Best All around plastic

[natchomamma]

Hi,

New to the forum and making softbaits.  So many choices its confusing.   I am planning on making my own Senkos, LFT magic shad, and Rage twin tail menace baits. I have purchased the do-it essential starter kit and GY Senko mold.  

1.) What plastic do I want? (I prefer not to have several different types of plastic.  Is there 1 formula that will handle it all for my lures listed above)

2.) What colorants do I ant to use?  Some work better than others? Do some bleed?

 

Thanks

 

 

[Les Young]

I like baitjunkys & spikeit. There are several others as well like lurecraft, do-it, chemonics,  m-f,  Polysol etc.  I've had good luck with spikeit & baitjunkys both  & Leonard at baitjunkys has the best price on 5 gallons batches too. If you're serious about pouring I'd for sure get atleast a five gallon batch because if not you'll be ordering again pretty quickly. I know I did & most of us here have too.  There are also some top notch pourers here that can answer about any question you have about all things plastic. 

[Anglinarcher]

Same question as 'is a redhed, a blond or a brunette better'.  Because I married a brunette does not mean that was the best choice for everyone.  LOL

You will need to determine what you prefer, and there are a lot of people that will tell you that the plastisol they use IS THE BEST.  I am not convinced, but it might be the best for how they use it.

I have settled on Alumilite Alumisol and use softener or hardener as needed, and a heat stabilizer on re-melts.  I believe I get the best results for most of what I do and it will do all of what you are listing just fine.

Still, I have several others I have used with great success. 

As for colors, Alumilite makes a few but I find that I end up going with a lot of other makers.  Yes, some colors do bleed, but the bleeding colors also tend to be the brightest and the most transparent.  Some are sold as Non-Bleed, and they do not migrate to other colors or out of the lure, but they are also less transparent, usually less bright, but serve a great and useful purpose.

Don't get overwhelmed by the number of brands, and I suggest if you are new that you resist the instructions by some to by 5 gallons of it.  You will be asking us why your pours are sticky, how to mix your old plastic, etc., like so many others have.  By small amounts and try several until you find the one YOU like, then, if you really need 5 gallons of it, then buy bulk.

[natchomamma]

If I purchase medium plastisol and a softner will this cover most of my needs?

[Jig Man]

1 hour ago, natchomamma said:

If I purchase medium plastisol and a softner will this cover most of my needs?

It does mine.

[Apdriver]

2 hours ago, natchomamma said:

If I purchase medium plastisol and a softner will this cover most of my needs?

I think so too, especially for the baits you listed. Welcome to TU.

[Anglinarcher]

3 hours ago, natchomamma said:

If I purchase medium plastisol and a softner will this cover most of my needs?

Yes, in fact, it would cover 99% of every lure out there.  I had several salt water guys that wanted even their salt water stuff as soft as possible.

 

[hpssports]

You need to keep in mind that it takes less hardener to get the plastic harder than softener to get it softer. With hardener you're adding resin & it doesn't take much. As for best plastic, everyone has their favorite. I used to like Calhoun & MF till we switched to Polysol. Polysol has a lower melting point & makes it harder to burn. We've went from an injection temp of 320 degrees down to 270-275 degrees with Polysol.

[mark poulson]

11 hours ago, hpssports said:

You need to keep in mind that it takes less hardener to get the plastic harder than softener to get it softer. With hardener you're adding resin & it doesn't take much. As for best plastic, everyone has their favorite. I used to like Calhoun & MF till we switched to Polysol. Polysol has a lower melting point & makes it harder to burn. We've went from an injection temp of 320 degrees down to 270-275 degrees with Polysol.

 

Does Polysol take color the same way?

Can you make transparents?

Is it as tough as, say, Baitjunky's medium?

So many questions, so little time!  Hahaha

[Anglinarcher]

I second Mark's question, and ask what sizes it is available in?  Always like to test new stuff. 

Saw this already posted.

$99.50/5 gallon right now and they do have a limited amount of basic pigments and glitter.

Looks like a fume respirator is highly recommended. 

Edited May 18, 2017 by Anglinarcher
added information

[Anglinarcher]

16 hours ago, hpssports said:

You need to keep in mind that it takes less hardener to get the plastic harder than softener to get it softer. With hardener you're adding resin & it doesn't take much. As for best plastic, everyone has their favorite. I used to like Calhoun & MF till we switched to Polysol. Polysol has a lower melting point & makes it harder to burn. We've went from an injection temp of 320 degrees down to 270-275 degrees with Polysol.

When emailing the company today, they still tell me that the inject temperature they suggest is 310 to 320.

I am curious if there is a thermometer issue and you are actually injecting at a higher temperature or if the company is just hedging their bet?

