Bassbme Posted April 10, 2020 Report Share Posted April 10, 2020 I have some 3D eyes that I put on spinnerbaits that I make, and I'd like to put them on some of the baits I'll be pouring. Is there something to glue them to a bait that isn't as much of a pain as using super glue is? What are you guys using? Are you using molds that will mold an indentation in the bait's body, to recess the eyes? I'm thinking an indentation in the body would make it easier and more durable. Any thoughts or tips provided will be greatly appreciated. I looked through the soft bait gallery, and there are some sweet looking eyes on some of those baits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anyfish Posted April 10, 2020 Report Share Posted April 10, 2020 I dont put many eyes on but the baits i have done have formed spot for the eye. I have stuck them on and then dipped them in a thinned clear plastisol to seal it all. I think without this step almost any eye will come off. Hope it helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
21xdc Posted April 10, 2020 Report Share Posted April 10, 2020 Super glue has always ruined the coloring for me... I just stick them on and clear coat over top. Speaking about lead and hard body cranks/topwaters etc.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassbme Posted April 10, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 10, 2020 Anyfish, thank you for the reply. I definitely appreciate it. What you're saying about sealing them in with clear plastisol is what it looks like they've done on some of the factory swimbaits that I have. It definitely holds them in. With your dipping the bait in thinned clear plastisol, what are you using to thin the plastisol? And do you have any problem with the heat melting the eyes? Seems 340 degrees would melt those buggers. 21xdc, thank you for the reply as well. I really appreciate it. I do the same thing as you when putting the eyes on my spinnerbaits. The clear coat holds it them in really well. Never lost an eye on one of my spinnerbaits. I use Auto Air colors for my spinnerbaits so clear coating them is just a step in the process. I was kind of hoping to avoid another step in making these baits. Making a new mold so that I have a bait with a recess for the eye in it isn't a big deal, but I was hoping to find a glue other than super glue. Once again, thank you to both of you for the responses. I really do appreciate them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anyfish Posted April 10, 2020 Report Share Posted April 10, 2020 I have only done a few. I guess thinned isnt the right term, i just made up some clear and dipped away when it was hot and still very thin. I didnt have any problems with eyes melting. I used the do it essential plastisol if that matters. I dont do eyes often, as it became just one more step that i dont know how much really matters to the fish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassbme Posted April 10, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 10, 2020 Anyfish, thanks for getting back to me so quickly. I appreciate it. I'm definitely going to give your process a try. And I'm not really sure if eyes on a bait make that much difference to the fish in most instances. My guess is that it just might in clear or clearer water. The baits I plan on putting them on are drop shot baits. The water I normally fish isn't all that clear, but it's a different story when I go up to Lake Erie. Up there you can have 15 - 20' visibility in some places. I have a goby bait that I will be pouring that I will be using up there. I want it to look as natural as possible in hopes of fooling some of those tank smallmouth. I have a new mold setting up right now, that I took some of the baits I've poured already, and modified them a bit. I took a #11 drill bit, and using the flat end, I heated it on the stove until it got hot enough to melt plastic, and I just poked it into the head of the bait. It made a nice round indentation that was nice and flat on the bottom. I checked it out and the eyes sit almost flush with the skin of the bait. If dipping it in clear plastisol turns out being a bit of a pain, I'll just super glue them in. The recess in the bait should really take some of the mess out of using super glue, and I'm thinking it will make for a more secure bond as well. Again, thank you for the response. Greatly appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alsworms Posted April 10, 2020 Report Share Posted April 10, 2020 I used PRO's Soft Bait Glue. Worked just fine for me...... https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/PROs_Soft_Bait_Glue/descpage-PSBG.html 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassbme Posted April 10, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 10, 2020 alsworms, thank you for the reply. Very much appreciated. Honestly, I wondered about that stuff. I gave Mend It a try and even though I didn't expect Mend It to work because it's not really a glue .... I was hoping it would. I've been making some Frankenstein baits and was running low on Mend It, so I am actually on Tackle Warehouse's web site right now ordering some more Mend It, and some 5 mm eyes along with a couple of other things. I just added the Pro's soft bait glue to my cart. Thank you again. This is really starting to come together for me. I had ordered a plastisol sampler from Bait Plastics, and that came today along with a sample color and some purple string glitter. That was very cool of the folks there. Package tracking shows my order from Lurepartsonline will be here tomorrow with the rest of the other stuff I've ordered thus far. I'm ready to get some things going, that's for sure. Oh ..... and the sample color they sent me was Coral ....... anybody got some ideas on what to use it for? It's not a color I would normally use, but you never know .... mix it with a different color or two and it might prove to be very useful. