RM3

And, btw, after a Google translation, it appears to be advertising for counterfeit college diplomas in China. LMAO

Again with the spam in the hard bait forum. And as usual the idiot posts in what I assume is Chinese. Really? Chinese on an American forum. I thought Chinese were smart...........

BSI 30 minute, slightly thinned with denatured alcohol. A thin even coat and no turning is necessary. Thin is key. as far as durability, my acrylic painted epoxy top coated baits pass the same test I give powder coat batches, drop them from eye level on concrete. Never get more than a small dent.

The resin manufacturer will specify the light nm needed.

Thats awesome. Hopefully you'll be sourcing blanks from the same suppliers as Dingers were always a step above most in quality. Look forward to doing business with you.

The commercial ones I use are mostly texture types and most come from Anarchy Models UK and a few from Dru Blair. As far as "shape" types, stripes, gills, fins etc. I have quite a few from Insane Custom Stencils but the majority I use anymore especially for craws I've drawn out myself and transferred heavy card stock as a master which I use to create low tack frisket film stencils as necessary. Sometimes on larger swimbaits for bass and gill patterns, I can do better at replicating the patterns free hand rather than with a stencil.

Go to TJ'S tackles website, get their phone number and call them, they sell precut discs of fluidizing membrane. You have to call because it's not on the website. It's actually designed for the job and is leaps and bounds superior to any home brew "solution". Try it and you'll thank me.

Sprayed Tamco 9500 if any sort of volume is involved. Catalyzed automotive urethane, rock hard, non-yellowing, crystal clear and fast.

IMO Devcon is near the bottom as far as finishes go. If you wish to stick with epoxy, BSI 30 minute is less brittle, yellows less and is more forgiving. If you are only doing 1-5 baits at a time it would be my recommendation. That being said, I switched to spraying Tamco 9500 catalyzed automotive urethane 2 years ago and will never go back to epoxy. It's advantages are: it is thin, crystal clear, 100% non-yellowing, rock hard, rated for submersion so it is 100% waterproof and it cures fast. Fast enough that you can do 3 coats and be ready for hooks and hardware in less than an hour. A few disadvantages: A respirator and GOOD ventilation are a must, it's not suited to doing small numbers of baits (I do 20-30 at a time) and you'll do best by having a dedicated brush. I use a Sparmax bottle feed with a .7 nozzle. I'm sure others will chime in plus you can do a search for more options. Everyone has their favorites and the more options you look at the better.

For small quantities, hassles probably do out weigh the benefits. When I was doing 2 or 3 baits at a time I had my best results using BSI 30 minute epoxy. It yellows less than most similar products and is far less brittle than Devcon. It seemed slightly more forgiving as far as mix ratios go and as long as you applied a nice thin coat, it doesn't requiring turning. As far as cleaning a siphon brush, Paasche has a color cup that can be used in place of the bottles, this simplifies the cleaning process quite a bit. Other companies may have similar cup but reasonably sure Paasche's would work on anybodies brush.

Doubt dipping would work with Tamco 9500. I wouldn't want to anyway as it would remove some of the advatages of spraying while adding nothing.

I only use a siphon brush for clear coating, cleaning involve spraying acetone through the brush 3 times, then disassemble and drop the needle, nozzle, air cap etc into a jar of acetone to soak. The body of the brush gets cleaned out thoroughly with pipe cleaner soaked in acetone. As far as clear coat, I spray Tamco 9500HC automotive urethane. it is a far superior finish to any epoxy I ever used in the past. Rock hard, ultra clear, doesn't yellow, is actually rated for submersion unlike many epoxies commonly used, and it can be sprayed on swimbait joints with no effect on action. It is also ultra fast, hooks and hardware can be put on 15-30 minutes after the final coat. I can line up 30 baits, spray 3 coats and be putting on hardware and packaging in 1-1 1/2 hours (cure time can vary with shop temp). The downsides; it is highly toxic and requires both excellent ventilation and a respirator and clean up is a slight pain. Also, it doesn't spray well with a gravity brush, I use a Passche VL with a 1.08 nozzle. a .68 nozzle can be used if you reduce it.

Absolutely do not start out with a cheap brush. Here is why, a cheap brush will have poor performance and will be prone to clogging. I have seen this cause many people to quit out of frustration before they even had a chance to learn anything. a decent brush will be less frustrating for a beginner to deal with, allowing him or her to concentrate on learning the craft. A decent brush will have decent resale value so if you decide this isn't for you, you'll be able to recoup much of the cost. Same goes for paint, cheap Walmart craft paint is made with coarsley ground pigments that lead to a lot of clogging issues, even if thinned. Paint actually formulated for use in an air brush will be much less aggravating.