Looks like I might need to request a sample soon to try.

[natchomamma]

Thanks for the help everyone.  I got my mold in today and made my first stickbaits from "recycled" baits.

I'll call this color "vomit" 

These came out way better than I expected!

 

[hpssports]

2 hours ago, Anglinarcher said:

When emailing the company today, they still tell me that the inject temperature they suggest is 310 to 320.

I am curious if there is a thermometer issue and you are actually injecting at a higher temperature or if the company is just hedging their bet?

Looks like I might need to request a sample soon to try.

We've injected some at 320 with no problems but at 270-275 it sets up faster so we can demold quicker.

[Baitjunkys]

has a lower meting point because it doesn't have as high of viscosity, there is trade offs for that, Like salt and glitter suspension. 

[JACOBSMOLDS]

MF MANUFACTURING is the best quality in my opinion.

Edited May 18, 2017 by JACOBSMOLDS

[Anglinarcher]

4 hours ago, Baitjunkys said:

has a lower meting point because it doesn't have as high of viscosity, there is trade offs for that, Like salt and glitter suspension. 

In the same email, they told me the initial temperature needed to be the same as what I know the others use as well.

Still confused, but I will get a sample soon.

[hpssports]

Yep, the initial temp is still around 350. What we do is heat up to 350 & back off the temp to around 275. Once it gets to around 275 we start injecting. We haven't had any issues with glitter suspension but we also haven't tried to inject anything over 320.

Edited May 19, 2017 by hpssports

[bryanmc]

13 hours ago, Baitjunkys said:

has a lower meting point because it doesn't have as high of viscosity, there is trade offs for that, Like salt and glitter suspension. 

 

So, the viscosity of Polysol is lower at 275 than Calhoun at 320?   At some point on its way to becoming a solid doesn't it have to cross through the same viscosity as Calhoun at 320?  Just trying to understand what your saying.  (It's also possible I don't understand viscosity LOL).

Edited May 19, 2017 by bryanmc

[curt k]

they modified the formula to resolve laminating issues when guy/gals use laminate plates .  The original formulas didn't laminate too well so their solution was to make a formula that has a lower melting point so that the two sides would stick together better . 

Overall it's meant  to be cooked up just the same as any other plastic

Edited May 19, 2017 by curt k

[Baitjunkys]

5 hours ago, bryanmc said:

 

So, the viscosity of Polysol is lower at 275 than Calhoun at 320?   At some point on its way to becoming a solid doesn't it have to cross through the same viscosity as Calhoun at 320?  Just trying to understand what your saying.  (It's also possible I don't understand viscosity LOL).

I doubt it at 275, at equal temps it will have a thinner viscosity.  

[Baitjunkys]

Here is a prime example what viscosity does, This was heated to 370, stirred well, and left be to cool on its own in a pyrex. Clear plastic with salt.

Try that with whatever plastic you are currently using, and see what it looks like when its cold.

 

For the record, the plastic in this picture was my own formulation.  Nothing that is currently being sold.

 

Edited May 19, 2017 by Baitjunkys

[Anglinarcher]

Viscosity is simply the ability of a liquid to flow. 

Salt or glitter wants to settle with gravity if they are more dense then the fluid they are in so the fluid flows around them to allow them to settle to the bottom.  If the viscosity is high enough, the salt and glitter does not settle.  If the density of the salt or glitter were to match the fluid, they would not settle either.  This is not an issue, but in theory, if the salt or glitter were less dense they could float, IN THEORY.

Too little viscosity and you cannot fill small appendages in your bait, but too much viscosity and glitter and salt settle out.  To fix that, you can cool it quicker so it sets before they settle.

Baitjunkys demonstration shows a good balance where the salt stayed in, even though he heated it to 370.  Very nice.  Of course we cannot see if it is too thick to inject into small appendages, but Baitjunkys is pretty darn good at his craft so I doubt that is a problem.

[Baitjunkys]

At 370, I could shoot plastic thru a .005 trail 3" long.

There is drawbacks to shooting at 275, etc, I design to be shot hot as a sob, this way I know if it is gonna dent, flash etc...

In the injection machine, Ie a real one, not a glorified presto pot, we shoot as high as 400.

 

Edited May 19, 2017 by Baitjunkys

[goldenshinner]

Ive noticed when polyester glitter melts on remelt,the new blend is harder and tougher than original...anyone else notice this or have a trick to add some craft polyester to improve the plastics characteristics..

[mark poulson]

For me, a great example of how density works is seeing steel hooks floating on top of molten lead.  The lead is heavier/more dense, so the steel is forced up as the heavier molten lead moves down past it,  and the steel then floats on top of the molten lead.