tauruck

I bought a couple of gallons of Plastisol made by Rutland in NC. It ain't working. Anyone heard of or used their AP Clear?. It goes from paste to burnt smelly gunk in 20 seconds flat. We've tried different tecniques to cook it and all we've achieved is making the house stink. The product is NA0623 AP Clear. Somehow I don't think this is the right stuff for making bait. Any help will be appreciated.

Airex foam. High density material used in boat/aircraft building. Comes in a sheet is pretty expensive but will solve your problem.

Vaseline or PVA release agent (used for Fibreglass and washes off with water.)

You're a wise man Pete. You said it all.

Thanks Mark, I'll do that today. I actually need the hole to be offset for this one. Great idea.

Sorry, forgot to post second pic. It's a little blurry.

Hazmail, Thank you. Your thread on making a lip shaping tool works like magic. My first attempt at this required making a concave Lexan lip for a popper I've designed. It occurred to me that the bottom of a Coke can had the profile I was looking for. I cut one can open and used PVC release agent to coat the bottom. I then inverted another can and coated the base as well. When the release agent had dried I mixed Polyester resin with a very fine filler and then catalysed the mix. I poured some into the one can and carefully filled the concave of the second can. Next morning a light tap was all it took to release the two parts. I now had a male and female mold. I then used a 2" hole saw to cut the Lexan. It worked out great. Now came the cooking. A nice stainless steel container the size of a drinking cup was filled with olive oil to about an inch and it went on the gas stove with the Lexan disc immersed in the oil. Instinct told me that the disc was cooked and then the "Genius" remembered he hadn't made the tool to remove the disc. By the time I fashioned a hook from some welding wire the Lexan had bubbled but it was an experiment so I wasn't too worried. Got the disc into the female mold and quickly plased the male on top. With only finger pressure it took about 30 seconds to form a perfect concave disc. Unbelievable. Smooth, beautiful and amazing. The next one I will ace for sure. Hazmail, YOU"RE THE MAN!!

Water jet for sure.

96dak is 100% correct.

Has anyone figured a way to mimmic the scents used in the Berkley Gulp range or what is the best commercially available product. I'm into Saltwater and the current trend in South Africa is anything Gulp is the stuff to have. I'm starting to pour my own plastics and I really want to buy the best. I'm here to listen and learn. Thanks guys.

Thanks a bunch guys. The only answer I got here in S.Africa was try glitter, dead flies or anything. Go figure. Lol. I'll give the candle pigments etc a try. I knew I'd get the right advice here.

Got my first tub of Plastisol today. Never used it before but I'm dead keen. I live in Africa so there isn't much info here on pouring plastics. One question, What pigments/colourants to use, common names etc?. Thanks guys.

Just on the subject of release agents. PVA release agent can be used on any mould other POP. It's available from fibreglass suppliers and is cheap. Be warned it's water based.

The resin warps due to exotherm (heat). Depends on the depth, volume, size of container you're building the mold in. Polyester is the worst for this. Manufacturers specs say it shrinks between 2 and 5% depending on the conditions. Fillers are excellent at reducing/eliminating shrinkage and warping. Polyester being the cheaper option can be over catalysed if an accurate measuring system isn't used. Heavier fillers are best and marble chip comes to mind. Another way to eliminate the problems mentioned is to pour the mold in stages. This will reduce the high heat build up when the chemical reaction occurs. Just for interest sake, I've been making moulds from composites and Silicones for 30 years now and I would be glad to help the members with advice etc.

The guy that does my airbrush work on the chopper gas tanks does excellent marble. He puts down his first coat and when that's dry he sprays on the second contrasting colour and while it's wet he places Glad wrap over this. He kinda moves it around a bit and let's it dry. Then he peels the wrap off. Marble!. Spoopa if you want the low down on exact proceedure I'll give you Ashley's email. He'll help you no problem.

Thank you all for the good advice.

a little too many for me but thanks MAV.

Thanks Jimbo. I'll do that right now. Regards, Mikey.

Looking for info on where I can buy large eyes for my builds. My lures are way too big for the eyes I have now (12mm). Looking for 16mm up. Any help would be appreciated. I tried the links but most eyes are for Bass lures.