McLuvin175

I think the term cure is somewhat conflated with cool and or rest. Plastisol can take up to 24 hours to reach its final hardness after shooting. The amount harder it gets is very subtle and isn't even noticeable by most people. I think it is during this time frame that if the baits are bent up the compression set is more severe than if they are bent up after a few days of resting. Whether you hang them or lay them out straight i think letting them rest overnight before storing them is wise if you are concerned about compression set. If you not concerned them you can fish the bait as soon as it is cool to the touch.

The real question is which is the correct phrase..... "Im your huckleberry" or "Im your huckle bearer"? As far as the back hi-lite blue with a splash of either black or blue to help it pop.

Emerald Green is the most popular green color and is used in multiple recipes. Kelly Green is the second most popular green and can easily replace emerald green if desired in recipes. A lot has to do with personal taste or customer request as to which one to use but in all honesty you cant go wrong with either one. i dont know why more people dont use Moss Green because I like that color personally. As Bass-Boys said 0.015" and 035/040" will cover almost every recipe you think of. You can branch out to other sizes once you feel more comfortable or think you really need the exact size to mimic or copy a recipe. As for a blue glitter a straight blue like Royal Blue is all you need.

Well in that case there is no reason not to do what your thinking about. Maybe one day your top 5 will require a 5 gallon bucket each and you wont have to divide em up. As an aside if you put a "fill line" on the outside of your bucket or jug you can always refill with virgin plastic exactly like you did last time with out having to weigh anything. if you arent already keep a notebook or spreadsheet with your formulas so you dont have to say "OK....was it 1 or 2 tablespoons of glitter?...This way you'll get consistent colors especially considering there is a little more fudge factor on a gallon batch versus a 2 cup batch. Good luck.

I dont see any reason why that wouldn't work. Just be sure you get the 5 gallon bucket mixed evenly and thoroughly before dividing it up. Secondly just make sure you mix the individual gallons thoroughly before each use. Hope you like the 5 colors you pick because you'll have a gallon of each.

Traditional Electric Blue is Purple loaded with 0.015" Blue Glitter. You'll probably not find that exact shade of purple because it doesn't exist anymore. If you happen to have any of the discontinued Purple 123 from LureWorks thats the color you want. In the alternative if you use 5 drops of Morning Dawn 160 to 4 drops of Violet 193 you will come pretty close. Just keep that 5:4 ratio. Otherwise you'll have to use the purple you have in your inventory.

Most use a process call Vacuum Metalizing, something the average person cannot do. Also a method of heat foil transfer usually will apply metallic finish to certain areas; ie the side of the body. Silver Paint regardless of manufacturer have mixed results; they can look good but never really a silver mirror finish. Others here may have suggestions on how to achieve.

Odds are it o-ring related. Standard Buna-N Rubber O-rings swell over time in exposure to plasticizers; This could explain what you are seeing. Viton rubber holds up a little better try that if you can find them. Ultimately silicon o-rings will be more resilient but more expensive and harder to locate.

No such animal as of yet. Best bet is to use a little hi-lite gold and hi-lite green and see if that gets you close to the look your seeking. What are you trying to make?

In my experience aluminum glitter will work so long as the coating on the film is decent and can withstand the plasticizers and heat (this will depend on the manufacturer). I have run some in a microwave just to test and didnt have an issue, however I never felt comfortable about it and never ran production this way or multiple reheats so your results may vary. Some draw backs are aluminum glitter is much thicker than polyester so a heavy load or a small bait may have decreased performance or texture. Also it is much heavier so it has a bad tendency of falling out in the mold cavity leaving uneven distribution. In the past and maybe still it is cheaper than polyester glitter when purchased by weight, however since it is heavier on a piece by piece basis you actually have to use "more" to achieve the same look as you would get from polyester. For example if you have 1 gram of 0.040" hex polyester glitter you will have many more actual flakes than you will get out of 1 gram of aluminum 0.040" hex. My conclusion there is no benefit of aluminum over polyester, only some negative characteristics. it will work in a pinch if there is not another option but i would stick with a good high temp polyester glitter that you know works.

Not a Banjo Minnow. Since there is no Manufacturer Impression (assuming) I imagine its some sort of import. If it is pre-rigged and template painted in multiple colors with an air brush you can assume lots of labor. My guess Chinese Manufacturer.

Placing the worm head on a white chip for a day or two should reveal bleed from the dye used. I imagine the bleed is so slow most people dont notice it. Hang on to a worm for a year or two and if it turns all one color then theres more proof. From a production stand point it would seem you have to have these made up well in advance to achieve the right look before sending them to market. Sounds like a hassle to me.

That would work initially but dye doesnt sit still. Over time the dye would migrate and the worm would become one color. My guess would be some sort of core shot that can only be done with on a mold with a sliding gate.

If you are pouring out of a Pyrex or something like that into a two piece aluminum mold of that body design I think you will always have bubbles with or without a degasser. Those ribs in that stick bait will naturally trap air in a hand pour situation. I imagine some of them are being released and and becoming entrapped in the body as well as making the surface pock marks. Warming the mold, pouring hotter, and pouring slowly may help and reduce these bubbles. But in my opinion if you only hand pour and not hand inject that mold you will always have issues with air entrapment.

Open pour or hand injection? 2 piece aluminum mold?

Is there purple glitter in that bait or is it my imagination?

Oil Dry or some equivalent oil absorbent product. Something you can probably get a Auto Store or even big box hardware places. Wipe up any excess liquid. You can then do as mentioned above and wipe with mild solvent or degrreaser cleaner. Then pour a small amount of the absorbent over the spill. Grind the granules down with your foot, kinda like your trying to get gum off of your shoe or putting out a cigarette butt. This makes a fine dust out of the material and helps to pull out the oil from the concrete. Pour more material to cover the spill again and let sit overnight. Thats about as good as you can do. In a pinch cheap cat litter will work too, not the fancy designer types.

if your having issues with that mold 10 minutes is way too long. Depending on how warm your mold is you should be able to de-mold about 1 to 1 1/2 minutes after shooting; maybe sooner. You'll have to experiment a little to find the sweet spot for this mold.

Topping off may not help if the gates are freezing off. Try and de-mold the baits as soon as possible after shooting. Cooling and shrinking baits do so more evenly when not in the mold. If they "shrink" while still in the mold during the cooling process they tend to do so unevenly and dents can occur at the softest spots. Toss them in some cool water to finish or lay them out straight on a level clean surface. See if that helps.

LureWorks Methiolate 132 Methiolate is a pinkish shade of fluorescent Orange. If you dont want to invest in a new colorant then you would be better mixing fluorescent orange and fluorescent pink, although depending on what you have it may be hard to match the transparency of the single pigment. Good luck.

Never add hardener during heating. Always add to cold virgin plastic and mix thoroughly. If that is what your doing and it is not mixing then something is going on. Whose plastic are you adding the hardener to?

It might be only 320F where your reading with your thermometer; especially if it is an IR type. Right where that flame is hitting that pan that plastic is probably easily 400F +. Its called a "hot spot". Constant stirring will help but with that setup you'll never not burn plastic. For a small amount like that you cant beat a cheap microwave. Did you add any hardener to that mix? That may explain the blob that wont mix in.

What colorant / color were you using? What was the "load" on that colorant?

Hard to tell just from a pic, but it looks like either Zooms version of Cotton Candy with Black and Blue Flake. Could more likely be Carolina Pumpkin as well. (Hat tip to Land Big Fish for the Pic)

Which Chartreuse are you using?