fishnart Posted March 9, 2012 Report Share Posted March 9, 2012 Ordered some RC 2.5's a while back and they came with the lips already taped. I thought, oh wow...cool. So yesterday I painted one, spent half the day on it painting a lot of details on a very realistic bait, looked good. Took the tape off and the lip was broken in half underneath. What a wasted day. So today, I grabbed another to do that one over, clients waiting on them. Spent half the day again painting same bait. Took the tape off and the dang lip had some kind of yellow coloring on it. Dried paint it looked like cause it had some shimmer to it...couldn't get it off. Finally used laquer thinner and a qtip and was able to get some of it off, but the lip seems to be stained. But also the thinner made the lip get rough or soft and now is a little cloudy. What the heck? Does anyone have any ideas on what I can do with this lip? I really don't want to piant this thing again, I have a ton of others to do. Whats the lip made of to where the laquer thinner had that reaction? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted March 9, 2012 Report Share Posted March 9, 2012 You might try sanding the lip with some fine sandpaper to start with. I would suggest something in the 400 to 600 grit to start with. If you have access to even finer grits it would help to follow up with these. Working your way up to 1000 or even 1500. After the sanding is done you can give it a quick dip in acetone. The acetone will melt the surface of the plastic giving you a smooth surface again. This is a time consuming process and I really wouldn't recommend it for anyone doing baits in volume, but if your trying to save one or two baits it's the best thing I've come up with. Is there a problem with returning the baits other than the extra time it adds to the filling of your orders? Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobP Posted March 9, 2012 Report Share Posted March 9, 2012 Don't know how you clearcoat your baits but if can get the stains or paint off with sanding, you can dip the lures in DN to make them clear again. Auto clearcoat might do the same thing but I haven't tried it. Lips I've sanded with 400 grit and dipped looked virtually new again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crzyjunyer Posted March 9, 2012 Report Share Posted March 9, 2012 ive started clearing all my lips w/ auto clear when i to the rest of the lure - usually one coat is pleny to remove the cloudyness and make a good clear lip - most ive purchased are a lil cloudy when i get them but ive had no problems with yellowing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted March 10, 2012 Report Share Posted March 10, 2012 I cleared the lip on an older bait (Mann's 30+) with auto clear a couple months ago. I don't know if it was the age of the bait, the material it was made from, had something to do with the type of auto clear I'm spraying, or what it was, but the lip became (for lack of a better word) crumbly around the edge of the lip. Small pieces would break off if you dug at it with your fingernail. If anyone notices this same problem I'd like to hear about it. Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishnart Posted March 10, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2012 Thanks for the tips guys, might try the sanding and dipping for practice but yeah, for just one bait I'm not sure if its worth it. Rayburnguy, for some reason I feel guilty returning them. I don't want to trash talk the company so I won't mention them, they've been good in the past with issues that have come up. My last order of these baits I received two with broken lips (they did offer to take them back). And I'm pretty sure the one with the taped broken lip was in this order also, along with the painted one. Not sure how that happened, I didn't treat it rough, drop it or anything, heck the lip was protected by the tape??? Thats why I was wondering what these things are made of?? Plus its been a while since I received these, I feel bad returning them now. Just learned to inspect them when I get them from now on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted March 10, 2012 Report Share Posted March 10, 2012 If it's been a good while since you received them I can understand your reluctance to return them, but their offer to take them back is just good business practice. Crankbaits are not intended to be treated with kid gloves so I wouldn't worry about accidentally dropping it or treating it a little rough. That is unless your definition of treating it rough is smashing it with a hammer. They are designed to take quite a bit of abuse. If they weren't they wouldn't last long when pulling them through stumps, limbs, sand, rocks, etc. In other words a typical days fishing. And like you said you've learned to inspect your orders when they arrive so maybe this served to be a good learning experience if nothing else. Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishnart Posted March 10, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2012 Yeah, I don't know why I'm reluctant either...silly. But yeah, I've learned to ck them better now. Thanks for your input. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassnbrad Posted March 12, 2012 Report Share Posted March 12, 2012 Ben, That Mann's 30+ is just like the two of us, no matter how much spit and polish we use, we're still crumbly around the edges... I had some older LC's do the same thing though, came to realize I had cleaned them too well with alcohol. When I DN'd the baits you could quite literally watch the bill split as the DN set up! Weird thing was they did not split on the thinner part as much as the thicker part near the body. Fishnart, if you paid full price for the baits take pictures and send them to the seller. Ask him/her if they want you to send the baits back or if they would rather you just trash them as they would and send you replacements. Most times if they can see the baits are defective they will just ship you out some more. Better to keep a happy buyer than to lose future sales... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted March 12, 2012 Report Share Posted March 12, 2012 Ben, That Mann's 30+ is just like the two of us, no matter how much spit and polish we use, we're still crumbly around the edges... I'm too soft and fluffy around the edges to be crumbly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musky Glenn Posted March 12, 2012 Report Share Posted March 12, 2012 RayburnGuy, I can relate to that! Musky Glenn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saltshaker Posted March 13, 2012 Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 I have yet to receive a blank that was already taped. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nedyarb Posted March 13, 2012 Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 I have! They were the 2.5 KO's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted March 13, 2012 Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 If I were buying unpainted blanks and received some with taped lips that would be a red flag to me. Only explanation that I can see is that it was one somebody had started to paint and decided not to. Either that or there was a flaw in it. Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishnart Posted March 14, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 14, 2012 Ben thats exactly what I'm thinking now. Why would someone tape the bills for you, never have in the past like you say...same with the broken one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted March 14, 2012 Report Share Posted March 14, 2012 I learned the same lesson you did Fishnart. I've only ordered KO's twice from two different suppliers. The first bunch were great little baits similar to a Norman DLN. They looked and ran great. The second bunch I ordered came in and they looked flawless as well. I painted and clear coated a few and they sat around for a good while before I got around to fishing them. That's when I noticed that the line ties were just a wee bit loose in the lip. Not really enough to even be noticeable until you started trying to tune them. They would not stay tuned for love nor money. And no amount of cussin' would fix them. Believe me, I tried. I did learn a good lesson though. Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nedyarb Posted March 14, 2012 Report Share Posted March 14, 2012 The company I bought mine from is a member on this site. I am hoping they will chime in and give a reason why thy would tape the lips prior to mailing them. BTW I never fished with the lures, they would not swim at all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishnart Posted March 16, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 16, 2012 Well so far I've only had one incident where a bait didn't run well, the rest have??? Now I'm sure I just jinxed myself. I also had an incident when I tried to tune one, the rapala crankbait knockoff, and the lip started cracking right a way so I didn't continue. So what to do?? If you don't buy these knockoffs what unpainted baits do you buy? Maybe I should start a new topic and ask that question. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skeeter Posted March 17, 2012 Report Share Posted March 17, 2012 (edited) fishnart, Your lips are shot. Laquer thinner will cloud those lips. They are plastic. ANY type of paint thinner (acetone, lacquer thinner, xylene, etc) will cloud ANY type of clear lip whether it be plastic, acrylic, or polycarbonate. You can try to shoot some urethane clear on the lip but you are messing up the action of the bait by doing that and it will wear off really quick. Car clears will never protect any type of paint job for long. But everybody uses it because it is easy. Most of these types of bait bodies are just CHEAP Chinese bait bodies. They are all made of plastic and aren't even worth 5 cents apiece. So many, so called "custom" bait sellers are just buying bodies by the thousands, putting a pretty paint job on them, and selling them for an inflated price. You want to paint some for yourself...... cool. You want to paint some for your buds...... cool. You want to paint a bunch of them up and sell them as custom baits for an inflated price.....So uncool. Everybody thinks these bodies are done with consistancy and are weighted properly. Most of this stuff is nothing more than junk. Trust me... I have been around in the bait business. There isn't much that I haven't seen when it comes to lures. Especially crankbaits. The best thing that you can do is get your money back. Then.... learn to make your own. Skeeter Edited March 17, 2012 by Skeeter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishnart Posted March 17, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 17, 2012 Well I do sell knock offs as knock offs. I never misrepresent my baits, so the client knows what they're getting when they get them. And so far, I haven't heard anything but good reports. And in my opinion they're still getting a good deal, I only get $13 for a bait for my most detailed bait and I typically spend several hours on one bait getting all the detail. So by the time I buy it, paint it and finish it, and ship it the customers getting a heck of a deal, I feel I'm the one getting the short end of the stick as I'm sure most of us on here do. I can say at this point I don't sell them to make money, I just like doing it for people and I enjoy seeing them happy, so for now the money isn't the big deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skeeter Posted March 18, 2012 Report Share Posted March 18, 2012 (edited) Fishnart, Maybe I came off a bit gruff here. I understand. I like to make baits and do repaints that people enjoy too. It is a good feeling when someone gives you a big smile when they see work that you have done for them. I have just had a bunch of those types of baits offered to me pretty cheap. The person trying to sell them to me said that he gets $30.00 plus for them. He gave me some and I tried them out. Ran like crap. I tore them apart and saw that the ball bearings that they used to weight them were glued in off center when they glued the two halves of the bait together. They are suppose to be free floating inside the bait. I just got upset that someone would try to sell that stuff to someone. When you got your baits and saw what kind of shape they were in it should have been a big wake up call. I would not buy any more from that supplier. Once you try to clean up clear lips with anything (except water) you will have some kind of permanent marking on them. There is just not much that you can do. I am glad that your previous baits worked out good for you. A good repaint on a bait sells for around $10 to $15. So your pricing is good. I am sure that your hard work will bring alot of happiness to your customers. I hope you do well in your venture. Paint on !! Skeeter Edited March 18, 2012 by Skeeter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
