dampeoples

I thinned it 2:1, and nothing wrong with a mud mold! One thing, make sure ALL of the moisture is out of the mold, and you will need to seal it with something to allow the cooled worms to release from the mold. I've not made one, just get them cut, so I don't really know what they use to seal them. I've heard several things, including Devcon, but you lose a lot of detail that way

I honestly do not remember how long after I made the baits (yes, I pour) before I painted them, but the little bit of literature on the Lurecraft site mentions that you should wipe them down with their thinner before painting. You need to get any sort of oils off of them, as with painting anything. One quick thing about the thinner - I had heard that MEK (Methyl Ethyl Ketane) would work to clean it, and it does NOT, neither does laquer thinner, turpentine, and a few other things I've forgotten I tried, so be sure to get a bit extra of that stuff. It works like a charm, though. My airbrush was stopped up with this stuff for a few days, and it took it right off. I'm Sterling by the way, and no problem. I'm a plastic pourer, but not the greatest one, i'll try to answer those, though, but there are some killer plastic guys here as well.

Those are sweet Allen!

Thanks. The traps are ok, but like all of them, not consistant in quality. I buy tons of these things to paint on, I tried practicing on PVC, but it's just not the same Here are some more I did today

There is more out there, but nobody is telling, I don't really blame them. The LC stuff works. The first batch I got I mixed with some retarder and it sprayed and held up perfectly, but the second batch didn't have the same properties, so I think the formula was changed. There was a guy in Florida that was selling small quantities a few years back, but he's not responded to mails for a long time. I missed out on that

Here is a Bluegill I've been working on, on one of those Jann's traps.

That's it, the Lurecraft paint. The Spike It is called Chunk paint, I think, and comes with a brush in the cap if i'm not mistaken. The paint doesn't have a long shelf life (once opened), so don't go crazy buying a lot of it, unless you're gonna use it up.

Marty is dead on with the tip, but i've been trying to figure out if thinning really helps with pearls and metallics. I'm pretty sure that you can't really break down the actual pearl, just the paint base when you thin, but I may be wrong. AA is made by the Createx folks, it's a little bit thinner due to the nature of the paint, but nothing like the WC.

Thousands of people are waiting on you to feel better, and you're reading BR Did you paint those? They look killer man, would love to see a nicer picture

Here is some of mine: Mailbox I refinished My work truck, still in primer, waiting on nicer weather, and still have not decided on final color. Working on my rockfish pattern. I did it all with an airbrush. I hate the stripes, though. If you look closely at a striper, th stripes are composed of dots, so I'm gonna revisit this soon. Working on a Warmouth as well. I like all of this but the pattern, the colors are good, but the pattern doesn't really do anything for me, so need to redo that part of this one too. hehe

I've never seen it myself, but I do remember seeing it on the Living Rubber site, or asking about it once. It might be really thick strands, like 1/4", but if you buy enough, I'm sure they'll cut what you want, they may even sell it uncut, could use a tube tool to make your own,

The airbrushes jann's has are single action badgers. Nothing wrong with them if that's what you need...but it's not First, you need to look for a double action, internal mix, and either side, gravity or suction fed brush. The double action is controlled by the trigger, push down for amount of air, pull back for amount of paint. A single action is air only, the paint is controlled by a knob on the rear of the brush. Internal mix is where the air and paint mix, in this case it's inside the brush, on the brush in the catalog, it's outside, you can see at the tip where it happens. The internal mixes it inside, channeling it all out at once. My advice is to buy a name brand brush, and by name brand I mean Iwata, Badger, Vega, Thayer & Chandler, Paasche, Richpen, and a few others. Stay away, far, far away from the store brand brushes, and any brush that advertises itself as being like another brand, or equal to it, it's not. If it were equal to it, it would be one, and be able to stand on it's own branding. Aside from name brand, find a name brand brush you can buy locally. Most hobby or craft stores carry at least one of the brands above, and all offer % of coupons. Buy it local so you can get parts. Airbrush City will sell you a brush 'like' an Iwata, but you'll have an inferior brush that you can't ride up the street to get parts for, and you'll need the, at the wrong time, I promise! As far as warranty, most brands offer a great warranty, Iwata offers a 5 year warranty, Badger offers a lifetime warranty, which also includes Thayer & Chandler and Vega, Paasche offers a year warranty, and I don't know the Richpen warranty. Keep in mind that Tamiya is an Iwata brand, and is often found in hobby shops as well. Bottom line is if you're serious about painting baits, don't skimp here, or you'll never get any sort of decent result, you'll forever be frustrated, and eventually give up. Save up and spend the money, every brush I've listed is capable of producing fine baits, the rest is up to you

