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Matt Moreau

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Matt Moreau last won the day on May 22 2023

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  1. So a little update... I had an old mason jar of KBS that had the top inch cured on it. Upon inspection I could tell the bottom was still in liquid form. I tried a few things and then finally drilled big holes through it and transferred it to another jar. It was really thick like molasses but I tried dipping a bait anyway. Well ya you know how that turned out but it did harden. So I went online and purchased the KBS thinner. Today I added a little thinner at a time until it was about half thinner and half kbs LOL. The viscosity is still thick but much much better. Im going to let that sit a few days and see what happens. If its still liquid and a decent viscosity I will dip another bait and see what happens. Im hoping that as this stuff thickens/cures in the mason jar I can dilute with thinner and still have a product that is useable. Ill post back with what happens.
  2. The times I tried Molotow it dulled with a top coat and i tried a few. I never tried the Alclad so maybe its time for some testing.
  3. At least I am not crazy! HAHA Good to hear from you Bob! Ya everything has its own personality for sure. I have even had the catalyst for auto clear harden up on me. I guess I keep trying MCU because I love the ease and finish it gives when you have "new" product and I keep thinking if I just do something different I can get it to last. Its pretty funny that after 15 years making baits I still ask the question whats the best topcoat?!?!
  4. Awesome I appreciate it sir. It may be a bit before I muster up the courage hehe
  5. Ahh yes thats it Travis it had to be "VIRGIN" lacquer thinner I think I used klean strip or something. Ya it was tricky...Travis has it though. It had to be the strongest lacquer thinner usually denoted by "Virgin" on the bottle. I remember it was one brand in particular that worked best and you had to add the plastic cups only a few at a time until I got the consistency of proportionate.
  6. Sorry I cannot help with that but on a side note.... Back in the day I made my own proportionate solution using plastic solo cups and the strongest (I think paint thinner) you could buy. If that would help you I could try and dig up that recipe.
  7. I use high solids concrete sealer as a wood sealer. It works fantastically! I originally bought a bunch of concrete sealers for top coat testing but they all reacted with other baits getting sticky and such when left in the sun or a hot plano box. So instead of tossing them i tested then as the sealing agent and then paint and topcoat with auto clear and it works great!
  8. Thanks for the replies guys I appreciate it. I am going to buy and experiment with some of the solarez stuff but for now I broke down and just ordered more auto clear.
  9. I havent even seen those I thought Solarez was just a UV cured epoxy. Wow I will look into those very interesting. Thank you for the heads up!
  10. Howdy Mark if you are still in the area and feel up to it I go out on the delta (Orowood and Russos mainly) at least once a month and will make sure I have my backseat available for you. Ya during my topcoat rabbit hole back in the day I just didnt like most of those. Epoxy is just too thick for my needs. Concrete sealer always reacted with other plastics, all the rattle can clears I tried reacted with other baits and plastics or just didnt hold up(If some newer ones do please let me know), Lacquer concrete sealer and/or nail polish is super hard I loved it but again reacted with other baits and plastics, All the water based sealers and polys just didnt hold up so inevitably I settled on automotive clear. Now when I look around everyone seems to use KBS so I keep trying it but I swear the stuff just has a vendetta against me. I havent really tried anything except auto clear and KBS for some time so if anything has changed I am all ears. Good to hear from you again Sir! Man I am sorry to hear that Nathan! Getting older just sucks sometimes. I hope your are doing better now. Do you use the KBS thinner? I may have glued a lid on too thats why I was trying the plastic canning lids lol. I love the idea of turning it upside down that never occurred to me. From what I read the rattle can KBS hasnt been well received by bait makers but I havent tried it so I may have to one of these days. Have you tried it? All I really want now adays is a thin coat that holds up just ok doesnt have to be perfect and most of all doesnt react with other baits or plastics. It just sucks putting all the work into a bait to have it turn into a sticky mess.
  11. Hey Nathan good to see you still active man. I have tried a few. Dick Nites I tried back in the day when it was the rage around 2010 and i forget the other off brands i tried back then but all the recent ventures in the last fiveish years have been KBS. I wonder if the bloxygen I have is contaminated somehow. Because I bought the cans I have now back in 2010 and I have never been able to store MCU. Also, from the research I have done it looks like I really need to crank the lid down on the mason jars. So those plastic lids I’m gonna toss. One guy on here even bought a vacuum pump so I may try that.
  12. Hi Guys, Sorry I don't post much anymore. My luremaking days are far and few now but sometimes the bug bites me and I get in the mood to make something. When it does I need a way to clear them and my old method was automotive clear. I may go back to that but I would like to use something easier since I don't have many baits I'm clearing anymore. That said, I have never figured out the MCU storage issues. I have tried all the ideas from taping the can, bloxygen, don't let the drips fall back into the jar, close and seal after every dip blah blah blah. But in the end I only get a few months where the MCU is actually usable. I think part of my problem is how infrequently I use it. I may make a batch of lures then sit idle for 6+ months. This last quart I bought I decanted immediately into 2 mason jars. 1 jar was for storing and 1 for dipping. I used plastic wrap folded twice(4 layers) under each lid with a 5 second shot of bloxygen before closing. The Dipping Jar was unusable after about a month and the jar that I didn't open was gone some time after(I dont know exactly how long maybe 3-4 months). I wasn't using the metal lids I was using the aftermarket plastic ones and think maybe they do not seal as well. I live in California so the humidity is low and weather is fairly consistent. I do not know what I am doing wrong LMAO. I have spent well over $200 on MCU's over the years. I am reluctant to buy more at this point. Any ideas, tips or suggestions that I am missing or what route to go would be appreciated.
  13. A few questions, thoughts and things to consider IMHO! Is this your first time designing building a lure? What type of glide bait a 1 piece or 2 piece? If 2 piece glide like others have mentioned in my years of building baits (and a few years tinkering on 2 piece glides) I still dont fully understand them and the mechanics. They are by far the most difficult lure to get perfect. In general your first baits probably are not going to work how you would like. The time and monetary investment to design and mold them will be fairly substantial. Now If I haven't scared you off you can do things in the order you mention. I have not poured the 2 sides and glued them but I make balsa cranks that way and its fine. Pouring a bait with an internal harness is fine as long as you use your loops as locators and to hold the harness straight. I would strongly suggest building a few baits by hand to get an idea of what works and doesn't or at least copy a known design to test your methods. You are going to have a learning curve and mess things up at first I know I did but thats ok and part of learning. Whatever you decide ask questions lots of good people on here.
  14. For glides you need a bit more rigidity to the tail IMHO. a floppy or soft tail for me really hurts the glide. I have used saltwater plastisol and it is ok and with hardener its better but I prefer Flex urethanes. Lots of companies have them varying in hardness I like flex it 50. These fins are made with it and are very pliable.
  15. Wow great write up brutha! I an a speed trap junky and also fish them a lot in the ca delta. They are great baits I would have to say I think most of mine are probably pre 2006. I will be a little more attentive next time I pick one up now. I will also check out that new norman. Thanks for taking the time to do and post this. Cheers Matt
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