gone2long Posted August 23, 2013 Report Share Posted August 23, 2013 Anybody use them here, I'm just dabbling into hard baits for a hobby not for resale and they were pretty cheap so I don't expect much but figured they were a reasonable price for learning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted August 23, 2013 Report Share Posted August 23, 2013 "Because blank lure (unpainted lure body) is not a ready to cast lure, please at least coat with a epoxy layer before you cast it in water, especially please seal the tail, head and eyelet if possible." I've never used their lure blanks, but the above statement copied and pasted from their website would be a red flag for me. The way I took it was to mean that you need to seal their baits as they may not be watertight. This is just my opinion though and I could be wrong. Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A-Mac Posted August 23, 2013 Report Share Posted August 23, 2013 "Because blank lure (unpainted lure body) is not a ready to cast lure, please at least coat with a epoxy layer before you cast it in water, especially please seal the tail, head and eyelet if possible." I've never used their lure blanks, but the above statement copied and pasted from their website would be a red flag for me. The way I took it was to mean that you need to seal their baits as they may not be watertight. This is just my opinion though and I could be wrong. Ben I agree. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Prager Posted August 23, 2013 Report Share Posted August 23, 2013 They are middlemen that deal with several factories. They are the same blanks several vendors here use. Most are fair, have some imperfections but are not too bad. They are not high quality blanks. I call them knockoffs of knockoffs. I have bought from everybody and the only one I've never had a bad blank from is www.unpaintedlures.com. I have bought and compared the "same"model blanks from various vendors, and i can assure they are not the same. Most vendors in the U.S. sell a mixed bag of quality blanks. Unpainted does not do this. He is the only vendor to have ALL high quality blanks as opposed to a mixed bag. I do like and buy one model each from two other vendors here in the states. Believe me, I have a box full of crap that is just sitting here. I don't even think I would put them on e-bay without feeling guilty. Wlure is honest though...I bought 80 topwaters that sunk like a rock. They called the factory and then refunded my money within 24 hours. Vendors here, only offered credit as opposed to refunds on bad baits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nedyarb Posted August 23, 2013 Report Share Posted August 23, 2013 I agree with prager, unpaintedlures.com has been my favorite kos by far. All swim correct and are good quality. Predatorbassbaits I believe sells some of his lures that have errors for cheap, if your just looking to practice painting them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gone2long Posted August 23, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 23, 2013 Thanks for the speedy response guys yeah I'm not expecting to much in the way of quality and figure I'm not wasting good baits during the learning curve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Prager Posted August 23, 2013 Report Share Posted August 23, 2013 (edited) Then, just get some that they have on sale. They run sales every week for like .60 each with free ship. Takes about 2 weeks to get. You can also practice on some pvc pipe I was referring to their website.....not e-bay sales. They have both. Edited August 23, 2013 by Richard Prager Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gone2long Posted August 23, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 23, 2013 thanks rich yep I pulled the trigger on 5 of each crank, minnow and popper just to get the feel for different baits plus if they do float I may even be able to use them fishing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nedyarb Posted August 23, 2013 Report Share Posted August 23, 2013 These lures are .30 cents! http://www.predatorbassbaits.com/id69.html?no_redirect=true Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gone2long Posted August 23, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 23, 2013 Thank you sir I knew someone would hook me up! Thanks again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassnbrad Posted August 24, 2013 Report Share Posted August 24, 2013 I have ordered quite a bit from him. And as Ben stated they do have that on thier page about sealing the bait, but since 99% of us clear out a lure before wetting it that should not be a issue. Overall the bodies are decent. You have to be ready to try different ones to find ones that are better than others for what you want. One of the main thing about ordering from him is to keep in mind you are looking at a 3-4 week wait on the bodies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gone2long Posted August 24, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 24, 2013 Thanks brad when you say "Him" are we still talking about wlures or are we talking about Predator lures? Yeah I would think after several coats dried and heat set then a thick coating of D2T it would be good but at least they are honest which is rare these days so I'll just keep my eyes out when they come in to see if there is a noticeable gap in them. And yeah I hear ya on the shipping times kinda long but I have enough old knockoff's to mess with while waiting Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted August 24, 2013 Report Share Posted August 24, 2013 The thought that crossed my mind after reading about sealing the lures before getting them wet was not about being able to waterproof them with a coat of epoxy, but that there might be problems in the process that was used to weld the two halves together and just how extensive these problems were. If there were an incomplete fusion around the area of a hook hanger or line tie could this lead to the hangers pulling out? I don't know, but it is something I would be concerned with. Now if Gon2long is just going to use them for painting practice then this wouldn't be an issue, but if he plans on fishing them it could be. Personally if I cut corners on the baits I build and ended up losing that "fish of a lifetime" I would never get finished kicking myself in the keister for it. Just my Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gone2long Posted August 24, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 24, 2013 Straying from my original question a bit being that I indeed intend to use them for painting practice is there a limit of how many times you folks will paint over the same lure? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted August 24, 2013 Report Share Posted August 24, 2013 My bad. From the way you stated your question I didn't understand that you were only wanting them for practice. And like Richard said you can practice on PVC pipe much cheaper than buying lures. If your using water based paint then there should be no limit to the number of times you could paint on the same piece. Just give it a scrubbing in hot water and dish soap and you should have a clean surface again. Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougarftd Posted August 24, 2013 Report Share Posted August 24, 2013 WLure has a distribution center in Texas now. Can get them in a few days...they really are pretty nice baits. When they first started they were crap but have really improved. I have purchased from some of the "better" distributors here in the U.S. and they sunk or had gaps. It seems like any of the aftermarket companies you will have to discard a few. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gone2long Posted August 24, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 24, 2013 Thanks for the tip Ben it's appreciated, the reason I decided on using blanks is I need to learn some controls in tight areas for shading and such and figure the real deal will give me a better understanding of my brush's quirks, I Actually have 2 I bought the Iwata neo and the Paasche Talon TG3 for it's versatility for the money my little neo is very nice, the Talon had some quirks I had to work out but overall now that I have them worked out I can see this brush as a workhorse as its built like one. Thanks again and I'll keep you folks posted when I receive the blanks on the off chance that things turn out better than expected Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracy G Posted August 24, 2013 Report Share Posted August 24, 2013 I have used them before. Their c57 deep diver is actually a good bait. Bottom line is, as stated above, some are good, some aren't. I used to order only the ones on sale, now I'd rather build my own wood bait's, nothing that they did just personal preference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
