patrick reif Posted January 19, 2012 Report Share Posted January 19, 2012 I just got in my order from Bears for Calhouns plastic, colorants, and scent. Nothing but good from Bear BTW. Fast accurate shipping, ect... I've never used Calhouns. I've always bought my plastic from Del(Chemtronics). I know there are differances in every plastic out there, but took a leap of faith in my lack of knowledge about plastics, and paid for it. I used the last of the softener I had from Del in the plastic(soft formula) I bought from Bear. I'm shooting swimbaits and grubs right now. Long story short, The baits are tacky to the touch, and the centers stick together in the coreshot. Well, I tried to fix the problem by adding more plastic to the mixture in order to dilute the softener/plastic ratio, and eventually hardener(Dels stuff) and ended up with bubbly brown clumps floating to the surface on the first heating of hardener...JEEZ!!!!!!!!!!!! Is there anyway I can salvage this or am I out of 4 cups of my prized virgin plastisol??? Sidenote/hindsight/ Homer Simpson time (DUH!!!); I should have shot the first swimbait straight to see if it was soft enough since it was a new brand of plastic. Maybe I shouldn't have mixed differant brands(DUH!!!) Three years into making baits and I still flub it up. I'll strike it up as a learning experience if need be, but I don't want to. Jeez Louise Homer...good job Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted January 19, 2012 Report Share Posted January 19, 2012 (edited) I'm no expert, but, for me, once a batch is flubbed, it's gone. I save it for top pour baits, or file in the trash can. Plastisol may be expensive, but it's not worth as much as my time. Edited January 19, 2012 by mark poulson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHK Posted January 19, 2012 Report Share Posted January 19, 2012 what grade plastic and how much softener did you add? chuck the bad plastic and heat a smaller batch with straight plastic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K5 Custom Baits Posted January 19, 2012 Report Share Posted January 19, 2012 I would start off by using mf plastic. I have tried the plastic from bears a couple times. Never have had a single good batch. Always sticky. Same thing with the plastic from lure craft. Mf costs a little more and the plastic puts off a little more fumes. But works great Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FuzzyGrub Posted January 19, 2012 Report Share Posted January 19, 2012 I got some from Bear last year. My first shoot was tacky, and that was without any softner or hardner. Turned out, while there didn't appear to have any hard packing on the bottom of the jugs, there was. Using a rod, and a stainless bolt, got it mixed well. Next test was fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CNC Molds N Stuff Posted January 19, 2012 Report Share Posted January 19, 2012 (edited) I used Bear's Calhoun, and it was ok. One day I called M-F on the urging of somebody here and asked for some samples. I paid shipping and they sent me samples of three different plastics. I've been using M-F ever since. I use M-F regular for most baits, and M-F soft sinking for salted baits. No softner. No hardner. I do want to try some M-F saltwater for certain baits that need to be tougher. The guy (sorry I am bad with names) said he would throw a sample bottle in the box next time I ordered something. The M-F regular is just a tiny bit softer than most regular production bait plastics. It works great for grubs andeven my thich tail flipping grub. I am sure it would be great for swimbaits. The Bear's Calhoun Medium was only very slightly firmer than the M-F regular. It should probably work just fine, unless you are one of those guys who likes plastic so soft it squeezes between your fingers. I did find the Calhoun needed to be heated in shorter time increments and thoroughly stirred in between. Also take your time, and make sure all the white un kicked streamers turn clear before shooting. Edited January 19, 2012 by Bob La Londe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carolinamike Posted January 20, 2012 Report Share Posted January 20, 2012 Patrick, sounds like you may not have stirred your plastic long enough. I suggest with any plastic out there you stir it well to incorporate everything. I would say that the batch that your working with is probably shot, but there may not be any problem with your Calhoun plastic. It could feel a little tacky coming out of the mold if everything is stirred well, but most of these types of plastisol usually cure out overnight. If it's still not like you think it should be then contact Bear, if you can't get him by phone, then email him. I hear he's been having a few health issues lately. Also I used Lurecraft plastic by the drum for 8 years, never once after hundreds of gallons did I ever have a sticky bait when the plastisol was stirred well. And by the way, I've never seen anything posted or heard anyone say anything about Lureworks plastisol being sticky either. And the price is great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MonteSS Posted January 20, 2012 Report Share Posted January 20, 2012 I use Calhouns Medium and never had any problems with it. Never any sticky baits. No bubbles at all. I add softener to the stick baits when I use heavy salt. Not sure you would want to add softener to a soft plastic though. ...Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uma62 Posted January 20, 2012 Report Share Posted January 20, 2012 I use Bears Med all the time thry are just alittle sticky.Nothing that bothers me.I put them in virgin olive oil with scent right from the mold to cure them.And I have never had any of Bears burn.So far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alsworms Posted January 20, 2012 Report Share Posted January 20, 2012 Some of these plastics just take a little longer to "set". The first time I tried Calhoun, I remember thinking the baits were WAAAAAAY too soft. This was after using MF and Lure Craft. I let them sit over night before treating them for packaging, and voila.........problem solved. This is, of course, if you mixed your plastic properly and there was absolutely no hardener left on the bottom of the jug. I will agree with the MF comments. This is by no means to slander the other companies. Keep in mind there were only 4 companies available when I poured. Eventually, I went back to MF and stayed there. Even the 5 gallon jugs just needed a little shaking.........and to be honest, I'm not even sure if they needed that. I NEVER saw any hardener on the bottom of an MF jug! I don't know how those folks at MF do it, but they make a quality plastisol. Simple as that. All others had hardener settled on the bottom. How much hardener depended on the company. Just my 2 cents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knifemaker3 Posted January 20, 2012 Report Share Posted January 20, 2012 Take a stick and stir the bottom of your jug really good everytime you start for the day. Once you get all the stuff mixed real good with the stick shake the jug really well and then shake again everytime you take plastic out of the jug that day. ALWAYS start the day off by mixing. I have to do the same with MF plastic. But what little of it I have left is over 10 years old so take that with a grain of salt. I have settled on Calhoun's over MF because I like to be able to take a bait out of the bag and not get oil all over my fingers when fishing. Calhoun's doesn't leach oil out over time like some of the other plastisols do. I had a problem with that at first as I was used to oily baits. Now that I know the nature of the beast I have switched exclusively to Calhouns because it works best for me in my shop utilizing my equipment and selling to my customers. It may not work the best for you. Hope this helps and good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrick reif Posted January 20, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 20, 2012 I made an "L" bend on the tip of a brass rod about 4" down. I was saving it to make the joints of a hard body swimbait, but used it instead to scrape the bottom of the jug. It took about 15 minutes of scraping and shaking to get everything mixed. I shot about 25 swimbaits and 15 grubs before I had to turn in. The baits are still a bit tacky, but nowhere near as much as before. It was a straight shoot of soft Calhouns with no added softener. The baits turned out very nice...fish catchers Thanks guys!!! You saved the day. I'm saving the original stuff to work slivers incrementally into other pours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
