McLuvin175

Which purple from Lureworks? Looking at online photos it looks like Hi-lite Purple.

The other thing to consider is the harder the formula the thicker it will be when hot. If you try heating to get the same viscosity as a softer formula you can run the risk of overheating.

SB Coat Dotting is thicker than regular SB Coat. There is no way to thicken it other than leaving the lid off the can and letting it evaporate some, which I dont recommend.

What's wrong with what you've already got? Looks like your using some sort of hi-lite pearl. Are you dusting that on? Whats wrong with using hi-lite red?

Paint applied to the eggs after they are shot. You cant use any kind of paint, you would need paint designed to work on soft plastics. LureWorks carries SB Coat solvent based paints and CoLure Coat water based paints that would work. As to how to achieve that look is all in the technique. What technique they used I wouldnt know. Here are some ideas: use some sort of sponge technique, bristle splatter, or some method of tumbling or rolling. You'll have to play with it and see what works for you. My recommendation would be to start with their SB Coat White Dotting 3026 and see if you can replicate those images. Attached below is my quick and dirty test using SB Coat Dotting paint. Used a "rolling" method. Applied a little paint to the eggs and rolled them around on a paper plate. Not as good as the images you showed but it gives you an idea of where to start.

Hard to tell from a picture as always. If you have Natural 189 I would start with that and add a little Flo Orange 124 and maybe a little Flo Pink 111.

Most swirls of the Green Pumpkin persuasion are done with some sort of pearl powder, are they not? Like Below? Probably a few ways to get there but Lureworks Hi-Light Violet 139 with something to make it pop like a splash of black or your favorite purple pigment. Purple Pearl 171 would work good by itself. In a pinch you could use a standard white pearl and tint it with you favorite purple pigment color.

On average it takes 1 tsp of Hardener per cup of plastic to go from Medium to Medium-Hard. So adding 2 tsp of Hardener to 1 cup of Medium should get you to Hard. If your at 5-6 tsp of Hardener per cup of Medium you possibly beyond the Extra Hard firmness scale. It would be a good idea to insure you have your bucket mixed thoroughly. A stick across the bottom will let you know if you have some resin not mixed in. If it is mixed well then you should start off with Pourasol Hard and adjust if needed on your next order.

Not likely from gloves, hands, or moisture. If you soak the bait in water for a day or two you will get cloudiness but that will also go away on its own as the moisture escapes. There can be interaction of between the residual heat stabilizer and raw lead over time but it is usually isolated to where the contact between the two materials is. Do you add heat stabilizer or any other additives to the plastic?

Those black specs actually look like dirt on the surface and not glitter. Either Hi-Lite Blue or Hi-Lite Violet would probably work and look good but my guess is that is Hi-Lite Blue. I think the key ingredient would be a splash of purple pigment with the Hi-Lite to make it pop and give the purple-ish tint the bait has. Something like Junebug, Black Grape, or Florida Grape would probably do. That color is reminiscent of the back color of Bass Assassin's "Opening Night". As always trying to match a color from a picture is an interesting adventure.

Most transparent chartreuses bleed, especially if it is a dye and not a pigment. Adding white will opaque it up but adding too much can kill the brightness of the chartreuse.

This..except he meant dye.

Those dont look like dents from shrinkage due to cooling, that looks like its coming from entrapped air from not venting properly. How is the mold oriented when you shoot it?

Dark Cinnamon 190 from LureWorks. This color was specifically made to match Zooms Speed Craw Cinnamon Purple.

LureWorks does offer pipettes which work great for transferring straight from the can to your airbrush reservoir. An investment in some paper cups shouldn't set you back much. You can do a quick pour from the can into the cup and then pinch down the lip for easier dispensing of small amount of material. You can also use a two cup method to get the paint out of quart or gallon cans. As far as storage you shouldn't use plastic bottles. Very few plastics are compatible and even ones that will tolerate the solvents still will loose some through evaporation over time.

Its entraped air that didnt vent properly. What was the orientation of your mold when you shot it? On its end? On its edge? Or laid flat?

