Help...made my first mold...wasn't good

[basspro159]

I just wanted some help making a mold. I am trying to mold the reaction inovation flirt worm. I used DWP and a non stick small cake pan. I glued the worms to the bottom of the pan with super glue, mixed up the DWP and poured it into the pan. I put the pan on the dashboard of the truck to cure. After curing I carefully got the mold out of the pan and it looked bad. The DWP covered some parts of the worm, the tail area looked bad too. Can anybody share info on what i am doing wrong? Thanks for any advice.....

[squigster]

I am no mold master but it sounds like your mix was way too thick. You need to thin it down to a smoother consistency and tap the pan with something for the air bubbles to come up away from the bait. What works for me is to glue the baits down to a pice of lexan, plastic etc... and make sure there is no place for the plaster to get under. I then make a very small mix of plaster in a dixie cup and baste the baits and let them sit until they are almost try. This helps fill in any voids if your mix isnt thin enough and it eliminates 90% of the air bubbles. I then apply two more coats and before the third coat dries I mix my batch and slowly pour in in the corner until my mold is filled to its desired depth. also, the bait you are trying to produce is very hard to do if not impossible in a one piece mold because the tail is shaped like a cross and you cannot glue down the tail well because one of the fins is sticking up and you cannot also get the texture on the belly becasue it is glued down. My advice would be to start with another flat sided worm like a zoom finesse or trick worm because tehy are easy. Start there and as you have success try more complex and even two sided molds. Good luck and I hope this helped.

I just wanted some help making a mold. I am trying to mold the reaction inovation flirt worm. I used DWP and a non stick small cake pan. I glued the worms to the bottom of the pan with super glue, mixed up the DWP and poured it into the pan. I put the pan on the dashboard of the truck to cure. After curing I carefully got the mold out of the pan and it looked bad. The DWP covered some parts of the worm, the tail area looked bad too. Can anybody share info on what i am doing wrong? Thanks for any advice.....

[Zbass]

squigster has hit it on the head. The flirt worm would be difficult to make due to the tail. You may have to trim the bottom of the tail off to be able to glue it down. The tail will be difficult to pour also. Definatley mix your dwp to a runny pancake batter before you try to pour. I have not basted before but that seems like a great idea.

Zbass

[basspro159]

Thanks for the tips. I will try it with a thinner mixture of dwp to see if that helps.

[GB GONE]

I find it much easier to mold these worm baits with distinct tails or other unique features differently.

Pour your DWP or plaster into the container, gently push the bait halfway into the DWP or pop.

Dry as before. Remove the bait and coat the top portion of the mold with a thin coat of vaseline. Replace the bait into the cavity you removed it from.

Mix DWP or pop as before, pour slowly over the bait starting at the front and sloooowly working your way over the bait.

Let dry and carefully remove the mold. It helps to turn the mold container over and gently press on the bottom of the container to help force the mold out. (If you used glass, you have to tap the container).

Divide the 2 halves and wipe any access vaseline out. Allow mold halves to dry further. Coat with your preference of coating...Devcon, Elmer's glue mix, e-tex, etc.

I find the 2 piece will pick up the full detail of the bait and allow for a fuller bait when poured.

I have molded the flirt before and the tail does come out well in a 2 piece, no venting is needed.

Jim

PS Also consider using something as a sprue (pour hole) as making one after the fact can ruin the good mold.

[HJS]

basspro159 - I've never tried using a non-stick pan as a mold. I'm no expert concerning non-stick pans, but I'm guessing that even superglue would have a hard time holding on to a non-stick surface. The lure needs to adhere fairly tightly to the bottom of the mold. I'm guessing that sections of your lure may have broke free and floated up slightly off the bottom of the mold pan. That allowed a little plaster to creep under the lure.

Also, I've been mixing my PoP fairly runny, like thin pancake batter, better thinner than too thick. Like I've said before, if you have to help the PoP out of the mixing bowl with a spoon or a rubber spatula then its too thick. After pouring the PoP, just a few taps on the side of mold pan and the PoP should level out completely flat. If not than its too thick.

And last, develop your molding techniques by making 1-piece molds before attempting a 2-piece mold.