llokkii

Just happened to see that Bagley was making a crankbait that had a balsa core they sheathed with plastic resin. Not sure when they offered this since I don't usually use Bagley baits for any of the species I fish. It got me to thinking I might be able to do the same thing with my resin cast baits instead of using microballoons, and thus save any mixing problems I might encounter while using them. An additional benefit might also be the amount of resin I would have to use would decrease due to the volume of balsa I would have to use to achieve my neutral bouyancy or optimally making the cranks float. The downside is I would have to make a through wire jig to fit into my crankbait molds and adhere the balsa to the wire. Not a huge deal. I don't think it would weaken the bait too much. I am just a little leary of it affecting the cure time. Still, its something I want to try. Have to create a spreadsheet and track some items until I can arrive at the perfect combination. Length of balsa, thickness of balsam bait sink rates, wire size, hook weights etc. So, since I haven't went through all the posts on this site yet, anyone ever try this?

So guys, which do you like better, the AC1315 or the GST? I usually prime my baits with an all purpose primer and let them air dry for at least 24 hours before putting on the first touch of paint. I try my best to keep the coats light before putting them on my turner for at least an hour. However, I am definitely going to start hitting them with a hair dryer to get the "wetness" off them from now on. I definitely love the way the baits you guys make turn out. Love the GST so far. One dip is all I have done so far and the baits already look better than anything I've used before. Already coming up with some cheaper ideas to get this whole setup finished and done outside regardless of the weather. I have plenty of spare stuff around here to make it happen, especially computer fans and filament bulbs. I actually have a ceramic heater with a super low setting I thought I might be able to use provided I give it enough clearance around its sides and front and enough distance from the lures and turner. I was thinking clothes dryer venting from a distance. Just enough to keep the box a modest recommended temp, even in the winter and allowing the air to circulate and help speed up the offgassing. Whatever I opt, safety is the name of the game. DOn't want anything blowing up, catching fire etc or the wife is apt to seriously derail the hobby train. If I don't get it done this week, I should be able to finish it up about the second week of January. I can work on some other stuff in the meantime. I have an order of about 150 different baits coming in so I'll have plenty to sand prime and paint. Thanks a bunch guys

Thanks. I heated up my resin lures yesterday at 250 for abotu 15 minutes. That amount of time raised a few bumps beneath the paint, but nothing large. And since these are for personal use, I am not too worried about it. I dipped in GST last night. I am going to wait 24-48 hours between coats because I want the lures to offgas as much as possible. I love the GST except for the smell. Even with venting, I can still smell them (its been 12 hours now) but they look great. This is definitely the topcoating I have been looking for. The wife told me I can't even dip them in the garage anymore, so now I have to come up with some sort of ventilated box that will fit over my lure turner and do it outside. Which means I have to find some way of keeping a constant warm temp in the box while the lures turn and offgas. Never ends but I love doing this.

Whoa! That is awesome! I just bookmarked that page for future reference. Gonna print it off too and hang on my bait bulletin board. Should probably laminate that and slip it into a reference binder too. I can see now I need to do even more exploring into some of the older threads. Thanks a bunch.

I wish I knew more about fiberglass stuff, but just out of curiosity, if you add a few drops of water, wouldn't that make it not set up correctly?

What are your guys thoughts/guidelines on heat setting Creatiex paints on 3" baits. How long? What temp? I just bought some of that GST everyone was talking about in that other thread and I wanted to make sure I did things right. This last set of baits I painted turned out really well and I don't want to screw them up by having a cruddy finish on them. Any thoughts and info would be appreciated. Thanks

Crazy question and I definitely don't want to come off as a smart-***, but couldn't you photo finish a plain spoon that meets his requirements. I think there were some threads on here that actually talked about how to do it. The reason I am asking is that the articles talked about doing crankbaits, but one would think the process could work on a spoon easy enough. Unless there is something I am missing.

Anglinarcher, you are right. They state as much in those instructions. Did not know that about the alumilite. Gonna have to check that out too. Maybe get a small syringe and keep a log on how much water I add to get it to float really well. Now you guys got me really thinking about this....

Vodkaman, here is the link you wanted. http://www.buildfishinglures.com/lure-materials.html The resin is about halfway down the page. And there is definitely enough to pour 30 baits (3 " baits that is.) I've been using the Alumilite casting resins and the Flux casting resins and find I prefer the Flux. Since the water has frozen over where I live, I've not had a chance to get out and compare action on both resins yet. The flux bottles are 8 oz apiece compared to the 16 oz bottles of Alumilite I get so the prices are comparable. The water drop thing is stated right in the instructions they send with the crankbait kit should you opt to go that route. If not and you just get the bottles, I can always copy the instructions and post them here. Just let me know. I actually love the kit they make but am less than enthusiastic about the decals they provide. I opted to buy an airbrush instead. But for the money, that kit is a lot of bang for the buck. Anyway, just wanted to say I've been lurking around here for months and all you guys make some incredible baits. Looking forward to learning a bunch of stuff from you all

Very interesting process. Think I am going to have to try this once I get my microballoons. I'm using a resin called Flux instead of the alumilite resins. Sets up quickly and usually comes out of the mold easily without any mold release. Mold doesn't need to be heated to get a quick cure. An interesting side note about the Flux is that the make states in the instructions that a drop or two of water to the resin while mixing actually will make it more bouyant. I'll be trying that out pretty soon too.