They make thicker rubber skirting, could be that stuff.

Marty is very correct, I even tried to make a jig to line them all up, but they are not even close enough that that will work! If you are wanting to try painting, these same places sell plastic bodies as well. At $1 each, I paint 'em like I stole 'em, and most end up on the workbenches, given away, or used to practice on. They do work, though, caught a lot of fish on them as well

No problem. Lots of folks fail to mention the safety part Read up on them, they have new clears that have to meet a low VOC rule, probably set in California, they lead the way in pollution and such. One thing to check, and ask for, is the MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet) on ANY chemical you're using, the manufacturer will have it if nobody else can help you, it will outline what you need to do to protect yourself from what you're using, as well as explain what's in the product you are using. ANY solvent clear is gonna be harmful, some more so than others, just don't ignore the risks. I'm done preaching now

It is a good clear, the reason more people don't use it is safety. The automotive clears contain icocynates, which is, like it sounds, poisonous. The stuff is absorbed into your lungs, as well as your skin on contact. Be mindful of the type of plastic that the baits are made of as well, I'm not up on plastics, but the catalyst in the clears generate lots of heat, and have the potential for melting the baits as well. Like I said, there are lots and lots of things you can clear your baits with, you have to weigh the pro's and con's of each, and use the system you are comfortable, and safe, using. Good luck.

This thing looks like an Easy Bake oven that my little girls used to have...it's heated by a light bulb, and the molds more than likely won't be able to take the 300* hot plastic being poured into them, or if you wanted to bake them in the oven, not sure if it would get hot enough to convert the plastic, or if you'd want to wait that long.

What color and type of paint were they using? Dick Nites is supposed to be a super clear finish. That's it in a nutshell right there, there are lots and lots of scare stories, but not many facts! Was the paint dry, what kind of paint, etc, etc are all things to ask. The key to success is consistancy, out of three folks in this thread, you have three different topcoat answers (I use Dick Nite), and three different sytems, don't discount something because some retard was too impatient to read instructions, follow advice, or 'knows it all' and doesn't need help My suggestion would be to try several, and find one that suits your system, is easy for you to obtain, and is safest for your environment. Good luck!

Marty has you on the right track, you have paint inside the brush still, or the aircap isn't tight. If in doubt, like Marty said, always try spraying water. One other thing to check is your air source, kinks in the hose, obstructions, etc

I found some galvanized and black coated wire at Wal-Mart in the hardware section, didn't look for copper, but they might have some.

Sweet, I remember him saying something about a larger one!

Ha! I never thought of that, it's like the Bass Motel, they check in, but don't check out (until the weigh-in)!

I lie This was fun. Needs some minor adjustments, then final clear, I think.

d**n Marty Allen - you're one of the few that say you need more practice, instead of looking for shortcuts with the brush, that's killer. Cause, you know there are none, just practice! I like the plastic bodies to practice on myself. Even an ugly bait will catch fish. As far as the lips, look to Jann's

Nice Allen, I've had my eye on that mold, but I ended up with a curly tail one. I like bob's stuff. G-Man, when you say big thing, is it larger than 3 3/4? If so, I've got the 3 3/4" one, let me know if you need some. I want to get another, but with Santa coming, and 3 kids, I better wait!