Curing soft plastics ***sorry for another newbie question***

[Fern]

While reading up on plastisol I keep coming across sentences that say "this plastisol cures faster" or something along those lines. Should I be curing my plastics? how do I know when it is cured? I have been using dead on plastix plastisol and i've been making tubes with it using the lurecraft mold and for the most part I've been just tossing them in a Ziploc bag with worm oil and I haven't noticed anything wrong with them. on some occasions I've even fished with my tubes just a few hours after making them and I haven't noticed anything wrong with them but then again, I wouldn't even know what i'd be looking for. 

 

[Apdriver]

Just shot baits if tossed right into bag helter skelter style will set and kink just like you bagged them. Most of us don’t want a kinked, bent baits so we lay them out or some hang by sprue to let cure. I try to give my baits a couple weeks before bagging. Not sure how long everyone else is curing or if there’s a “standard“.

[Les Young]

 I hang mine by the sprue to keep them straight. I don't consider them cured until dry to the touch then i bag them if going fishing & add a little worm oil & sometimes give them a heavy spray of bang crawfish spray. Not necessarily right or wrong it's just the way i do it for my own  personal taste. You'll figure out a system that suits your needs best too.

[Driftwood]

We generally let our baits hang for 24 hours. That has always worked for us.

[DaBehr]

I lay mine out flat for 24 hrs.

FYI, if you have a bait that is bent, you cab normally fix it by dipping it in a pan of boiling water.

[DaBehr]

I don't think you asked this yet, but I keep a pile of used baits, that I poured, in a worm proof container and let them dry for a couple days.

I cut them up into small pieces and then reuse them by color along with some fresh plastic. Make sure you get the whole mix to 350 so that the fresh plastic has completely changed state.

NEVER use wet baits! I only re-use my own baits and never remelt any store bought baits.

 

[Jig Man]

I don’t sell baits but several guys come over and make them.  When we demold them we put them in a pan of cold water.  After they cool for a while we dry then bag them.

[McLuvin175]

I think the term cure is somewhat conflated with cool and or rest. Plastisol can take up to 24 hours to reach its final hardness after shooting. The amount harder it gets is very subtle and isn't even noticeable by most people. I think it is during this time frame that if the baits are bent up the compression set is more severe than if they are bent up after a few days of resting. Whether you hang them or lay them out straight i think letting them rest overnight before storing them is wise if you are concerned about compression set. If you not concerned them you can fish the bait as soon as it is cool to the touch.

[Tiderunner]

13 hours ago, McLuvin175 said:

I think the term cure is somewhat conflated with cool and or rest. Plastisol can take up to 24 hours to reach its final hardness after shooting.

Agreed. I look at it as more of like paint curing, or fiberglass resin, varnish, etc. Called Offgassing. My thought is the smell of freshly baked plastisol would turn off the fish. So I let mine sit flat for at least 24 hrs, longer if I forget about them. To off-gas. Then at bagging I add more than enough 50/50 mix worm oil and scent juice.

I do however use a lot of hardener in some baits. And The next day, what I thought were perfect firmness are now too stiff. Something to keep in mind when using additives, like salt or hardener. They will get a bit firmer after this so- called curing.

[Fern]

9 hours ago, Tiderunner said:

Agreed. I look at it as more of like paint curing, or fiberglass resin, varnish, etc. Called Offgassing. My thought is the smell of freshly baked plastisol would turn off the fish. So I let mine sit flat for at least 24 hrs, longer if I forget about them. To off-gas. Then at bagging I add more than enough 50/50 mix worm oil and scent juice.

I do however use a lot of hardener in some baits. And The next day, what I thought were perfect firmness are now too stiff. Something to keep in mind when using additives, like salt or hardener. They will get a bit firmer after this so- called curing.

Thank you for your response along with everyone else now. I think I understand now why it is important to cure.

[Fern]

On 5/13/2020 at 7:24 AM, DaBehr said:

I don't think you asked this yet, but I keep a pile of used baits, that I poured, in a worm proof container and let them dry for a couple days.

I cut them up into small pieces and then reuse them by color along with some fresh plastic. Make sure you get the whole mix to 350 so that the fresh plastic has completely changed state.

NEVER use wet baits! I only re-use my own baits and never remelt any store bought baits.

 

I do keep my scraps aside but just in a 2 gallon ziplock bag. Are worms attracted to this plastic? 

[Fern]

On 5/13/2020 at 4:32 AM, Apdriver said:

Just shot baits if tossed right into bag helter skelter style will set and kink just like you bagged them. Most of us don’t want a kinked, bent baits so we lay them out or some hang by sprue to let cure. I try to give my baits a couple weeks before bagging. Not sure how long everyone else is curing or if there’s a “standard“.

Thank you! after I read your comment about the bent and kinked baits I went and looked at mine and noticed that some were def bent a bit. Someone who commented after you stated that dipping kinked baits in boiling water will fix the problem so I am hoping that will fix any kinked baits but I feel like I now understand the importance of curing the baits. thanks again. 

[Apdriver]

No problem. I like to lay my baits out because I want to remelt my sprues and use up all the plastic I can during that run. Cuts down on how much remelt plastic I have under my bench. I use industrial cookie sheets they sale at the restaurant supply. Very large and they won’t fit in a regular oven. For the small straight worms you can even stack them without any problems. Small baits too, if you want. I have seen others talk about flat spots on larger baits caused by stacking. I guess a weight thing but I don’t shoot many large baits. 

[Big Bob75]

9 hours ago, Apdriver said:

No problem. I like to lay my baits out because I want to remelt my sprues and use up all the plastic I can during that run. Cuts down on how much remelt plastic I have under my bench. I use industrial cookie sheets they sale at the restaurant supply. Very large and they won’t fit in a regular oven. For the small straight worms you can even stack them without any problems. Small baits too, if you want. I have seen others talk about flat spots on larger baits caused by stacking. I guess a weight thing but I don’t shoot many large baits. 

I like that idea of using the industrial cookie sheets. 

[Fern]

15 hours ago, Apdriver said:

No problem. I like to lay my baits out because I want to remelt my sprues and use up all the plastic I can during that run. Cuts down on how much remelt plastic I have under my bench. I use industrial cookie sheets they sale at the restaurant supply. Very large and they won’t fit in a regular oven. For the small straight worms you can even stack them without any problems. Small baits too, if you want. I have seen others talk about flat spots on larger baits caused by stacking. I guess a weight thing but I don’t shoot many large baits. 

Thank you for the information. You mentioned above that you would let the baits cure for a couple weeks, so are you just putting them on a baking sheet and leaving them out for a couple weeks? I am assuming in a cool dry environment vs a hot garage? should I put a coating of worm oil on them consistently during the time that they are curing or do I not have to worry about them drying out too much? cracking? or any other negative side effect to just letting them sit out for weeks.

[Apdriver]

I just let them sit is all. Nothing special as far as care. Just enough worm oil or scent, if you want, so they will bag easily when I’m bagging them. 

[basscatlildave]

I usually let them sit for an hour or so then bag em up with scent. By the way I have made some threw em in a bag and went fishing 15 minutes later.