CoreyH

Thanks, I'll try that. Is there a certain ratio to go by or a certain consistency to look for when thinning the epoxy?

Thanks for the info. Maybe I need to look into using something else for a top coat then since I currently am doing a bait here and a bait there as time allows. Maybe slow-cure epoxy is a better route for me at this time.

I've watched that video and another of her videos where she talks about storing it. In one of the videos she also dips a bait, but she only does one coat. That's why I wasn't sure if you normally just do one coat or multiple coats.

Just a couple quick KBS Diamond Clear top coat questions. First, do you only need to do one coat or multiple coats? Second, do you need to do any surface prep (wiping the bait down with rubbing alcohol or something else) before dipping and hanging? Any other tips or suggestions are appreciated as well since this stuff isn't exactly cheap.

BobP...good to know. Thanks!

Thanks BobP, I'm definitely going to give this a shot. Does the epoxy putty hold as well as regular 5 minute epoxy does?

Right now I'm not overly concerned with how long a bait lasts. These are my first attempts and I can already tell that I'm getting more efficient and better at shaping, so I'm not going to be too disappointed when the ones I have get lost or destroyed (unless they fall apart with a big fish on them). I have plenty of PVC for making a whole bunch of baits. Once I get an airbrush and learn to paint and my baits are "pretty", I think that's when I'll really start to treat them to a decent top coat and be more upset about losing or destroying one. Funny how the looks of a bait matter more to the fisherman than the fish.

I just looked at the gallery and lets just say that I am not going to be posting any of mine to the gallery anytime soon. If you have a question or want to see any of the baits I have painted (or attempted to at least), I have no problem texting you pics, but I'm not going to embarrass myself by adding them to the gallery .

Gotcha! Honestly I haven't even been top coating my PVC baits since I am painting them with finger nail polish and I just don't think the crude finish is worth spending the money to protect. I took four crankbaits out to test them yesterday afternoon and was pleasantly surprised that 3 of the 4 really had good action. They may not look like much, but at the same time I wouldn't be surprised to catch a fish on any of them either. The 4th bait will go on the wall of shame. It was a mid/deep diver and it didn't perform well. It sank slowly instead of floating and it ran way off to the right...I could probably fix the second part with adjusting the line tie, but I don't want a sinking crankbait. Oh well, lesson learned for next time.

I was looking at doing KBS for a top coat. If I went with KBS, would I still need to seal the bait?

What do you use for sealing? I'm not sure what to use, which is why I haven't gotten anything yet.

Thanks for asking. I think it went really well. Only problem is that since I was making my baits out of PVC I had no need for a sealer. I've got two baits I made from a little piece of basswood (one squarebill and that lipless crank) that are shaped, sanded, and have hardware attached, but I have to seal them yet. I ran out of normal super glue (I still have some of the gel, but that's obviously not going to work), so now I'm trying to decide whether I should buy the really runny super glue and use that as a sealer or buy something else. The lipless looks pretty good to me, but I won't know how well it performs until I get it sealed, painted, and put a top coat on.

Thanks for the idea. Simple and yet I probably would not have thought of it. Yes, it's just a personal lure (I have no desire to make and sell baits...I'm just doing this for fun). Thanks!

As much as I feel I've learned in the first month or so of making baits, there are moments that I want to slap myself for just being impatient and stupid. Last night was one of those moments, but at least I think it's fixable. I was making a crankbait and after cutting out the profile I cut the lip slot. Problem is, I didn't check to make sure the lip slot was wide enough to accommodate the 1/16" lexan lip. So, after shaping, putting in the ballast weight, drilling the line tie and hook hanger holes, and creating the lip, I went to put the lip in and it wouldn't fit. No problem, I thought. I'll just use the scroll saw again and cut the lip slot a little wider. What I forgot to consider was that I had shaped the bait and so my additional cutting was not even. What I wound up with was a correct 1/16" slot on one side, but the other side of the bait the saw cut down farther than I needed, so that one side of the lip has probably a 1/8" slot. So it's uneven and too much was cut from one side. Here are the two ideas I had for correcting the problem... 1. cut the entire lip slot to be 1/8" and just cut another identical lip, glue the two lips together to create a single, 1/8" lip, and insert that. 2. fill the entire lip slot with baking soda and super glue, sand it down, and try all over again once it has cured. Any ideas or suggestions on how to fix this issue?

Thanks BobP, I wound up finding it. I was thinking that the brand of the split ring was Predator. Once I looked on the Predator Bass Baits website I found what I was looking for.

Got it...thanks!

Where do you purchase these from? I tried to Google "Predator split rings" but the only ones that came up were split rings made for predators like pike.

BobP, I actually do use the 4" Texas Tackle split ring pliers. I bought them from Tackle Warehouse a year or so ago after the guys at Tactical Bassin recommended them. I have a feeling the ones that failed on me were just bad rings and most likely not the Hyperwire (at least I hope they weren't).

Mark, that's the exact problem I've had with a couple of the split rings I tried putting on. That's why I was wondering if I was using too small of a size and by opening them up farther to put them on I was over-flexing them and causing the failures.

Thanks BobP. When you said it was Rod Bond Paste, I didn't equate paste with an epoxy, so that's why I wondered if I was looking at the right stuff. Good to know about the lips as well. Now you've got me wondering about the one wooden crankbait I have finished (other than sealing and painting) and whether the epoxy completely covered the wooden area where the lip went. I guess it's a little late now, but it's good to know for the future. Luckily my other baits have been made from PVC so I don't have to worry about water intrusion.

Thanks for the help. The ones I had before I believe were the Owner Hyperwire, but I just don't want to spend that kind of money since I've never had a normal split ring fail. I had two that didn't snap back to normal after trying to put them on my baits, so they were ruined. I figured they must have been too small since they did that, so I wasn't sure what the "normal" size would be. Since I plan on getting the less expensive ones, I'll probably get a few different sizes. But it's good to know the size 2, 4, and then the 6mm are what I need to be looking at.

I am not very familiar with split ring sizes since I generally don't swap out the split rings on baits I purchase. I had a dozen or so split rings that I had purchased a while back in case I needed to replace a split ring, but have no idea what size they were. I have used them up and am needing to purchase some more to place on the baits I am making. I am using .041" stainless steel wire for making my line ties and hook hangers. What size split ring will open up well without deforming or getting ruined when using the .041" wire? I have typically been using size 4 treble hooks on the baits I have made so far.

Thanks for sharing. The ones I have made that have failed have been more design failures, but I also need to get an airbrush and learn to do that because using fingernail polish certainly doesn't help make my baits look better! I hate spending the time and effort to make a bait only to see it look terrible because of the paint job.

Thanks for the suggestion.

Probably right, but I'd cringe thinking about even showing those baits to anyone.