked the idea of dipping the MCU and exposing the whole can / product to oxygen, moisture. Thanks again I appreciate it. Rich

Bob, what is the down fall to Propionate ? I'm intrigued by it, but have not used it. Also I'm curious about storing the MCU, I was reading about keeping it in a container that has a vacuum system or lid that you connect a hand held pump and pull a vacuum after each use? seems interesting, and I 'd like to hear your thoughts. Thanks Rich

Guys I know this has been asked a bunch, but I thought I would ask the question again and share some of my experiences. What is everyone's choice for your final clear coat? I have used the following, Most all brands of 2 part epoxy's. Quite a few brands of MCU's, Solarez & Other UV Cure's, Concrete sealers, etc. I've seen benefits to some over the others and wanted to know what most of the other crank bait builders or painters were using currently. ? Some of my findings are: 1. MCU's - Some of the brands I have used work very well, they dry extremely hard, tuff and durable, but you have to deal with the storing & handling which can be a problem. 2. 2 Part epoxies- These have a place, but what I have found is they go on heavy, thick, and can sag if not put on a lure turner and the curing is sometimes a issue if not mixed properly and or the weather / humidity is wrong. 3. Solarez or UV Cure- This is a great product, dries very fast and seems to be a viable option, but it does come with limitations. The finish is not gin / water clear, and can have an issue curing? some UV Light do a better Job than others to say the least. 4. Automotive Clears- This is where I'm at currently, I have found several brands that work very well, but they come with issues, like some of the others. The fumes are bad, the clear has to be treated and handled carefully, but the finish is spectacular if all these are done right. I was given a Gallon of Imron clear and hardner from a friend and let me tell you this stuff is Awesome, but you have to have a very good ventilated area, respirator and spray booth to use it. I take my stuff to his shop and spray all of them in one trip. I have not used Propionate? so I cannot speak about it, and there are a few other clear coats I have not used so I wont go into detail about those. But here is my question, I'm building Custom wood / balsa crank baits now and I usually build them in lots of 20-50 at a time for the purpose of being as efficient as possible, then I finish, and clear them all at once, so my question is what is the best clear coat for this situation? I would prefer to dip them, and let them hang. I'm leaning toward the MCU, But I know the guys here on TU, Have been at this longer and may have found something they like better so I thought I would ask, and maybe it will help another builder / painter along the way. Than you in advance, as I always enjoy the knowledge shared here on Tackle Underground. Thanks Rich

Thanks Bob, I sent him a PM last night. Hopefully he will check in and see it, glad to hear he still visits from time to time, it's nice to have guys that share the same passions. Thanks again, and have a great day. Rich

Anyone know if "Skeeter" is still around these forums, or have contact information for him? It shows he is a moderator. I was reading some old post's and a topic came up and I'd like to speak to him if possible. Thank you

Thank you Dave, this is awesome information and really appreciated.

Jim, Thanks for posting this topic and pictures. Looks good to me and yes I agree the paint is sticking and not cracking or peeling like some suggested. You may be onto something here, keep up the great work and by the responses you may have started something. LOL Thanks again, have a great weekend.

Frank the reason I said it could be a game changer is, lots of guys are doing great work these days with createx on crank baits, and if this works as described it should open a whole new world for custom soft plstics. Can you imagine some of the paint jobs these guys will put on swimbaits,frogs etc. I've never tried createx on soft plastics but have always had some reserve for some of the reasons stated in this thread, thus the reason I said it sounds very interesting, and I look forward to seeing some of this work. I have seen up close some of the Swimbaits that have been airbrushed, then cleared again, but it was done with other paint, and they do look spectacular. Thanks

That is awesome, and happy it's working for you. I would like to see some of your work for sure, it sounds very interesting and opens up a whole new meaning of custom baits. I know from experience what can be done with hard baits and createx or similar paints, but if it allows you to custom paint soft baits and works it should be a game changer. That being said it would be awesome for a few custom creations but air brushing takes some time per and would not be cost effective per piece if you were trying to mass produce baits like normal. I did see some custom swim baits that were airbrushed at a trade show event and they were great? just trying to wrap my brain around how to utilize this technique on our semi mass produced custom soft plastics? Very interesting to say the least, please continue to educate us. Oh by the way! This is what makes this site so great, it's ideas and techniques that continue to open new doors for the custom bait makers and fisherman. I've been amazed at the ideas that have come from experimenting just like this, and have a close friend that is currently working with other options to color his soft plastics to make them more realistic so this would be right up his wheel house for life like, custom or out of the norm? Thanks for sharing your experience, we appreciate it.

That sounds interesting, I'd like to see some of your work if you don't mind. My first question is, createx is a water based paint so how does it hold up or react when redipped? Thanks

Ben I sure will, I have a guy who is suppose to be sending me something, I'll let you know when I get it.

OK Mark I will, I was hoping someone had it saved on thier computer and could e-mail it t me. Thanks

I'm looking for color charts and patterns on the older Pre Rapala wiggle warts if anyone has some they would share with me it would be apprciated. A friend of mine had an old Storm Wart color/pattern chart from the 1970's I'm guessing, but it was destroyed in a shop fire a few years ago and we are in search of a couple old color/pattterns. Thank you in advance, we appreciate it.