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iamthesmf Posted April 11, 2020 Report Share Posted April 11, 2020 13 hours ago, Bassbme said: I have some 3D eyes that I put on spinnerbaits that I make, and I'd like to put them on some of the baits I'll be pouring. Is there something to glue them to a bait that isn't as much of a pain as using super glue is? What are you guys using? Are you using molds that will mold an indentation in the bait's body, to recess the eyes? I'm thinking an indentation in the body would make it easier and more durable. Any thoughts or tips provided will be greatly appreciated. I looked through the soft bait gallery, and there are some sweet looking eyes on some of those baits. May I suggest Loctite super gel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassbme Posted April 11, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 11, 2020 (edited) Iamthesmf, thanks for replying. Personally I've been using the Gorilla super glue for a while now. It doesn't clog up the tip and quickly as the other brands I've tried. From what I read in the reviews of the Pro's soft bait glue that alsworms suggested, it might be even better than the Gorilla glue when it comes to the bottle being useless after just a few uses. Once again, thank you for the suggestion. I will keep it in mind if this other product doesn't turn out to be what I had hoped. Edited April 11, 2020 by Bassbme 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alsworms Posted April 11, 2020 Report Share Posted April 11, 2020 6 hours ago, Bassbme said: Iamthesmf, thanks for replying. Personally I've been using the Gorilla super glue for a while now. It doesn't clog up the tip and quickly as the other brands I've tried. From what I read in the reviews of the Pro's soft bait glue that alsworms suggested, it might be even better than the Gorilla glue when it comes to the bottle being useless after just a few uses. Once again, thank you for the suggestion. I will keep it in mind if this other product doesn't turn out to be what I had hoped. Funny you should mention Gorilla Glue. I use that stuff for everything now, but I don't believe it was around when I poured. I'm thinking it would probably be your best bet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassbme Posted April 11, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 11, 2020 (edited) 1 hour ago, alsworms said: Funny you should mention Gorilla Glue. I use that stuff for everything now, but I don't believe it was around when I poured. I'm thinking it would probably be your best bet. That stuff is great, isn't it. I'm going to give the Pro's fishing glue a shot for sure. I like what I read about it in reviews on Tackle Warehouse's web site. Always have the Gorilla glue to fall back on. On a completely unrelated topic .... I just got my order in from Lurepartsonline.com. On their soft plastics colorant page, they list transparent orange with an NB, non bleed. All the other colors I bought were also listed as non bleed. Those other colors state non bleed on their bottles, the transparent orange does not. I'm thinking I should trust the bottle and assume the color will bleed, and not the Lurepartsonline web site. Anyone have experience with #54 transparent orange? If so, does it bleed, or not? It's an M-F brand colorant. Edited April 11, 2020 by Bassbme 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassbme Posted April 12, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 12, 2020 (edited) I figured rather than start another thread, I'd just post to this thread. I did my first pours with virgin plastisol today. I was just trying to get some color recipes going. I learned a few things. I learned that the transparent orange colorant that I bought that was listed as non bleed on the Lurepartsonline.com web site, does in fact, bleed. And pretty quickly too. I poured one bait using it and after letting it cool down, I stuck it in a bag with some chunked up white plastic. It started to bleed into the white within about 20 mins. I'll be dropping Lurepartsonline an e mail to let them know. I learned that Bait Plastics Super Tough plastisol, really is super tough. lol It's hard to even tear it. It should make a good pad material for the craw chunk trailers I'll be making. Way too stiff for the claws though. I'll probably be doing the top of them with medium. The super tough also stays pretty thick even when it's been brought to 350 degrees. I learned that a little glitter goes a long way. lol And I learned that getting that just right color takes a while. But it's worth it. And I learned what I already knew that I would learn. And that is that this pouring baits stuff is addictive as all get out. lol Edited April 12, 2020 by Bassbme 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MonteSS Posted April 16, 2020 Report Share Posted April 16, 2020 Get the Lureworks/Spikeit eyes. They are made from plastisol so Mend-it adheres them permanently with no need for clear dip. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassbme Posted April 16, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 16, 2020 MonteSS, thank you very much for the reply. And that is great information to know about the eyes from Lureworks. I placed an order with them last night, but I will definitely order some on my next order. Thanks again for the tip, definitely appreciate it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alsworms Posted April 16, 2020 Report Share Posted April 16, 2020 Sometimes those non-bleed colors need a couple days before being tossed in with other colors. Learned that early on. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hpssports Posted April 17, 2020 Report Share Posted April 17, 2020 A cheaper alternative to Mend-It for soft eyes would be HH-66. HH-66 is the same as Mend-It just not repackaged. You can find small cans on Amazon for around $8.00 shipped. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassbme Posted April 17, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 17, 2020 alsworms, thanks for the reply. I appreciate it. The thing about the color that bled is that it didn't say non bleed on the bottle. All of the other non bleed colors I bought had non bleed marked on the bottle. I also went on M-Fs web site and looked to see if they listed a non bleed transparent orange, and they didn't. It makes me think Lurepartsonline has a mistake on their web site. I sent them an e mail about it, but haven't heard anything back from them as of yet. hpssports, thank you for the reply as well. I wrote that down. Definitely a money saver. I appreciate the tip. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
