AZ Fisher

https://www.reynoldsam.com/product/clear-flex-series/ I saw this stuff, but I'm not ready to rob a bank!

I think I have seen Youtube vids where someone tinted the Flex products with soft plastic colorants. I'm going to attempt to make a smoke colored tail soon with this method.

I am talking about these type of injected blanks. Anything from crankbaits and jerkbaits to topwater poppers is what I would like to learn how to apply the foil to. I have had only moderate success using the glue.

Thanks for the reply and for the tutorial video. I'll be doing some spoons that way. I'll still have to use the glue on the rounder items.

Those look great. How do I apply the foil to a non metal, not flat surface like a crankbait blank? I've used that foil before but only used the dry glueing method.

I have never had great luck retouching clear to get a factory like finish. If that's what you're looking for I would suggest another coat over the entire bait. You could try thinning with a drop or two of denatured alcohol and retouching just the affected areas. If it's just for you, like you said the fish won't care. Lure turner would help greatly as well.

You'll have better luck posting this in the Wire Baits section, welcome to TU!

I second the Cal Air compressor. Nice'n quiet

The old stuff may have been 30 min, where your new stuff is probably 5 min. Check and make sure. You can thin or reduce either with a FEW drops of denatured alcohol to extend the working time a few minutes. Double check your mixing ratio.

Thought I would share a little test video I had done in the past. This is a glide I made and was test swimming. This particular bait was not ballasted exactly where I wanted. It was a tad heavy and had a nose down posture. I have since lightened my recipe a touch and have them swimming pretty well. The more balanced, lighter glides don't shimmy quite as well. This bait is 4.5 oz and 8 inches long. It has broad, kind of square shoulders, 7/8 inch, and a thinner, round belly, 1/2-5/8 inch, so a typical "V" shape, like a spybait. No lead ballast, just a combo of resin and MB's and the hardware. Poured vertically, so solid resin in the bottom and a mix on top. I had one that was even a little more nose heavy and with a snap on the line tie and it would actually swim back and forth as it sank, like it was swimming itself to the bottom. Didn't swim slow horizontally very well. My carving and painting skills have improved since then, LOL.

If I understand the question correctly, I use a band saw. If your talking about the hinge joint on say an MS Slammer? I make a wooden swimbait rat. After turning the body on the lathe, I leave the square of wood on each end of the body. First it goes to the table saw to have the lipslot cut and then to the band saw to make the 90* joint cut. No jig required. Then cut off the two ends and you have your two body halves with the cuts made. I make the cuts when it's in the square form on the left. If I misunderstood, my apologies.

Welcome to TU, AC. While I haven't attempted any flat or matte finishes, here is a link to a semi-recent thread about your question. I hope this helps.

This is a video from Toxic Baits. There is a small section of his paint set-up and he's a rattle can guy. While he is doing larger baits, maybe there's some techniques or tips that can work for you. His swimbaits are the hottest ticket in town right now. Guys will give almost anything for a Toxic Baits Wade Hoggs and he can't make them fast enough. I can see he uses mesh in a hoop to create his scale pattern and he does a lot of splatter on the backs. I would encourage you to try to figure out your airbrush, it's so much more versatile. I had trouble with my first brushes and it was frustrating. Then I bought a decent brush, dedicated myself to keeping it impeccably clean and not using cheap paints or reducers. The most trouble I figured out, was because of dirty airbrushes, I thought I was cleaning it well, but I wasn't getting it clean enough. It amazing how much trouble a tiny spec of dried paint can cause. I bought a bottle of Auto-air restorer and use a tall, skinny tarter sauce jar to store it in. When the brush starts acting up, a night soaking and a quick cleaning and she's good to go for a while again. Good luck whichever route you take

http://www.lurepartsonline.com/Online-Store/Plugs-Wood-Bodies/ This and Barlow's is what I'm familiar with, hope this helps../

Some guys will use a drill bit to remove the clear from the hook hangers and line ties. I don't like the thought of potentially nicking or abrading the inside of the line tie with a drill bit. I will use an Exacto knife and score around the hardware, near the bait body and then I use the sharp end of a dart head and the exacto, to poke and pry the remaining clear from the hardware.

Thanks Dave, Mark, Steve, Squirrell3495 and the many others who have selflessly shared with us all of this info. You all are the main reason I have achieved much quicker learning curve in the area of glides. I can't always seem to remember who posted what tip or lesson, I just recall reading them here. Thanks again, Will I have made baits out of Poplar, Western Red Cedar and Alder with equal success.

