Fern Posted August 7, 2020 Report Share Posted August 7, 2020 Hey all! was wondering if anyone can help me figure out how to properly paint with mica powder. I follow this lure maker from Poland on facebook and his lures all super realistic looking. I know he makes his own molds from real "dead" bait and then he says he paints them with mica Powder, however that is as much detail as he goes into. Is painting with mica powder just dipping a brush into the bare powder and brushing it directly onto the cured plastic? will it wash off when wet or is a clear dip necessary? his facebook posts are all in polish so the translation is really bad but he mentions using varnish and resin as well but I am not sure how he is using both the varnish or the resin but i do know the bait is soft plastic from what some have posted. While i have you all here, what is the best way to make a mold from a real fish? I would like to try it with some threadfin shad. I have read that some people recommend freezing the bait before casting it and others have said to coat it in resin. I would like to make a mold that has several cavities, would this be possible with a silicone mold? whats the best method? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
21xdc Posted August 7, 2020 Report Share Posted August 7, 2020 Wow.... Those are amazing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toadfrog Posted August 7, 2020 Report Share Posted August 7, 2020 To use mica powder on plastic you can brush it on with a sponge tip makeup brush . It looks a though he used clear plastic to achieve the translucent effect . Then used the mica for color. May have impregnated the core of the bait with some type of tinsel. That being said it will be necessary to do a clear plastic dip after brushing to retain the mica color for an extended amount of time . As far as using a frozen fish goes . You would need to dip it in 5 minute 2 part epoxy several times . Why use 5 min. epoxy ? Because the cold will retard the cure . It will take more than 5 minutes for it to set up . I'd use high temp silicone to make the mold . Myself it's more trouble than it's worth . Just buy an injection mold closest to the fish you want to copy . 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cami Posted August 7, 2020 Report Share Posted August 7, 2020 Looking at these wonderful baits the first question is: are they real or soft plastic? Would you like to post the web site of this real good Polish Maker, please? I really like to paint with powder pigments: it's easy and funny. Few rules: - clean surface with a solvent as MEK - as said apply powder with a sponge - fix the pigments with an heat source as a torch - apply a top coat as clear dipping, but I prefer a mix of PVC glue and MEK I agree with Toadfrog: the belly of these baits is probably obtained with an insert, I personally use a mylar net. Bye Cami 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fern Posted August 7, 2020 Author Report Share Posted August 7, 2020 (edited) 3 hours ago, Cami said: Looking at these wonderful baits the first question is: are they real or soft plastic? Would you like to post the web site of this real good Polish Maker, please? I really like to paint with powder pigments: it's easy and funny. Few rules: - clean surface with a solvent as MEK - as said apply powder with a sponge - fix the pigments with an heat source as a torch - apply a top coat as clear dipping, but I prefer a mix of PVC glue and MEK I agree with Toadfrog: the belly of these baits is probably obtained with an insert, I personally use a mylar net. Bye Cami I’m pretty sure it’s soft plastic from the action in some of his videos. The website is here https://e-przynety.pl/ thank you for your response. How does pvc glue and MEK react with the soft plastic? Does it make a thick layer over the bait? Does it remain flexible? What does mixing PVC Glue with MEK achieve that you cant achieve with just using just PVC Glue or Just MEK? What exactly is MEK? I was wondering if he even clear dipped his baits because if you look closely at some of his baits, they have texture and all of the baits that I have with texture tend to lose it once clear dipped. Shat do you think? Is obtaining the texture possible with coating the bait with PVC glue and MEK? Edited August 7, 2020 by Fern Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fern Posted August 7, 2020 Author Report Share Posted August 7, 2020 14 hours ago, toadfrog said: To use mica powder on plastic you can brush it on with a sponge tip makeup brush . It looks a though he used clear plastic to achieve the translucent effect . Then used the mica for color. May have impregnated the core of the bait with some type of tinsel. That being said it will be necessary to do a clear plastic dip after brushing to retain the mica color for an extended amount of time . As far as using a frozen fish goes . You would need to dip it in 5 minute 2 part epoxy several times . Why use 5 min. epoxy ? Because the cold will retard the cure . It will take more than 5 minutes for it to set up . I'd use high temp silicone to make the mold . Myself it's more trouble than it's worth . Just buy an injection mold closest to the fish you want to copy . Actually, after reviewing his Facebook post a bit more, I found that he is making his masters out of some sort of hard resin I believe , however someone asked him what the tail in one of his masters was made of and he replied "polycarbonate". As far as his powdered pigments go, I think he is mixing them with some sort of varnish as he mentioned in one of his post that a dilution was made out of varnish. not sure what it is for. I have attached as many pictures as I could that could provide clues to what he is doing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fern Posted August 7, 2020 Author Report Share Posted August 7, 2020 his facebook if anyone is interested in looking at his work. https://www.facebook.com/pg/Rękodzieło-Wędkarskie-Iras1975-170559506617480/photos/?ref=page_internal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wallyc14 Posted August 7, 2020 Report Share Posted August 7, 2020 I’ve used mica pearls for soft plastic baits in the paint that spike it sells. It is a plastic paint that is meant for soft plastics you can mix it with their clearcoat and spray it on top of your base and you will get a pearl essence finish without adding any thickness to the Baits. Believe it is called SB coat I’ve had good success with it you can also mix plastisol color it with the clear and create custom colors.I have had great success with that in fact I quit buying the colors premade and just use the clear and make my own colors Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cami Posted August 7, 2020 Report Share Posted August 7, 2020 Dear Fern, thank you for sharing web links. MEK = metil ethil chetone, it's a solvent. The original French recipe requires 50% PVC glue (ex. Tangit) + 50% Solvent (ex. MEK). You must be really quick to apply with a brush a thin layer as top coat and yes it's thinner than a dipping in clear, so texture will remain. If you use other chemical ingredients you can create a less volatile varnish, colored with plastisol dyes or powder pigments ... I haven't ever found this varnish recipe, but I think that the Polish Maker found it; it's same kind of solvent varnish sold by SpikeIt. Unfortnately I cannot follow Facebook now, but the Polish Maker could have described this varnish recipe PVC glue based. Bye Cami 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted August 8, 2020 Report Share Posted August 8, 2020 No clue about how to do it, but that guy's baits are amazing! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fern Posted August 8, 2020 Author Report Share Posted August 8, 2020 19 hours ago, Cami said: Dear Fern, thank you for sharing web links. MEK = metil ethil chetone, it's a solvent. The original French recipe requires 50% PVC glue (ex. Tangit) + 50% Solvent (ex. MEK). You must be really quick to apply with a brush a thin layer as top coat and yes it's thinner than a dipping in clear, so texture will remain. If you use other chemical ingredients you can create a less volatile varnish, colored with plastisol dyes or powder pigments ... I haven't ever found this varnish recipe, but I think that the Polish Maker found it; it's same kind of solvent varnish sold by SpikeIt. Unfortnately I cannot follow Facebook now, but the Polish Maker could have described this varnish recipe PVC glue based. Bye Cami I appreciate you taking the time to respond. I know nothing about Varnish, PVC Glue, MEK and other chemicals but it all sounds very interesting and something I will dive deeper into to get a better understanding. You mentioned I have to be quick to apply it with a brush, is it because it dries quickly? if I create a liquid solution using this recipe, will it remain liquid as long as I keep it sealed or will it dry out on me in the container? in other words, can I make a small batch of the recipe for use later or should I only make what i am going to use? thanks again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fern Posted August 8, 2020 Author Report Share Posted August 8, 2020 15 hours ago, mark poulson said: No clue about how to do it, but that guy's baits are amazing! Yeah they are. I have been trying to study his work for a while in hopes I can replicate. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cami Posted August 8, 2020 Report Share Posted August 8, 2020 This simple recipe 50 PVC glue/50 solvent dries really quickly, so you have to prepare this mixture just before to brush it. The main idea is to create a varnish solvent based, like that of SpikeIt, so you can apply it also with an airbrush pen and you do not need anymore any kind of top coat. In some posts here on TU there are some suggestions about more efficient recipes, but I couldn't find the right one till now. Bye Cami 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fern Posted August 9, 2020 Author Report Share Posted August 9, 2020 20 hours ago, Cami said: This simple recipe 50 PVC glue/50 solvent dries really quickly, so you have to prepare this mixture just before to brush it. The main idea is to create a varnish solvent based, like that of SpikeIt, so you can apply it also with an airbrush pen and you do not need anymore any kind of top coat. In some posts here on TU there are some suggestions about more efficient recipes, but I couldn't find the right one till now. Bye Cami Thank you very much! one last question. The 50/50 mix, is it by volume or by weight? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toadfrog Posted August 9, 2020 Report Share Posted August 9, 2020 When using pvc glue and MEK it's best that you don't use a transfer decal or anything like that on the bait. This mix will deteriorate the decal. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cami Posted August 9, 2020 Report Share Posted August 9, 2020 4 hours ago, Fern said: Thank you very much! one last question. The 50/50 mix, is it by volume or by weight? By volume. In past has been suggested to substitute MEK with THF, but I prefer MEK. As retarder has been suggested to use Ciclohexanone (I'm not sure how it is written), but I have never found it. @ Toadfrog: do you transfer decals over plastisol baits? Bye Cami 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toadfrog Posted August 9, 2020 Report Share Posted August 9, 2020 I have used water transfers on plastic. That is where I learned not to use a solvent based clear coat when using them. You can clean the bait before application and dry it . But you can't overcoat . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cami Posted August 10, 2020 Report Share Posted August 10, 2020 Just FYI but there is another "guy" that creates realistic soft Minnows, his name is Janus and he comes from Austria https://www.softjerks.at/cms/ In this case I think to know where he catches his paint: by a little German producer and this solvent varnish Is based with heated plastisol. @ Toadfrog I'm real curios to see a homemade soft bait with a decal: would you like to share a pict., please? Bye Cami 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toadfrog Posted August 11, 2020 Report Share Posted August 11, 2020 Here ya go. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cami Posted August 11, 2020 Report Share Posted August 11, 2020 Dear Toadfrog, thank you for sharing and my compliments for the patience to apply the decal. I suppose that in this case the top coat is a dipping in hot clear, isn' It? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toadfrog Posted August 11, 2020 Report Share Posted August 11, 2020 Yes it is a hot dip. I tried the PVC glue and several solvent including MEK. It looked great at the start. But as it sat the decal began to shrivel and decay over the course of a day. By the end of a week it was pretty awful. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tobi92 Posted January 21, 2021 Report Share Posted January 21, 2021 (edited) Hello, I know this producer from Poland. He created his base (varnish) which colors as needed. Unfortunately, no one shares the recipe. For a similar effect, I use cab coat paints Edited January 21, 2021 by tobi92 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
21xdc Posted January 21, 2021 Report Share Posted January 21, 2021 Nice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cami Posted January 22, 2021 Report Share Posted January 22, 2021 Tomy's Bait, isn'it? When I saw them first time, I asked to myself: "... but, are they real?" Bye Cami 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tobi92 Posted January 25, 2021 Report Share Posted January 25, 2021 The photo to add @fern is the work of Ireneusz Urbanek. I added photos of my works 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
