Beginner questions

[joe406]

Here is a hodge podge of questions from a beginner.  I don't know anyone personally who does this and this forum plus Youtube are my only guides.  I currently use Do It Essential gear and heat in a microwave with Pyrex.  I am very satisfied with the baits that do come out right but...

1.   Does using a heat pad and pan (vs microwave) to heat and keep the plastic warm make it easier to do multiple mold injections and keep plastic "fluid"?

2.   I am getting some voids in my swim baits or incomplete fills.  I believe this is due to incomplete remelting/reheating of the plastic.  I am using a Do It injector.  I suspect the injector quality is hurting me.  Ideas?  Who makes the best hand injectors?

3.   Does it help to insulate the injector?  If so, how?

4.   I don't see how I can avoid mixing the plastic as I reheat it.  Am I missing something and is this creating bubbles?  How can I reheat it without creating bubbles and melt throughout?

5.   I don't preheat the molds.  Is this causing problems?  If so, what is the best way to preheat?

6.   I just finished my first quart of Do It plastic.  My next gallon came from MF.  Should the plastic manufacturer make a difference?  Which one do you recommend?

 

Thanks for your advice and patience,

Joe

[Apdriver]

Hi Joe, 

I’ll take a stab at your questions. 

1. Some plastic, depending on manufacturer doesn’t microwave well and produces a lot of bubbles when you microwave. This plastic benefits from an alternate heating source. Some use a hot plate and others use presto pots and other various pots with thermostats. I like my presto pots with stirring system and PID temperature control when I want to do larger runs....say 24-32 ounces. Smaller quantities I prefer to stay with the microwave. Heat in 30 second intervals and stir to avoid hot spots. Use a thermometer.

2. Could be the injector but I suspect it’s technique since you are new to this. Initially, heat your plastisol to 350 degrees to get it to turn over. Then on your reheats, heat to 320 to keep from burning the plastic. Most molds shoot well at this temp. When you pull the plastic, invert the injector and carefully expell the air you may have drawn into it. Inject at an easy pace and hold pressure for 15 seconds or so. As the plastic cools, it will contract and draw plastic from the sprue so top off the sprue while it is drawing. Demond in two minutes. If your swimbaits are large they may need more time. 

3. Don’t need to insulate the injector but if you can’t leave it in hot plastic, you’ll have to clean it out after you demold to shoot again. Cavity count is your friend here. That takes awhile unless you spend a bunch of money up front.

4. You have to mix as you reheat. Don’t use wooden stirrer as this will produce bubbles. I use stainless to stir my plastisol. If you get bubbles, wait a few minutes for bubbles to rise and then draw your plastisol. I keep a propane bottle on my bench with a piezzo igniter and after to bubbles rise, you can pass it over the bubbles and evacuate most of them. Careful not to burn the plastisol. 

5. Some folks use a griddle to preheat their molds and injector and, yes, it does help so your plastisol will stay fluid in the injector and fill your molds. Partial fills can happen if the small appendenges freeze before the mold is filled. Personally, I use my torch to preheat as my plastic is  cooking. It’s just one less thing to take up space on my bench.

6. Plastic manufacturer will make a difference and I don’t want to add any more to that as their are whole threads and discussions about different plastics on this forum. Just don’t want to start another discussion on that.

I wish you the best of luck in a wonderful hobby and pastime. Happy tacklecrafting and you have a PM.

[Jig Man]

2.  You may be injectint too fast.

 

4.  Mix slowly and bubbles will be reduced.

 

5.  I heat my molds and injectors on a hot plate with a piece of metal on top of it.

 

[BuckeyeFishing]

1.  I use a microwave to melt and then place on an electric skillet set at 325 to keep fluid. I usually have to throw it back in the microwave for a few seconds but it makes life easier than constantly reheating for 30 secs-1 min.
2.  Could be a number of things
3. You don't need to insulate your injector but I do heat mine up before I use it, either in a toaster oven or on electric skillet.
4. Your are gonna get bubbles when you reheat, its just gonna happen. 
5. I heat my molds and injector in either my toaster oven I use to cure powder painted jigheads, or on my electric skillet. Just depends what I am doing that day and what I have on.
6. Manufacturers make a difference and everyone will have an opinion on which they like best. Best advice here,  try a few different brands and go with what works best for you. I started with Do-It like you, now using Bait Plastics, will probably give Dead-On a try next.

[Canga~]

1. i use a microwave and just reheat when i need to, using a 6oz injector i can usually do a bigger mold a couple of times before i need to cut up my injector plugs and sprues and remelt. im sure a griddle or something similar will help keep the plastic at a shootable temp but i havent gotten that far yet!

2. i havent used a doit injector (wanted a locking pin or threaded nozzle) so i started with lurecrafts injector (i think its a delmart) and its not bad but its TIGHT, even well lubricated. then i got a basstackle dual injector, and now i just use one of those when i do single colors, they are very nice injectors, and the locking pin is awesome. 

3. i dont insulate my injector, might help but i dont think its nessicary.

4. bubbles were a huge issues for me with the doit plastic, as said you will get some bubbles on remelts, but with better plastics you wont get as many.

5. preheating the molds will help as well, i didnt do it in the summer, but now that its COLD here, i hold them in front of my forced air heater while the plastic is cooking, gets the molds nice and warm for the first shoot, then they usually stay warm for the following shoots.

6. plastic brand will make a big difference, there are a lot of good ones out there, baitjunkys (calhoun), bait plastics, mf, dead on, lureworks, lurecraft, etc... i will be trying dead on when i get through the 3 gallons of bait plastics i have left, i like the bait plastics bj200, but just want to see what else is out there!

[joe406]

Thanks for the great info!  A couple more quick questions.  How do you store your plastic that you clear coat the finished lures with?  I see the need for a deep container to complete the dip.  Do you just leave it in the same container and reheat as needed?  In one video I saw the builder using a Lee melting pot.  Does he just leave the dip in there when he's not using it?  Also, is there a specific/preferred paint for spraying soft plastics?  For painting soft tails, it seems that generally white opaque or translucent is best.  Do you agree?