McLuvin175

No, particle size does not matter. Dyes are soluble in plastisol where as pigments are not. If you think of it this way: -Pigments are like adding sand to water. Wont dissolve, wont move, the same as when you add it. -Dyes are like adding sugar to water. Will dissolve, will migrate to reach equilibrium. I know that is an oversimplification but it helps to conceptualize the difference between the two. Hope that helps.

Mixed with other non-bleeds or not the dye will still bleed and migrate. No way around it.

Yes, they should still absorb scented oil.

You could also try wrapping it in woven fiberglass tape to help insulate.

To my knowledge there is nothing currently on the market that will either dye or paint Elaztech. However, I do know that Spike-It is launching Elastint spray dyes specifically for that type of bait in about a month.

That particular Watermelon from MF must be made with a bleeding pigment or dye. MF usually notes which colors are non-bleed so you might check that color number to verify. My biased recommendation would be Watermelon 101 from LureWorks, beautiful non-bleed watermelon color.

You should contact them directly and request one. They should be able to provide you with a Safety Data Sheet.

LureWorks Black Plum Dye 225 might be a better choice than Plum Dye 179. Plum Dye 179 has some hi-lite blue pearl powder which I don't think that bait has any of that in it.

Looks like a basic Watermelon with 0.035" Square Black, Kelly Green, and Gold and 0.015" Red.

Per 1 cup of plastic. Back: LW Black 103 - 10-20 Drops Belly: H-Lite Blue - 1/2 to 1 tsp Cherry Red 120 - 5 to 8 drops You can play with the ratio of Hi-Lite Blue to Cherry Red to change the belly color. Less hi-Lite Blue and more Cherry Red will give you a redder belly. More Hi-Lite blue and less Cherry Red will make it more purple. You can also use this same recipe but substitute the Hi-Lite Blue 135 with either Pearl White 127 or Silk Pearl 164 and you'll get Red Shad. Obviously you can adjust the above formula to suite your personal taste. Drop some pics here of your results.

LureWorks has both Hologram and Sparkle (Disco) that hold up to high temp. https://www.ispikeit.com/category/42/glitter?pagenum=2

Most Zoom "Candy" colors use purple and green glitter along with black. Disco Candy would be Sparkle Violet and Sparkle GR (green) along with black. Not sure about the base color but it looks like Watermelon, maybe a Baby Bass.

A google search for "Ultra Molds" doesnt bring up their direct website, only Facebook and Instagram sites. A google search for "Ultramolds" brings up their site but with weird descriptions with foreign language. But click on the link and it brings you to the legit website. Might have been a cyber attack or something. You might want to call anyways as they list shooting stars as out of stock. 1-318-255-7144

For Methiolate 132 from LureWorks make sure you mix well before dispensing and be cautious as this is one of those fluorescent colors that can clump when adding to hot plastic. Stir vigorously while adding to hot. Better option is to add to cold plastic and mix well first. Number of drops will depend on how intense you want the color. I would start at 30 drops per cup and adjust based on your personal preference.

An asymmetrical bait cant always be laid out 50/50 between the two plates, especially if a hook-slot is involved in the design. Jinx this is what I would call wrapping instead of bleeding. Just curious if you shot your injector push handles where they were not locked together? So you could have independent control over the amount of color pushed from each injector? Using the shim method are you getting a good bond between the colors?

Try not heating the molds. Inject and hold pressure for 10-15 seconds after full. Top off injection port with molten plastic. De-mold much sooner, before dent forms. 1-2 minutes. If necessary lay baits out in a water bath to relax and finish cooling. Then hang or layout as usual.

Violet 193 is somewhat thermochromatic, meaning it takes on a pink hue when hot and stays that way for a bit before going back to its purple hue. It also can manifest a brown surface tone when loaded at higher levels, this is known as "bronzing" and isnt necessarily an indication that it got too hot or is burnt.

Acetone will flash off too quick, especially when atomized and blown through an airbrush, so it is not a good thinner for SB Coat paint. It can also promote blushing which is moisture condensation on the paint which can lead to a matte finish look. It is fine to use for clean up as long as the paint isnt dry. Acetone is cheap and more readily available than most other solvents. Adding the pearl/mica powder to the Clear 3000 is fine. Looking at your mix ratio you have about 25% mica in the paint, which is a lot of solids. This may be contributing to webbing. Try cutting it in half to around 10-15%, it should still be effective and probably spray better, even if you have to do two coats. An addition of a little Retarder 3002 wont hurt either, maybe 10-20% of the total paint mix. I would use SB Coat Retarder 3002 or SB Coat Thinner 3001 for thinning or correcting excessive cob-webbing. Webs in your exhaust filter and around your work area are normal. Filters are consumable and do need to be replaced over time. Webbing as a concern is when it happens straight out of the airbrush. This means the paint is literally drying instantly as it leaves the airbrush and therefore you not likely to get a good bond to the bait. Im not sure how the above recommended homemade cleaner will work for SB Coat when its already dried. SB Coat is a vinyl and not an acrylic. For dried SB Coat in your airbrush SB Coat Thinner 3001 will do the trick, it is more aggressive than the Retarder 3002.

No. Dotting is too thick and you probably wont get good results.

Zoom Cucumber Seed. Basically a Watermelon with Black and White flake.

The scorching tends to occur when you try to microwave it. When its hot it gets even thicker than when cold so it isnt easy to work with when hot.

Your not going to get an exact match as there is no supplier that sells that exact colorant. It is a specialized form of Hi-Lite Red Pearl. If you use the regular Hi-Lite Red Pearl that will get pretty close however it wont have that greenish undertone.

Like this? The above pic is from LureWorks; Deep Gold Pearl 195. If your starting with a Hi-Lite Gold pearl powder it will be hard to get the same look no matter the combination. Although if you used something like SB Yellow 118; a transparent orange shade yellow, it would get close, but you still would battle the transparency issue and milk white undertone.

If your trying glue together elaztech and plastisol baits it is going to make a sticky melted mess overtime. They are not compatible with each other. If that is not a concern then maybe try a cyanoacrylate glue like Krazy Glue, it might work. Traditional PVC glues like Mend-It or Fix-A-Lure wont work on the elaztech.