King Bait Co. Posted July 11, 2008 Report Share Posted July 11, 2008 I have been going to all RTV silicone molds over the past few months. I found that I can get five to ten RTV silicone molds made compared to one or two stock CNC molds. MOKEYqpHUNTER has been making my RTV silicone molds for me. He has been doing custom molds that I can't get made anywere for under $600 or more and that price is for five CNC molds:eek:. MOKEYqpHUNTER gets them made and back to me in about a week and keeps me updated the whole process by phone or email:yay:. The RTV silicone molds have help me get long pours done faster because I have more molds and I can get them out of the molds faster. So I have decided to go with all RTV silicone molds. Do to the price MONKEYqpHUNTER makes them for. Also I can have more of a oringal soft bait that no else has. Then cutting down my production time is a great plus I can get more done in less time. The ones I have been getting made are almost good as a CNC mold so my plastics still have the detail that I like to see in my plastics. So if your the little guy like me or are just starting out they are the best and only way to go:yay:. Its nice having a new connection like MONKEYqpHUNTER I made on TU. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RipLip Posted July 11, 2008 Report Share Posted July 11, 2008 I've been thinkiing of doing the same thing. I have a lot of AL. molds which are great but for custom molds, silicone and POP are the way to go. I went back and followed all messages on a custom mold today that started on 3/24/08. That is for a AL. mold which I know will be nice but it is now July and half way through the season in NH so that doesn't work to well. My question to you is how reliable and long do the silicone molds last? Also do you have any full round or two piece style molds? I've worked on my own to see if they were effective in the water but I would rather have someone with experience to fine tune them. Good advice King and I'm going to contact Monkeyhunter on this subject. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Bait Co. Posted July 13, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 13, 2008 (edited) I have some RTV silicone molds that are three years old now. I think they will last quite a long time if you take care of them. I dont have any full rounds yet. Me and MONKEYqpHUNTER have been shooting some ideas around on how to make a full round for one of my new custom plastics. RipLip do you mean a custom bait you made needs fine tuned for action in the water? Edited July 13, 2008 by King Bait Co. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Travis Posted July 13, 2008 Report Share Posted July 13, 2008 I have several two piece RTV molds. They work just fine. But I still prefer aluminum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Bait Co. Posted July 13, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 13, 2008 Do they have a frame around them and how thick are they? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RipLip Posted July 15, 2008 Report Share Posted July 15, 2008 Basically when I said fine tune I mean neaten the job up. I pretty much can get the bait the way I want it in a master but when I make the mold out of silicone I'm just kind of messy with stuff like that. Someone with more experience making them can get me a better mold there for they will be better baits. I know there are cleaning steps and other secrets that make them better that I just don't do. I'll have dust particles and I'll set the bait in too the silicone to far sometimes and then if you try to fix it it gets worse, just a whole mess of different stuff happens when I have made the few I have now. The last couple I know I used too much silicone which is pricy and I just eye the mixture for the silicone so everyone feels different. You know how you always try to make something better....sometimes it doesn't work out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RipLip Posted July 15, 2008 Report Share Posted July 15, 2008 This is probably dumb but I'm going to throw it out there anyway. When you guys are talking about two-piece silicone molds I am a little confused when you say you don't have any full rounds. If it is two-piece doesn't that make it full round???? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobShaw-BasSport Posted July 15, 2008 Report Share Posted July 15, 2008 RTV is how many of us started. For me, I guess Ive been pouring for close to 15 years. When the custom aluminum molds first hit the market, I, like many others quickly bought everything that was available. Unfortunately, the 3 or 4 guys that makes these molds are not able to keep up with the demand and the customer service for atleast one of them is deplorable. When I find some free time nowadays and want to pour a bag of worms for friends or myself, I find myself reaching for one of my trusty rtv silicon molds! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Bait Co. Posted July 16, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 16, 2008 This is probably dumb but I'm going to throw it out there anyway. When you guys are talking about two-piece silicone molds I am a little confused when you say you don't have any full rounds. If it is two-piece doesn't that make it full round???? I mean a two piece when I call them a full round. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zbass Posted July 16, 2008 Report Share Posted July 16, 2008 Thought I read somewhere in these forums about the rtv breaking down after awhile. Is that true or is that just in high use situations? Zbass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Bait Co. Posted July 17, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 17, 2008 I think it is how you take care of them. In the long run lets say you dropped your two piece aluminum mold and it cracked or broke a half. You would have to spend a $100 plus shipping to get a new one. If your RTV mold wears out you can get ten to twenty or more for that $100 you spent on the aluminum mold. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delw Posted July 17, 2008 Report Share Posted July 17, 2008 I think it is how you take care of them. In the long run lets say you dropped your two piece aluminum mold and it cracked or broke a half. You would have to spend a $100 plus shipping to get a new one. If your RTV mold wears out you can get ten to twenty or more for that $100 you spent on the aluminum mold. an aluminium mold you won't crack or break one in half, UPS even tried to run one over and the only thing that survived was the mold. they won't bend either unless you use a press.nor will they wear out, they will also bring about the same amount you paid for them 7 years later when you decide to sell them. if you drop one the only thing you will do is nick and edge, then you just take a file and file it flat. Molds are like tools the better the quality the more they will cost. that all being said there are some baits that alum wouldn't be justifiable to make and RTV or pop would be much better and cheaper. as far as RTV being cheaper, its a toss up RTV isnt cheap and it takes a bunch to make a mold, getting 10-20 molds out of a 100 bucks worth of RTV seems like alot, most guys get 2-3 out of the $25 jar ( 16oz?). The cheapest would be pop and the baits are just as good if not better than RTV. RTV does have its advantages and one being able to pour very small extremities with out the plastic setting up. RTV lets the plastic flow extreamly nice and into thin areas which with a aluminum mold maybe difficult or not able to do at all. the biggest difference in a alum mold vs a pop or rtv mold is the perfectness of the bait and it being symetricle(sp) on pop and RTV and other stuff you have to pour over a master to make your mold its only as good as your master, if its crooked then so is you finished product. alumin is computer drawn and is symetricle through out.ie all extreamities match etc. The detail on RTV doesn't come out near as good as POP becuase RTV is thicker. if you want to make lots of molds for cheap use fiberglass resin, just dont drop them cause they will shatter but for 100 bucks you can get alot more than 20 molds. Also fiberglass will give you very good detail if your master has it. I've made quite a few molds with fiberglass and RTV a long time ago and the fiberglass was the one I liked best Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delw Posted July 17, 2008 Report Share Posted July 17, 2008 Thought I read somewhere in these forums about the rtv breaking down after awhile. Is that true or is that just in high use situations?Zbass I dont know about breaking down, but they will start to give off a dull finish after a while. this can be fixed by sticking them in the oven for around 100º which brings out the oils and gives you a shinny finish again. I think you can do it up to 5 times? I have one at the house that is over 7 years old, it still looks new and is flexible Chris with al's worms knows alot about RTV and the shiney finish, he has posted alot about it in the past. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bass-Boys Posted July 17, 2008 Report Share Posted July 17, 2008 the guys at Lure Craft tell me they replace there Resin Molds 1 each year..For the Poor Boys stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Bait Co. Posted July 19, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 19, 2008 Delw Your right twenty is a high number with prices going up these days. I think I paid $6 or $7 dollars for the last one's I got. That was earlier this year. You can get them cheaper from people who make them. Then the places who sell them for a living. I still get molds from them also but I can only get a few at a time when I order from them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Bait Co. Posted July 19, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 19, 2008 (edited) Sorry I forgot Delw you do make some pretty good molds that I can't live with out. Edited July 19, 2008 by King Bait Co. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delw Posted July 19, 2008 Report Share Posted July 19, 2008 King are you sure you got RTV molds and not another type of resin or other mold? RTV is very expensive even if you buy it in 5 gallon increments. Lots of people call other flexible molds RTV molds and there not the same type when bobby and I were making them when back when for our personal use, RTV molds were costing us like 15-25 bucks each to make and that was just enough for 5 dropshot worms with a 3/8 of rtv between the bait and the bottom and 1/2" on each side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Bait Co. Posted July 19, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 19, 2008 Their blue if that helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spike-A-Pike Posted July 19, 2008 Report Share Posted July 19, 2008 The RTV I know was the stuff by Dow Chemical in the 1980s, it was orange and used on the jet engine insulation blankets and in the engine bays. After it cured up, it would stay flexible and was good at temperatures up around 700F. Even back then, it was pricey, according to the manifested parts cost it was $28.00 for either 6 or 8 oz. The stuff wasn't cheap but it never failed and our pilots always bet their lives that it would work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delw Posted July 19, 2008 Report Share Posted July 19, 2008 The company I used to buy all my fiberglass for boat work sold pretty much everything to make molds, they had hundreds of different products ranging from high to low. alot of it had to due with shrinkage as to how it was priced. as far as color its hard to say cause every product has a a few different colors. we used the RTV cause that was the in thing back then (2001-2002). it worked and served the purpose we even tried the dental stuff ( cause we used it by the case for our inspection dept.) that stuff had very little shrinkage but after a few weeks it got brittle and cracked plus it was pretty expensive. I have heard of guys using window silicon some say add a little water and its suppose to work really well. Delw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
finfever Posted July 19, 2008 Report Share Posted July 19, 2008 (edited) I have molds from lurecraft and Del and i gotta admit i like the aluminum(Dels) but the RTV ones are cheaper and i know the aluminum will out last the other by light years. I've also made some RTV molds with a 1lb kit and got 2-4 1/2" swimbait molds out of it. Just don't make the same mistake i did, make sure you glue the WHOLE bait down so it doesen't float on ya. Still have that piece to remind myself of what a du-mass i was for not doing it right the first time....lol Edited July 19, 2008 by finfever Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Bait Co. Posted July 19, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 19, 2008 finfever don't worry about that. I think just about everybody here has one of thoes dum-ass moments. You should worry if you keep doing it. I think he gets his RTV from Lure Craft or M-F. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Bait Co. Posted July 23, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 23, 2008 King are you sure you got RTV molds and not another type of resin or other mold? RTV is very expensive even if you buy it in 5 gallon increments.Lots of people call other flexible molds RTV molds and there not the same type when bobby and I were making them when back when for our personal use, RTV molds were costing us like 15-25 bucks each to make and that was just enough for 5 dropshot worms with a 3/8 of rtv between the bait and the bottom and 1/2" on each side. I think he gets it straight from M-F if that helps any Delw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