While I haven't made anything that small, I use D2T 30 for both wood and resin swimbaits. Just dab up the excess after you run the eyescrew in. Those look cool, mini-spy's

Maybe you could post the vid to a Youtube channel and then post a link so everyone here can view it as well. If not you can email it to me. I would suggest fishing it deep just like you've been fishing it in the upper water column, ya just gotta have the patience to get it down there. If it sinks too fast, it won't swim as well and you'll hang-up and lose more baits. If it swims like you want, at the depth you want, slap some paint, clear and some hooks on it and fish that thing and post some pics when you catch a good one! If you're happy, that's all that matters. Yes glides can leave you humbled and perplexed all at the same time. Makes you see why RM's and Hinkle's glide so nice and command the price they do

While I'm no expert, I have made a few glides. There would be a couple areas I would look at. I don't think it's the width of the face of the bait so much, although it could be narrower, Hinkle Trout have a fairly wide, blunt face and they glide well. First, and I think the most important factor about glides, do the two halves of the bait sink at the same rate individually? From the ballasting you've done I'm guessing you're going for a neutral/slow sink? They need to sink equally to get a good glide. If they don't sink at the same rate , stop and make adjustments until they do. Does the whole bait sink level and vertically in a test tank or bathtub? You need all the hardware on the bait while ballasting to be accurate. Second would be the hinge itself. It looks like you're going to use a eyescrew/pin type hinge. Really hard to tell from the pics, do you have enough room for the head of the eyescrews to pivot freely on the hinge pin. Maybe one of the eyescrews is sticking or getting hung up on part of the tail section.. From the description of the swim you gave , this might be what's causing the bait sticking on one side. Make sure your eyescrews are perfectly horizontal so the bait can swim evenly side to side. The eyescrews need to be really tight so they can't move easily. Not sure of the size of your bait, big baits can hit the water with enough force to jar the joint hardware and tweak it pretty easy. Once I've have the joint adjusted where I want, I epoxy the eyescrews in place. Many of the things mentioned above were learned here on TU from Mark P. and some others. Another tip I learned from Mark about glides is to have the bottom or belly narrower than the top or back of the bait. I believe this helps the way the bait sinks, as well as the swim. My 8 and 10 inch glides are approx 15/16 to 3/4 inch wide at the top and taper down to 5/8 on the side and down to 1/2 to 3/8 at the belly. Don't see where you have the line tie or see a tail, these are determining factors as well. One tip I would give is video your swim tests if you can. Being in AZ , I can't throw a rock and not hit a pool for testing, but I still like to have it on the computer for reference. I do above and below water test swim vids. That way you can always have a visual record of what the bait is doing and not have to rely on memory if you're not near a place to test. You can add stats or notes to the caption for reference. Keep trying, take impeccable notes, glides can be a head scratcher for sure. That would be my .02, hope it helps...

http://www.tackleunderground.com/community/search/?&q=dents&search_and_or=or&search_in=titles Welcome to TU. You'll find some info on the subject here ^^^. I went to "Activity", top left corner of screen, drop down to" Search", type in "Dents" and then search and there are 16 results. Dents are a common problem. I think you'll find an answer here^^^^

Pretty sure Captain Ron has made a few, red, white and blue with an eagle if memory serves. Don't recall where I saw them.

I've had some in mason jars now going on a year. I've also had one go "Off" within a couple months due to my negligence and had to pitch it. Had some got a pretty good skin on it, removed skin and re-thinned and was able to use the rest. Have changed jars a couple times.

KBS will seem thin compared to some epoxies. I'm no expert by any stretch, but when brushing I would not thin KBS. I thin my KBS for dipping baits and the thinning helps keep from getting bubbles around the eyes of the bait. If you are brushing your clear your should be able to backtrack and feather out any bubbles that are forming. Many have said KBS coated baits don't need to be placed on a lure turner, but I sure like the finish when I do. Two dipped coats, a couple hours apart on a turner and you're good to go! My .02.

If you use the search under the "Activity" dropdown(Upper right corner of screen) you will have much better results than the main search(Upper left corner).

I have used Rustoleum 2X clear on some larger baits with no issues. I just paint directly over the foil, I'm using holo nail foils and heat stamp foils, and have had no issues. I usually use KBS or Devcon D2T for clearing. When you say "Local" do you mean like Walmart house brand, that is probably where the problem lies. When can spraying, many light coats is best. JMHO