Liquid Plastic For Soft Bait Making?

[zewski]

Hey folks, i want to make a few baits by myself I know that there some website that sell liquid plastic to make your own baits, my quetion is, can I find some kind of that plastic in an hardware store or do i really have to buy the plastic sold to make baits? I mean they have to take it somewhere...

 

Thank you guys!

[Jig Man]

Lure Craft, Jann's Netcraft, Bear's Baits to name a few.  You won't find plastisol in any hdw store.  I use Calhoun's medium from Bear's.

[smalljaw67]

Hey folks, i want to make a few baits by myself I know that there some website that sell liquid plastic to make your own baits, my quetion is, can I find some kind of that plastic in an hardware store or do i really have to buy the plastic sold to make baits? I mean they have to take it somewhere...

 

Thank you guys!

 

I think you better do some research over at Tackle Underground, the plastisol used for lures is specialized stuff and there is more to it than just heating it up and dumping in a mold. You will need heat stabilizer, softener, hardener, colorant and all that glitter and salt. If it was easy there would be more people doing it and it you are going to get in it to save money, well it will take awhile until you recoup your start up cost. I'm telling you this because I've purchased some lead molds cheap and I've seen aluminum molds for soft plastic baits get sold cheap from guys that wanted to start doing it and then became frustrated when they realized there was a lot involved. Research all you need to do and then decide if you want to invest the money and time, lots of time, into making some soft plastics for yourself.

[CK_32]

Like posted above its not pick buy and dump.

There is a little more to it than that.

I just started hand pouring for my self a few months ago. I got into it for about $200 to start.

That's going to the 99¢ store, buying some tupper wear containers, Walmart pirex cups and junk metal knives and Home Depot for plaster of Perris ($40 ish bucks all together) to start makeing molds.

Then I went and searched online for cheap but good supplies. Got 3 jars of glitter, 5 dye colors, 1gal of plastisol and an old microwave from my GFs garage (about $130 ish shipped) and some other small odds and ends to get pouring.

My first week was just junking supplies learning the dos and donts, how to mold and how to pour, still learning. But now I'm finally getting usable plastics.

I've done the math and am getting a standard 3.5" swim 2 color bait for about $0.28 a pop. That run $0.75 at my local shop. $0.40 for one color craw dads which run about $1.20 at my local shop.

So it's not dirt cheap to get into it, it's actually frustrating and confusing. But now I have it about down pat and am able to make what ever my mind can think of and customize my baits for me and my buddies. They aren't flawless but I'm not in it to sell, just fish my own baits and have fun doing it so my 98% sexy 2% ugly baits is good enough for the fish to bite. Cause let's face it, 90% of the fancy colors and looks of baits are for the fishermen, not the fish.

So if you have $200 to blow it's do able on a budget, if you want quality sellable baits expect around $400+ to get started.

So if you get into it, expect a ton of trial and error, wasted product and slightly less sexy baits but the fun and great feeling of making your own and doing what ever your heart desires.

The other reason aside from plaster of Paris being cheap and easy to work with, you can carve away and start with your favorite factory baits and get to customizing and mocking up your own custom baits and make changes on the fly to what features, ridges and bumps your bait has.

Where aluminum is buy what you get and $$, and silicone is $$ and not as easy to cut and mold for custom add ons.

Each way has its own pros and cons. GL and happy. Molding bro!

[kcdinkerz]

Man and all this time I've been saving my used plastic, don't think I want to get into pouring after reading that haha

[smalljaw67]

Man and all this time I've been saving my used plastic, don't think I want to get into pouring after reading that haha

 

It is something you have to really want to do because you will go through some waste as you figure it out. If it were super easy there would be even more guys doing it. I don't want to be a buzz kill or anything but I've been pouring spinnerbaits, jigs of all shapes and sizes for over 16 years now and I got into plastics a little bit helping out a friend and my first pours didn't go so well, I had dents and voids and it was just a little more difficult than what I imagined. I've had my share of problems with pouring lead and tin when I started and after all these years I still get problems from time to time and that is my point. If you think you can simply melt it down and pour it in a mold and done, well you're in for a big surprise, if you don't want to get involved any deeper than that, then I suggest not even starting it as you will waste your money. Now, if you are a problem solver and like creating things, well it may be right up your alley, plastics guys all have their own plastic recipe or formula and that is why there are so many different kinds of plastic, some guys like to have a super durable bait, others want a super soft bait, and then there are the in between when guys will sacrifice some durability for a little softer bait and some will sacrifice softness in order to get a little more durability. That is the plastic formula and then colors, you can make standard colors or you can invent your own recipe book of colors by adding different pigments and colorants and glitters, there are endless combinations and if you are into doing that kind of stuff it will be a fun rewarding hobby but you have to be dedicated to it to a certain degree because it is more involved that melting and pouring.