Dealing With Cloudy Lips Or Off-Color Bodies

[buzfly]

I just got a batch of 1 1/2" crank baits.  I like the shape and design, but the plastic is not crystal clear.  It is somewhat off color and has a brown tinge to it.  

 

I went through a bunch of different washing/cleaning solutions getting strong as I progressed.  Soap & Water, 409, Mineral Spirits and Acetone.  Tired 1000 grit wet sanding.  Not much of a change.  They are not the Bone/Off White bodies.

 

Any Suggestions on how to deal with it?  

Paint the body and clear coat the lip?

Paint the body and paint the lip and clear coat it?

Toss them out and put it in the lessons learned?

 

Thanks  Brad 

Edited August 6, 2016 by buzfly

[mark poulson]

It looks to me like the color is in the plastic itself, so I don't think you can get it to be clear.

For open/clear water fishing, I could see how it might be distracting to a bass.

If you're going to grind them through the rocks and mud, I don't think the bass will notice.

If they were just for my own use, I'd mask the lips, paint the bodies, and fish them.  Maybe even put some claws on the lips for any crawdad patterns.

I've even painted little bait fish on the bills, so the bait looks like it's chasing something.

[SW Lures]

Totally agree with Mark. I'll go one further, paint a few of them as you normally would and fish them. I don't know where you are from but around here the water is stained must of the year, so for me it's why not. I'm assuming that these are for your use only, not for sale. It would be nice if they slay um.

Keep us informed, interested

Dale

[Travis]

It is the plastic so you are stuck with it.  Just one of those things that you expect at the price point of many blanks.   I wouldn't be too worried about the bills to be honest.  Thanks to micarta billed cranks guys aren't nearly as hung up on the clear bills.  

 

I wouldn't be too happy with the seller however if those were the blanks I bought (unless the color was specified).  

[fishon-son]

heres what you have...the plastic turns what is called burnt...it happens when the plastic sticks to the stud before being shot into the mold...by sticking it gets dis colored....the stud needed to be polished the grooves in the stud from turning will slow down the flow causing it to burn/off color from clear...the manufacture sold the burnt baits dirt cheap to someone and they sold them to you...like a 2nd.  no fixing it..paint over the lip ...

[fishon-son]

a quick fix would be to blast them.....then you cant see the dis colored part.....lucky craft started doing this for there off colored baits...i looked closer at your bait    its not burnt...looks like older plastic   kind of like a regrind over and over...it starts to turn tan-ish after to many regrinds....sand blasting will fix that..but it wont be clear you'll have that cloudy look..thats is ok i like that look on baits

[buzfly]

Thank you for all your input and wealth of knowledge. I come from the commercial fly tying world and do a lot with Saltwater Poppers. I am looking at painting crank baits as a crossover into the tackle end of the business eventually turning/carving larger Saltwater/Musk baits.

 

Thanks once more.   

Brad

PS - Now if I Could get a good supplier of the 5 to 7 inch plastic bodies that would be a home run

[BobP]

I've seen lots of Chinese cranks that look like this. The brownish color can be rust from the steel weights inside the body and I doubt there's much you can do about the milky plastic since it's probably through and through. I'd do as Mark says and mask the lips, paint the body. If they are good performers, the bass will bite them regardless. But before I went to the trouble of finishing them, I'd certainly take them out on the water and see how they swim. Some knockoffs work OK, some are worthless. Some guys don't mind cloudy lips, many do so it's definitely ends up a negative if you are finishing them for sale.

[SW Lures]

I'll keep a eye out and will give a post if I do. What is the running depth that you are looking for? I don't even remember seeing any this size.

I stated this before and I'm going to do it again. If you are buying plastic blanks, deal with people who fish their own blanks. BobP is most likely spot on with the reasons. There are at least three sellers here at TU that sells very good products that I know of. I have heard nothing but good things or delt with a few of them. Maybe one of them may have this size or can help you. Yep you are going to pay a little more for them, but.......?

