whittler

Bob, to be honest I cannot tell any difference between the 9000 and the 9300 on my test pieces. Both are very similar to Minwax Polycrlic in application and final finish they even look and smell the same. The Target finishes also do not have that depth of finsh of epoxy or DN, its more semi gloss even after as many as 5 dips. Had some old plastic baits that you could rub the finish off with your finger after a 5 days in the water. I may give the DN another try, will be using some Bloxogen with it the next time. Tried brushing, spraying and dipping and seemed to waste about half of the quart. Did like the finished product but its hard to get me away from epoxy. Good to see you here by the way, your talents and expertise will be welcome.

In the original post I said that all the baits and the test blocks were given a minium of 72hrs. cure time. The bait pictured had almost 3 weeks cure time before they were fished. I have both EM9300 Ext. Clear and EM 9000 Super Clear and I could use the same picture to cover both materials. I do have some cabinets in my shop that I think it will work just fine for so its not a total waste.

A couple pieces of small pvc inside of a few pool noodles could be used to wrap the boat slightly above the waterline. 2 u shaped bracket on each end of the boat slid into the long tubing should hold it in palce with out holes in the boat.

Toledo, that is a decent finish for personal use, not as tough as epoxy but if it gets scratched you can just dip it again. Barry, I would love to use some of the solvent based finisnes but I have an alergy to most of the solvents. Even using a respirator it really gets to me. Have dipped and brushed DN, tried it alone and both under and over epoxy, a lot of waste using it that way. For a guy making a few baits for his own use a good spar varnish, with UV protection works pretty well and its available about anywhere.

Thanks for your comments guys. Doing a search for finishes you can get bartop, gymn floor, epoxy and furniture finishes but very few will work in a water enviroment. If it is not waterproof, not just water resistant, I have not found anything that will pass the test. It is also difficult to get first hand information. Most of what you hear is, "I have not used it but know a guy who does", without proof it is just babble, make that babble light.

Fantastic looking paint there Jon.

Strange as it may seem I still keep and use all three epoxies. Each has some qualities I like, especially used in combination.

The baitmakers here who have been doing this for a lot of years already know this but for the new guys, especially those who plan on selling their baits, never put out something untill you have tested it. Topcoats are a subject of a lot of discussion on all the bait making sites and be warned a lot of the internet information is bogus and hearsay. Test on products should be done not only in the shop but on the water actual fishing. Under hard use and real fishing conditions I have not found anything that will stand up to or give the look of epoxy. Have a cabinet full of about any coating you can name and other stuff that did not work. I have used the three major brands and have had very few problems with any of them, Devcon 2Ton, E-Tex and Flex-Coat plus they all give a great finish. Also tried Dick Nite's, liked the finish but found it expensive with a lot of waste. There are some automotive topcoats that work well but only if you are setup to spray solvent based products. The latest rage on a few sites are Target Coatings, they make an interior and a exterior, water based coating. They are very easy to apply, very little waste with quick cure times. If you are coating baits to set inside on a shelf they would be great but if your are going to use them for fishing, good luck. I have been working with this stuff since Feb. both on some test blocks and about a dozen finished baits. All the test pieces are painted with waterbased paints and are not touched with bare fingers after painting. Each has three total dips done from 2hrs. to 24hrs. between dips and allowed to cure for 72hrs. before being exposed to water. Held under water for 1 day it looks unchanged, 2 days it starts to get slightly cloudy and by a week it is almost white and starting to peel. The bait pictured is typical of what can be expected. Three small bass and 30mins. of casting and this is the result.

For first baits those look reallgood. Let me say that this is not meant to be critical or offend but I'll bet if you keep at it, in 6 months you will look back and will not believe how much better your baits will look. Talent you already have, can't wait to see the 100th bait you paint.

Fine looking bait there Jon, can't belive you have fallen off the deep end too. I hope you know you have just put a serious dent in your fishing time.

A great looking swimmer there Ben. That single hook system will work just fine, it just needs to be a couple sizes larger.

DEbassboy16, when it happens I sure hope, for your sake, you get a judge that shares your ideas.

