Juan Posted January 29, 2018 Report Share Posted January 29, 2018 I was wondering why my swimbaits come out with tiny craters, I can’t get them smooth?? And how is heat stabilizer supposed to be used?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baitjunkys Posted January 29, 2018 Report Share Posted January 29, 2018 what mold? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anglinarcher Posted January 29, 2018 Report Share Posted January 29, 2018 Juan, Welcome to the site. It is good to have new people join the fun. Normally we do not allow pictures, but for the purpose of helping people out, or getting help, they are permitted. Can you post a picture. Like Baitjunkys asked, what mold. Some molds are bad about this. Also, if it is a mold you made, we might need to see the mold or know more about to help you fix it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juan Posted January 29, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2018 It’s plastizol 500 from lure craft and its molds from them but also on a mold I made it’s in every one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anglinarcher Posted January 29, 2018 Report Share Posted January 29, 2018 First, I forgot to answer the heat stabilizer question. You add it when you re-melt plastic, especially if you are doing a clear pour, with no color or a light color. Plastisol can yellow (burn) if overheated, or heated too often, so the stabilizer helps to stop that. I almost never use it, but I pour some grubs that I want clear, colorless, except for a LOT of silver glitter I add. I just can't seem to re-melt the plastic more than once or twice without it yellowing if I don't add the stabilizer. OK, pictures would still be useful. It may be bubbles, and that will take one solution. It may be sunken spots, and that will take another solution. It might be a design issue with the specific molds, but we need to know more about which specific ones they are. It might be something I am not thinking about right now. The plastisol is probably not the problem. The fact you have it in both a purchased mold and one you made suggest a problem in how you are doing it, but again, we can probably help. We have a lot of great minds on this site, of which Baitjunkys is one, but every bit of detail you can give us helps us figure it out. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alsworms Posted January 30, 2018 Report Share Posted January 30, 2018 I'd try pouring hotter and slower before looking at it being a mold issue. As Anglinarcher mentioned, it could be a design issue ('specially if you made your mold out of LC's,) but I'd start with easiest first. Just my 2 cents....... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juan Posted January 30, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2018 1 hour ago, Anglinarcher said: First, I forgot to answer the heat stabilizer question. You add it when you re-melt plastic, especially if you are doing a clear pour, with no color or a light color. Plastisol can yellow (burn) if overheated, or heated too often, so the stabilizer helps to stop that. I almost never use it, but I pour some grubs that I want clear, colorless, except for a LOT of silver glitter I add. I just can't seem to re-melt the plastic more than once or twice without it yellowing if I don't add the stabilizer. OK, pictures would still be useful. It may be bubbles, and that will take one solution. It may be sunken spots, and that will take another solution. It might be a design issue with the specific molds, but we need to know more about which specific ones they are. It might be something I am not thinking about right now. The plastisol is probably not the problem. The fact you have it in both a purchased mold and one you made suggest a problem in how you are doing it, but again, we can probably help. We have a lot of great minds on this site, of which Baitjunkys is one, but every bit of detail you can give us helps us figure it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Landry Posted January 31, 2018 Report Share Posted January 31, 2018 I am betting if it's a silicon Mold the tiny dents will go away if u warm the Mold and will get better and gradually disappear if u pour for a while - getting the Mold very warm. This is what happens to my molds. Inthink it happens worse on big baits too. Mine are very big - like 9-16" muskie baits. I have a couple smallmpours and they do it less and warm up quicker too. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juan Posted January 31, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2018 Thank you your the second person who told me this I will try it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cub48 Posted January 31, 2018 Report Share Posted January 31, 2018 Sounds like bubbles in plastisol some bubble more than other. Degass plastisol by applying vaccumn will help also pull plastic from bottom of cup as bubbles rise. If it is a do-it sand cast mold that just a way it looks u can do a few things to improve it i am not a fan i like shiney baits slick and smooth .LOL Make sure if u are using a infra red thermometer use a digital to check it with as mine don't read correct after 250f or so over heating can cause more bubbles Cub48 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juan Posted January 31, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2018 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juan Posted January 31, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2018 3 hours ago, Cub48 said: Sounds like bubbles in plastisol some bubble more than other. Degass plastisol by applying vaccumn will help also pull plastic from bottom of cup as bubbles rise. If it is a do-it sand cast mold that just a way it looks u can do a few things to improve it i am not a fan i like shiney baits slick and smooth .LOL Make sure if u are using a infra red thermometer use a digital to check it with as mine don't read correct after 250f or so over heating can cause more bubbles Cub48 3 hours ago, Cub48 said: Sounds like bubbles in plastisol some bubble more than other. Degass plastisol by applying vaccumn will help also pull plastic from bottom of cup as bubbles rise. If it is a do-it sand cast mold that just a way it looks u can do a few things to improve it i am not a fan i like shiney baits slick and smooth .LOL Make sure if u are using a infra red thermometer use a digital to check it with as mine don't read correct after 250f or so over heating can cause more bubbles Cub48 I’m going to try a few different suggestions Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cub48 Posted January 31, 2018 Report Share Posted January 31, 2018 U might also try rubbing your inside mold with a lite coat of worm might help as someone else said might warm mold i never warm my molds but it looks like the plastisol is not flowing to mold good .Try let plastic set a little to let bubbles rise. Some wave a torch over plastic to bust bubbles i have not tried it but won't hurt. if the places are not in mold then this might help. Cub48 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baitjunkys Posted January 31, 2018 Report Share Posted January 31, 2018 the mold has air in it, when it warms it is expanding. The silicone probably wasn't degassed. Would be my guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juan Posted January 31, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2018 How do I degass it?