basst Posted May 14, 2012 Report Share Posted May 14, 2012 Hi Guys I know this topic has been dealt with to death and I have read and re read every post on here to educate myself. The information shared on here makes the learning curve so much shorter. Thank you. I received my batch of locally produced plastisol and i had mixed results. I am hoping you can give me your opinions to some of the issues i had and let me know what you think of my potential solution. I used the standard pyrex cup, microwave heating method and got my plastisol to nice consistency and then placed the pyrex beaker on a heated magnetic stirrer to maintain working temperature. The magnetic "bean" spins and helped to stir the plastic and the first dip i made was my best. The issue i had was the outer edges of the pyrex beaker there was a layer of cooled plastic and when this is stirred in it make "globs" which i am sure all of you seasoned dippers know make your baits look terrible. Obviously the surrounding air is cooling the outer edges of the cup and because the plastic doesn't transfer heat as evenly as water, my efforts to stir it are working but only for a small coloumn of plastic in the middle. My plan to rectify this is as follows: Please feel free to shoot holes in it if you think its wrong. I am going to get an aluminuim pot that i will drill and place a stiff wire ring holder at the top of it. This will be to suspend the pyrex beaker in. I will then use an oil that has a smoking point higher than the temp used to maintain the plastisol in a workign state so as to not burn the oil. The oil will be heated to the correct temp and the plastisol will then obviously be surrounded with oil at the same temp. This will insulate the pyrex beaker and in theory stop the outer edges from cooling. Because the pyrex beaker will be close to the bottom of the aluminuim pot the magnetic stirrer will still be able to spin the "bean" in the plastisol and stir the plastisol to keep it consistent. Do you think this can work? What temp is optimum for maintaining the plastisol to dip. I know that the temp controls the thickness etc. What have you guys found to be a good working temp? Thanks in advance for any criticism. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bass-Boys Posted May 14, 2012 Report Share Posted May 14, 2012 I hope your plan works out. i work with the plastic in the middle of the pirex ,,leave the cooled plastic on the sides of the pyrex,, when the center gets to cool, then stir the cooled edge plastic into the rest and reheat til all is liquid. dip til it cools down then stir & reheat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basst Posted May 14, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 14, 2012 Hi Jeff Thanks for the advice. That is a good plan. What made my issue worse was that the pyrex cup i had was too small and the warm coloumn in the middle was not big enough. Considering that the blade has to go in at an angle to get good coverage on the tail, then the nose touches the side. A bigger cup will allow me to "stay away" from the cooler clumps on the side a lot easier and for longer than the one i was using allowed. If my new plan works, it will hopefully allow me to use a smaller cup and save on plastisol, as i am not producing on a large scale, yet... Typically, how many can you dip before you have to reheat? Do you stir the cooled plastic in and then microwave it all again, or allow it to reheat on the hot plate or whatever you keep it warm on? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHK Posted May 14, 2012 Report Share Posted May 14, 2012 dont stir it while you are dipping. you will have far better results. i think you are over complicating it a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basst Posted May 14, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 14, 2012 SHK- point taken, keep it simple. I always need to be reminded of this. I need to get a bigger vessel, stop being a cheap skate and use more plastic. It will take longer to cool and allow me to make a heap of baits. Thanks guys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atijigs Posted May 14, 2012 Report Share Posted May 14, 2012 Frank did a real nice video on dipping swim baits. I think you will see if you have a sufficient amount of plastic you can keep it hot long enough to accomplish your goal. http://www.tackleunderground.com/community/topic/20897-dipping-swim-baits/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basst Posted May 14, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 14, 2012 Frank's video is what got me started on this whole thing. Trouble is, he makes it look so easy and there is a lot of trial and error to go through before one is producing baits like Frank's. I will get a bigger vessel and post a success story soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basst Posted May 14, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 14, 2012 Hey guys, please check the pic i've uploaded in my gallery and give me your opinions. Am i getting close here with this whole thing? Its early days and only my 2nd attempt, but so far i'm very happy with the result. The bigger beaker made all the difference. Thanks for the help! http://www.tackleunderground.com/community/gallery/image/10532-hollow-body-swimbait/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHK Posted May 14, 2012 Report Share Posted May 14, 2012 i think you just hit the nail right square on the head Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basst Posted May 15, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 15, 2012 Thanks SHK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bass-Boys Posted May 15, 2012 Report Share Posted May 15, 2012 very nice.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basst Posted May 15, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 15, 2012 Thanks Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted May 15, 2012 Report Share Posted May 15, 2012 To my untrained eye, one of the key's to Frank's system is the electric griddle he keeps the pyrex cups on once he's heated them in the microwave to get the plastic hot. From his videos it looks to me like the pyrex stays hot enough that the plastic doesn't cool on the sides enough to be a problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basst Posted May 15, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 15, 2012 (edited) Does anyone know what temperature Frank maintains that griddle at, or is that his secret? I am trying to acheive what his griddle is doing but i must be operating at a lower temperature hence the cooling. Edited May 15, 2012 by basst Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHK Posted May 15, 2012 Report Share Posted May 15, 2012 maxed out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted May 16, 2012 Report Share Posted May 16, 2012 One of the fantastic things about Frank is that he shares. PM him and I'm sure he'll tell you. I don't know where it is, but he posted a video here that show his whole process. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Posted May 17, 2012 Report Share Posted May 17, 2012 I set it at 400. It does cool down a bit but it takes awhile. One thing I have found out is if the bottom of the pyrex or whatever you use is flat it takes the heat better. Frank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