Neat stuff there Ben, love the bold colors. I'll tell Crazy Joe you mentioned his name. Joe just lives about 5 miles from me and we get together every couple weeks to swap ideas.

There does not appear to be any place for air to get out of the mold when pouring. At the bottom of the legs there should be vent holes to let trapped air out of the mold. If you are going to repair this yourself it could be done by drilling a very small vent hole, 1/32", at the very tip of each leg. I would probablly send it back, the maker might have just missed that operation.

Neat stuff there Marty, looks like you have been busy latley.

Like those even better than the first ones, great looking baits.

Have to admit, I'm not a big match the hatch person. Usually when the bite is tough I will go to something wild, Flo. pink or purple glitter, something that jumps out at them. I equate smallies with cats. If you roll a chartruse ball in front of a cat they will take a swat at it, no plan at all to eat it, just a feflex. I think smallies are much the same.

Those baits are certainly worth checking out. I sold a Pike in about the same condition a few weeks ago for $125 and if it were in an original box the price would have doubled. Red head is a common color and that might reduce the price a little but still worth looking into. The WeeDee I have no clue on the price but do a little research and you might get a big suprise. Just Google Antique Fishing lures and you should have enough information to last for weeks.

Sure glad I do not have to judge a winner in that batch Marty, they all look fantastic.

there 8.49 here lol, here's a tip : next time your in a sports authority/ dicks sporting goods and see a bunch of items on the wrong rack you can take them up to the cashier, tell them and they will give you that price. one time i got a bunch of lucky crafts for 2 $ each because they were where the eagle claw hooks should've been. Help an old guy out here, isn't that called Theft? If some of you wonder why the prices are so high here is one of the reasons. What is wrong with doing the right thing?

Have to admit I really admire the work of the painters on this site and glad they can share their fantastic work. cadman, pm anytime if there are any secrets to this bait making thing, I sure don't have any.

Since they are from several makers, about the only thing they share in common is storage heat like fourbizz mentioned.

I agree with Virginian for your needs they would be fine. On most of them you can raise the seat easily which only puts your feet in the water. Buy a small battery operated pump to carry on board and they will inflate/deflate with minimal weight. The problem I had with mine was the stiching between the nylon upper shell and the bottom section split exposing the bladders and almost impossible to repair. Water skeeter and a few other brands use a heavey outter vinyl shell which would eliminate the problem. Its is also easy to mount a trolling motor up front, where it belongs, should you decide to use one.

One of my favorite techniques is light on dark, kind of a pain to do but I like the final results. All the paints will be waterbased and the one color that requires a really good paint is the white, highly reccomend Wildlife Colors/Smith paint touch-up white. This paint job also requires two sizes of mesh be used. 1. Starting with a sealed and primed bait shoot coat of white over the entire bait, heat set, plus I also like to dry at least 2hrs. before going on. 2. Paint over the back and 3/4 of the way down the sides with Opaque black. Heat set. 3. Using the larger scaled mesh wrap the bait and shoot with a coat of touch-up white. This paint has more pigment than standard white and will cover the black with one coat. 4. Remove the mesh and spray from the belly up to clean up any areas of black overspray, plus I like a pure white belly on most lures, makes the bending of colors easier. Heat set. 5. Here You can start with whatever colors you like but on this bait it was shot with a very light coat of transparent green. Heat set. 6. Now strech the finer scale mesh over the bait and spray with transparent yellow, building the color up slowly. Remove the mesh. Heat set 7. Using a transparent light blue, very slowly spray the upper half of the bait, the blue blended with the yellow will start giving you your second green value, This coat can be blended up untill you are satisfied with the final color. Heat set 8. At this point I will usually spray a little darker color across the back, blending it with the lower colors, also if you want a little darker color behind the eyes now is the time. Heat set. 9. The gills are shot through a stencil along with the fins. On the fins I shoot a very light yellow background then just darken the edges with orange. The throat is sprayed with Flo. orange. Heat set. The rays on the fins are done with a pencil. The black dot and the eyes are done with pencil erasers. 10. Sign and date and your ready for your top coat.

Brookville is one of those lakes that I always hope for miserable weather when I go. Rain, cold, windy the place can be fantastic.