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anglinarcher Posted February 1, 2018 Report Share Posted February 1, 2018 (edited) 7 hours ago, Juan said: I’m going to try a few different suggestions That is a good idea for sure, but doing one thing at a time might be a good idea. 3 hours ago, Juan said: How do I degass it?? https://www.amazon.com/Gallon-Vacuum-Degassing-Chamber-Pump/dp/B0713SJ1GV I use a different one, with a better/faster pump, but this will give you a good idea. 5 hours ago, Cub48 said: U might also try rubbing your inside mold with a lite coat of worm (oil) might help as someone else said might warm mold i never warm my molds but it looks like the plastisol is not flowing to mold good . Yes, the worm oil might help. Warming the mold might also help. BUT, it looks like there is some delamination of the lure??? I doubt that this is the cause, but, maybe, are you pouring the plastic after it has cooled too much? I only say this because cool plastisol will maybe delaminate and capture air more. 5 hours ago, Baitjunkys said: the mold has air in it, when it warms it is expanding. The silicone probably wasn't degassed. Would be my guess. Degassing silicone is the most expensive way, but I got my degassing setup for about $125 US. With the lure design we see, yes, degassing would have helped a lot, but, to be honest, the bubble shapes do not look like the air pockets I get when I fail to degass my lures. On the other hand, I don't pour lures that big, so I could be way wrong. He said early on that he made one mold and he bought one mold and both are doing the same thing. That is what is leading me away from the gas bubbles in the silicone mold. On 1/29/2018 at 3:48 PM, Juan said: from lure craft and its molds from them but also on a mold I made it’s in every one I am going to try and attach a link to a short, and bad, video of degassing silicone. https://drive.google.com/open?id=18dvPrp7jEj9-cO7Z2Iqf9K3KNEOVjae8 Good luck on your search. An after thought, or a slow memory. 30 years ago I had problems with a mold I got from Netcraft. I tried everything (where was the internet and TU when I needed them? LOL). One day I decided maybe I should clean the mold so I used a wet rag and alcohol. I should have let it dry, but I did not, so I poured into the damp mold. The air movement problems disappeared. When I poured the next time, the air problem was back. Now I know that alcohol reduces surface tension and that probably allowed the plastic to flow and push the air out better. I never tried it again, ever, but......... you can always give it a try. Edited February 1, 2018 by Anglinarcher added detail Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Landry Posted February 1, 2018 Report Share Posted February 1, 2018 I don't think degassing the Mold would have changed things. But I could be wrong - that problem would If he has a clear shiny Mold surface then he should get a smooth bait. It is similar to what I have seen with large baits and silicon molds. My surface is clear and shiny but after a pour 4 or 5 baits they start coming out dent free - and I get those same dents but a little less and smaller than his photo. I think it's the nature of the beast with silicon and lots of plastisol in a big bait but I would love to see a solution for this where my first bait comes out clean cause what I do know is pour a bunch of warm up runs in the first hour before I really start pouring even warming them in the oven at 200* didn't do it!!?? Found this elsewhere: Dent: Is due to uneven cooling and the dense body mass (cools slower) "sucking in" the cool skin along the wall of the mold. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Landry Posted February 18, 2018 Report Share Posted February 18, 2018 I am starting to doubt my last comment and will be exploring the idea of degassing my next silicone molds so that I can test if tiny air bubbles in the Mold are the issue. Problem is a degassing pump is at least 500$. A chamber is only about $150 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baitjunkys Posted February 18, 2018 Report Share Posted February 18, 2018 You can get a pump and chamber from best value vacs for 260 ish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baitjunkys Posted February 18, 2018 Report Share Posted February 18, 2018 I think you will find. The 1000s of air bubbles in your mold are expanding when you drop 350 degree plastic in them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted February 18, 2018 Report Share Posted February 18, 2018 52 minutes ago, Baitjunkys said: I think you will find. The 1000s of air bubbles in your mold are expanding when you drop 350 degree plastic in them. Would preheating the mold help? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Posted February 18, 2018 Report Share Posted February 18, 2018 Preheating will expand the bubbles earlier but won’t remove them from the surface. Makes it longer to demold with the same result. Removing the air in the mold first is the answer. The vacumn and chamber seems expensive but when you have one it is priceless. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baitjunkys Posted February 18, 2018 Report Share Posted February 18, 2018 https://www.bestvaluevacs.com/best-value-vacs-3-gallon-aluminum-and-mastercool-6cfm-pump-kit.html Pretty good value. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Posted February 18, 2018 Report Share Posted February 18, 2018 This one would be worth trying too. https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F231611404572 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juan Posted February 18, 2018 Author Report Share Posted February 18, 2018 Never used a degasser I don’t know how long it should be in or how much to put in there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