Dale

Edited August 7, 2016 by DaleSW

[buzfly]

Thanks once more for the great replies.  I did get a response from the supplier in China.  They suggested to just clear coat the lips.  I will give it a try.  These are not the best blanks I have gotten but maybe I can get them to work.  

Thanks once more.

 

Brad

[SW Lures]

I was out in the shop today and I have same 5" minnow type baits. They are to be able to get to 8-10'. I painted some for a friend and I bought a few extra for my self. Most suppliers have this size but 7 or 8" I haven't seen any blanks that I can recall. I have made some 8" Musky baits myself and found them to be easier to work with then smaller baits. More paint tho, but I'm extremely happy with the way they turned out.

Good luck and oh by the way welcome to TU,

Dale

[SW Lures]

Man same times I wonder about myself, I guess y'all do to. Haha

At the top of the hard bait forum there is a thread about blank suppliers. You may find the baits there.

Good luck

[Mr Ben]

I'd still use them.

Paint the lips or leave it be? Personally I'd clear coat em, but I'm just a noob anyway.

I don't think it matters to a fish too much just as long as it moves and looks close to something they might like to eat. I've got a few factory lures where the bills have discolored or got white cloudy over the years.

They still catch fish, so try not to get too discouraged with yer purchase... ... Unless you intend on selling to strangers at the flea market or something. However I don't think a friend would turn down a well finished lure.

Best wishes. I look forward to seeing the finished version(s).

Edited August 9, 2016 by Mr Ben

[SW Lures]

I was thinking about this tread while I finished a circuit board lip lure (from LPO). My baits catch fish.

Don't think it really matters. Presentation, action, sound and schemes that matches forage food or some times flash really matters IMO. It's reaction in a strike. Not a yum yum moment.

Have a good one,

Dale

Edited August 9, 2016 by DaleSW

[Josh Buck]

Hello everyone!

 

First time posting, but I thought I'd give my thoughts on this. I have had the same problems when stripping down Bomber 9A's. All of the lures I stripped down were cloudy and had a greenish tint to them.  I tried acetone, but the acetone loves to eat the plastic. Even a quick dip would damage the plastic when it was flashing off.

 

So recently, I stripped one down with DOT 3 brake fluid, sanded, sanded some more, wet sanded with 400 grit, and wet sanded with 1500 grit. The lures were still cloudy, but they were pretty transparent when wet.

 

I decided since it was clear when wet, it would probably be clear after clear coating. My suggestion would be to check them underwater in the sink.

 

That may not be the issue, but as you can see below, where it is clear coated, it is pretty transparent.

 

 

Hope this helps, and yall have a great day!

 

 

Josh

 

 

[SW Lures]

I've heard about the brake fluid cleaning with very fine sand paper, but I never tried. Looks pretty good. Nice job, May help someone.

[Josh Buck]

Thanks.

 

So far it works pretty good for me. It's not nearly as harsh on the lures, unless you soak a cloth and leave the it on said lure for an hour. That's why the lip is still cloudy, I had to sand out the cloth impression. I didn't want to risk putting epoxy on the lip and have to try and remove it later.

[Chuck Young]

PS - Now if I Could get a good supplier of the 5 to 7 inch plastic bodies that would be a home run

The only supplier I know who does blanks that size is Nitro lures. The lures are mostly discontinued models from W Lure, a Chinese supplier. The last three digits of the Nitro part # and the W Lure # are the same. Prices are very reasonable, but practically no info is given about the lure. If you know someone who has used those suppliers in the past, you can get the info you need from them. You have to buy 250 at a time; there may be a possibility of sharing an order with someone. I have had good success with 2 large blanks:

103

eye                  up to 9mm

body length        7"

OAL                  8" with glue on stainless lip

weight               1-1/4 oz

depth                 5-7 ft

Notes: apparently through wired, bone color, no scale detail

 

052

eye                    7mm

length                7"

weight               1-1/2

depth                2-4 feet

Notes: through wired, clear body, shallow scale and full gill detail

p.s. On the green mackerel I have applied addition scale detail.

Edited August 22, 2016 by Chuck Young