hpssports

You really don't need one. A few bubbles here & there isn't going to effect the baits much. If you're licensed business, I could see where you may need one, but for personal use I wouldn't worry about it.

Chemionics has always been known for making an inconsistent product. I wouldn't expect anything different with Dead On since it's just repackaged Chemionics. I just know that the floating formula samples I received were complete garbage. I had hopes that they've changed over the years with their quality but it's not the case.

I just received some samples from Chemionics(Dead On) this week of their floating soft & medium formulas & it was complete garbage. Had the same issues you're having. The soft was tearing as we were pulling samples from the molds. It's definitely not a mixing issue, it's a straight quality issue.

HH-66 is the glue used for assembling & patching vinyl rafts. Used a lot in the sign business to attach vinyl pieces together.

HH-66 is the same as Mend-it just not repackaged.

If you go with the soft eyes use HH-66 for gluing them on. Same stuff as Mend-it but a lot cheaper. Last can I bought was $7.95 with free shipping on amazon. We use the flat stick on eyes on our swim baits then coat & fill the eye socket with HH-66. Holds the eyes in really well with no need to clear dip.

Same here with Calhoun. I've got a couple of gallons sitting on the shelf that's about 4 years old. Tried some of it a while back & it yellowed. Same with some old MF I've got stashed as well. I guess if I ever use it I need to invest in some heat stabilizer.

For plastic, you may want to look into Polysol/BaitPlastics, they carry colorant as well. Spikeit/Lureworks also have great selection of colors.& glitters.

Look up FM Bait Co. in Leitchfield, KY. They produce for Prowler, Sneed, & a bunch of others.

Are you looking for different brands or someone to make baits for your own brand?

They take their time on shipping that's for sure. We were mocking up some samples for a show one time & ordered a few things from them because they were closer to us than our normal supplier. Needless to say they didn't ship till the day after the supposed delivery date that we were emailed. Missed getting the samples done for the show. We got everything we ordered but lesson learned.

I'm always designing, sketching, prototyping, & getting molds machined. It's a never ending battle.....

Awesome! Thanks.....

A cheaper alternative to Mend-It for soft eyes would be HH-66. HH-66 is the same as Mend-It just not repackaged. You can find small cans on Amazon for around $8.00 shipped.