Another tip that may help is to de-mold much sooner than you are now. If you can interrupt the contraction that occurs leading to dents you can prevent the dent. Even if the interior is still molten as long as you can handle the bait place it in a bath of water to finalize cooling. Relaxing the bait in water allows for even contraction/shrinkage. Additionally the use of mold release may help as well breaking the surface tension the mold creates on the surface of the bait.

Ribbed baits are always fun and can present challenges to venting. Where is the parting line in relation to the bubbles? The fact the bubbles are lined up in a row suggests thats the top of the bait in relation to its orientation in the mold when shot. Maybe?

SB paints dry fairly quick, usually you can handle them in 5 to 10 minutes. Dry time is affected by how much paint you lay down and ambient conditions as well. Some residual tail solvent will take longer to completely leave and it is recommended to let them dry over night before packing if doing so. As far as the other Post there is something else going on as it shouldnt be tacky, need more info on that one. See above. Same applies to for all SB paints as Clear 3000. The addition of SB Coat Retarder if needed will slow dry time, the amount added will determine the final dry time. The process of handling or fishing a recently painted bait should be treated different than if you package them for storage or re-sale. This is where a over night dry time should be practiced to avoid "fumes" becoming entrapped in the packaging imparting a less than pleasant smell; even though the paint is dry and should have no issue with adhesion its the smell is what you want to avoid for obvious reasons. If by "brush" you mean an actual paint brush and not airbrush then note the following: Since the SB Coat series is solvent based it can re-wet underlying paint layers which can ruin your pattern if you over work an area. Unless you have a technique that works or your pattern requires the use of a paint brush for detail work an airbrush works best. Obviously any paint can run if you apply too much either by brush or air brush. Controlling the flow or amount you load into the brush like all paints is the best method, as well as how fast you pass with your airbrush. The Dotting series are better designed for detail work since the are thicker and have a higher pigment load for coverage; trout speckles is a good example if you dont want to use a template and want that hand crafted look. The Clear SB Coat Dotting is designed so you can mix your own colors in and create your own custom colors as needed. SB Coat paint can build up on the tip like all paints but usually doesnt clog as in dry in the airbrush unless you forget about it and leave it for hours. Most clogging issues arise with Pearl colors or even Fluorescent colors as the pigments can jam in the needle orifice. Needle size and orifice size may need to be swapped for a larger size, or open up the needle to allow more material through. While still wet Acetone can work for clean up, If dried it is recommended to use the SB Thinner 3001 as it is more aggressive and can re-solvate dried paint. Regular lacquer thinners are not recommended as they can be incompatible or may not be aggressive enough to re-wet dried paint. As far as I know most all airbrushed are designed to handle solvent based paints. There shouldn't be a need to purchase a separate airbrush unless that is your preference. Do note LureWorks is blessed to be busier than ever in this crazy 2020 Covid-19 year. Just understand that the sheer volume of inquires and orders has made it difficult to respond in a timely manner. Let me know if you have additional questions.

It was formulated to be a match. Make sure you mix the colorant thoroughly as you want even distribution of the pearl powder that is in the formula already. You will have to calculate how much to add to match based on your taste and sample you are matching. Batches of color patterns from manufacturers can vary some so dont get too caught up in perfection. Note this is only the "back" color for the popular Arkansas Shiner which is a laminate. Any decent white pearl will do for the belly.

It doesnt need to be an ice bath necessarily; just cool water. This helps the bait relax into their normal molded position helping to reduce deformation. They will still need to be laid out or hung after the water bath. I imagine most do this when they are trying to maximize production, ie speed things up.

Shouldnt be anything out of the ordinary. My guess is salt which alot of Zoom baits have. It tends to attract moisture and of course turns to steam when heated thus causing massive bubbles. Thats my WAG.

It wont do a traditional lamination. It will do a left/right lamination but not a top bottom lamination.

You need vents. The air displaced by the plastic has no where to go.

How does the inside diameter of your tube compare what your trying to match? Looking at wall thickness of those tubes it seems to be overkill for the application your doing. I suspect that if you started with a larger diameter mandrel you would have more room on the inside of the tube, a thinner wall, and ergo less stress on the plastic when you insert the jig head. Thats my SWAG. (Scinetific Wild @$$ Guess).