spoonpluggergino Posted March 3, 2012 Report Share Posted March 3, 2012 I want to thank you all of the members on this sight. With out you guys I would still be scratching my head trying to buid and paint baits. The ultimate satisfaction is to catch fish on your own baits, especially if you are a devoted fisherman no matter what your quarry is. I finally was able to complete two glide baits, I think they are the most challenging baits if they are to be done correctly. I tested the baits had some slight flaws but idid not give up made the necessary adjustment and now they work perfectly. I had the ballast right but i did not take into account that when I put the hooks on the rear hook is further away from the axis of the center balance and that caused tail down, I re-adjusted the rear weight and now the head of the bait is sligtly head down. I learned all this from you gentileman, Thank You. I did use the dunk test and this is right on the money taking in to account all the hardware and top coat. I use a 17 inch 1000ML. beaker graduated in 10 ML. My first trial was to find the total ballast that would take to sink the bait, but I did not have any data on the weight of my clear topcoat, so I figured what ever my topcoat would come out should be enough to sink the bait otherwise just add additional ballst once the bait was completed. I am not afraid to go in to the bait and do surgery, otherwise the learning curve stops. Now I know what each layer of topcoat weghts, on a 8 inch glide bait is roughly 1.3 grams. I weighted the bait after each coat of clear and cataloged the data, I will do this for every different and size baits that I will build eventually I will have a pretty good idea on the final weight of the bait once topcoated, of course different topcoats may weght sligtly different. Now when I ballast and balance the bait I will hang the hooks on than balance the bait. I made a gadget to balance the bait I do not after do it in the sink or bucket of water and it seems to work just great. The final test will be in the bucket or sink than to my pond.I pour molten lead in to the bait works great with hard wood, I took this page from another TU member I made a mold out of hard wood and I made lead mold of different weghts and I use this wehgts to balance the bait including small split shots, once i know the total ammount of lead needed I divide it in each ballast hole to get the perfect balance. Once this is done I weight the lead in each hole, than I melt each one and pour back in to the corresponding hole. I use a very small ladle and all the lead comes out without sticking to the ladle. I use a propane torch melts the lead very quickly make sure you do not get it to hot.I also use a scale graduated in grams again this was another TU member Idea to work with metric measurment, it is really easy to use and very accurate. On my first baits I am using Parks topcoat from Home Depot only because I had this from 2.5 years ago when I purchased to repair some foil baits the the foil was peeling off. It seems to be working fine, I will test it out, hate to trow it out I done lots of searching and I see that the most popular topcoats on TU are the following : Envirotex Lite, Devcon 2-ton 30 minute epoxy and the one that I am most intrigued is Dick Nite S81 topcoat, but it also seems to be the toughest one to get shelf life once the can is open. Now I have read all about tapping the can with a screw, but I have not really read how to keep the air out of the can, beside Bloxygen. Beeing a refrigeration mechanical contractor I understand all about pressures and inhert gases and so forth. I know once you take liquid out of the can something will replace that space most likely air, unless the can is pressurized with some inhert gas. My question is for the guys that dip the bait in DN what you do with the rest of the can, and for the guys that tap the can I imagine you guys must take out just enough DN to brus the bait. The reason I am interested in the DN sounds like is one of the toughest topcoat and because I fish for muskie that would be my choice if I could figure out how to preserve it Some info I have searched the internet and the two topcoat that are easly found is Envirotex Lite at Menard seems to have the best price on the larger box under $ 20.00 Devcon 2-ton you can get it at Walmart for $ 18.96 plus 8.97 for shipping. The best price for Devcon is at Hobbylink $13.19 and 5.95 for shipping same size as Walmart Thank you Gentileman for all you help spoonpluggergino 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobP Posted March 4, 2012 Report Share Posted March 4, 2012 As far as topcoats go, DN S81 is a relatively new option compared to epoxies. It yields a very thin tough glossy coat but some guys (including me) find it hard to do multiple coats without it bubbling or delaminating acrylic finishes. I like S81 for bass baits very much but can't comment on how well it will do on musky or saltwater lures. If there is a classic topcoat for musky baits, it is probably Envirotex Lite applied in multiple coats to build up a tough, tooth-proof topcoat. It's "classic" because several very good musky builders here on TU favor it. D2T is much thicker than Etex, cures faster, but maybe is a little more brittle when cold and maybe yellows a little faster than Etex. Opinions vary. If you're interested in Etex, take a look at the member submitted tutorial about achieving a perfect finish. It is the textbook on using Etex. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seeking 56 Posted March 4, 2012 Report Share Posted March 4, 2012 I also fish for muskies and build gliders as well. They are my favorite search baits. BobP is right about Envirotex. It is what I use. There is also Nu lustre 55 but there's no reason for me to switch. I find applying a total of 3 thin coats is sufficient. I wet sand with 200 grit between coats. I hope you have as much luck as I do with the gliders. s54 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spoonpluggergino Posted March 4, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2012 Thank you Bob P and seeking 54 You guys made up my mind Envirotex will be, plus Menards is only a mile away from me. seeking 54 curious about your avatar name are you looking for a 54 inch muskie. Took me 30 years but last year finally caught a 51 incher on a homemade dowble ten bucktails. Yes so far I have been lucky the glide baits are working really nice, thanks to TU members Thanks again fellows sooonpluggergino Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seeking 56 Posted March 4, 2012 Report Share Posted March 4, 2012 Hi Gino, Yes, 54 is what i'm after. It's the legal size limit in the main body of water I fish. Not that I would keep one, i'm all about catch and release. But it would be nice to say I caught a legal musky LoL! 50'' plus fish are a different beast and as of the last few years i've focused my search primarly on these monsters. Good fishing! Joe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spoonpluggergino Posted March 4, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2012 Joe I wish you the best, Happy hunting Gino Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nedyarb Posted March 5, 2012 Report Share Posted March 5, 2012 Gino, Hobby Lobby carries etex also. And 40% off is good too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted March 6, 2012 Report Share Posted March 6, 2012 When I used Etex, I asked the tech. rep. on their site if I needed to sand between coats and she said no, as long as it's within 24 hours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
