A-Mac

I like the .032" diameter wire from McMaster for just about all my bass fishing cranks.

I would avoid the welding wire. It's pretty brittle. I tried making screw eyes before with it, and they would snap before the first twist. I would think even with through-wire approach it would still be too brittle. More so, tuning the lure may even cause a break.

The Krylon premium chrome that I just used looks nice. The best way I can compare its reflectiviness is this: It's shinier than the coated side of a foil sheet, but not as shiny as the non-coated side. The color is more aluminum than chrome, but the bait I sprayed does actually look like a chunk of metal (not like something painted silver). @Rayburnguy, I haven't tried the duplicolor yet. The bait you show does look nice. Is that 1 coat? One nice thing about the Krylon is that 1 liberally applied coat had complete coverage. I sprayed some of the Krylon into a plastic cup and poured the paint into a small jar to try use in my airbrush, but I haven't shot it through like this yet.

I would stick with foils, but I do not get the nice scale finish on my resin lures like I did with balsa. There are so many chrome finish lures out there that I figure there has to be something we can use.

I picked up some krylon chrome premium metallic spray paint from hobby lobby. It was a total impulse buy, but I want to give it a whorl. I was initially attracted to the mirror-like spray paint, but this was intended to be sprayed on the back of clear glass (the reflective properties show through to the other side).

I use any blister packaging, it will vacuum form too. I just tend to use the flat portions. Best part, it's free!

Spaz Stix SZX10000 Ultimate Mirror Chrome Airbrush Paint R C Lexan Body | eBay Has anybody tried this? The video makes this stuff look awesome.

tractor supply--- veterinary care (large animal). This is where I get my 60cc syringes too.

Thanks rhersh, I'm thinking dip, let hang for a couple minutes to let most of the excess drip off, and then put them on the turner. I'm glad turning worked for you with the mcu. I love using 3d eyes, but they don't seem to get as much coverage on the edges as I would like. I'll try this out on 1 lure first. Thankfully, this stuff settles pretty fast so I should be able to acquire results quickly. I'm going to make sure that I wait the full 24hrs between coats though.

Has anyone tried turning their lures after dipping in eagle supreme or gst with good success? I notice that regardless of the clear that I dip, the top of the lure (highest point) will have a thinner coat. I've been trying to think of a way to hang the lure upside down on every other dip, but I can't think of a way to prevent the sealer from going down the lip. It's not a big deal after applying 4 coats, but it's just something that irks me.

Please post a video with your accomplishments! This is a neat concept.

Let them sit exposed for about 2 weeks after you put them through the dishwasher. If this still does this, I suspect that the resin may be contaminated with moisture. I had some resin go bad, and the lures would start to "sweat" anytime I tried to heat set the lures. Additionally, the paint didn't stick and the clearcoats failed too.

I think it would be best to build the bait first and locate the pivot point in the lure's wobble. This is where I would first try putting blades like you mentioned and modify from there.

I've had a 10" Rikon since January, replacing my 9" Performx (aka craftsman). I use a Saw Blade Stabilizer - Band Saw Stabilizer | Carter Products with a 1/16th blade and have been very happy with the performance.

So far so good with this stuff. BUT, I haven't been making very many lures the last few months either. This PITA called a thesis has infected all of my awaken hours. The lures I have used still look great w/ 4 coats. 2 coats still looks nice, but 4 is beautiful. Just don't be in a hurry. I suggest 1 coat per day. I had a lure that was sticky for about a month, but I presume this was because I didn't let the paint cure. Once the lure was no longer sticky, I applied 3 more coats and everything seems fine.

I agree. Why even use the balsa? Even more-so, why expose the balsa grain. I think this is more artistic than anything. I think the same thing with having the exposed metal rattle chamber. It kind of defeats the point of making a natural looking lure.

The line tie still looks anchored by the lip. Does the lip move too?

They are a must for epoxy finishes for sure. You can get quite a few going with some bike chain and sprockets too. I had over 20 going with one rotisserie.

I suppose there may be a soft epoxy out there. Perhaps brush it on and turn the lure an you normally would. Maybe put a layer of Petroleum Jelly on the surface of the lure first so that it can be removed. Of course, maybe just some rtv, like you mentioned, or even brushing on clear bathroom caulk might do the trick too. I think without an injection molding method, we are restricted to brush on and turn epoxy methods. However, I would love to be proven wrong with an easier method.

It's a stumper for sure. I've been thinking about this one for awhile.

I've tried a similar method to paustin1982 before. However, things don't always stay where you want them with a rtv mold. Sad to say, a ballast being a little off tends to lead to a useless bait. I normally have a mark or an "x" on the master to show where to drill for the ballast weight on the lure. With my crankbaits, I molded modeling clay around the tail of the lure and formed it into a block. This allows me to slip a crankbait into the clay formation and get a perfect drill hole angle every time into the lure. It works much better than eye-balling and is worth the time (to me) to produce.

No guarantees, but once in a blue moon an easy fix comes along! I've had a larger front hook help with minor rolling on some of my 2 and 3 jointed lures before. Thanks for posting your recipe, I'll have to check it out this next week.

I'm also interested in the brand/type of resin and mb (filler) too. I can't seem to get that nice sway swim with the methods I've tried on my single joint swimbaits.

I'm not sure what size hooks you are using, but maybe just upgrading a size or two would knock out the roll. Awesome action though.

I've stopped using it for clear coats as well. However, its pretty awesome being able to filling in 20 ballast holes in only a few minutes and have them sun cured in 10min.