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Les Young

Painting Essential Series Molds?

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One piece of advice on using the High Temp paint to smooth molds out.... CLEAN the molds thoroughly after use.   I didn't.... and the paint is now soft.  I had tested compatibility before hand and found leaving a worm on a the Rustoluem High Temp painted surface took about 4-5 days to soften the paint - plastisol seems to eat anything it touches - so I was pretty convinced all would be good if I didn't leave anything in the molds as the first 2-3 days the paint was nice and hard... but now its obvious even a empty mold must still has some surface contamination... and now I have paint in some molds I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to strip out.  I left the molds out in the sun for a few days hoping it would harden back up - but didn't do a thing.

Other than that... it works REAL NICE... just wish it didn't soften the paint... so I'd recommend cleaning the molds to reduce this issue.

  J.

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5 hours ago, SlowFISH said:

One piece of advice on using the High Temp paint to smooth molds out.... CLEAN the molds thoroughly after use.   I didn't.... and the paint is now soft.  I had tested compatibility before hand and found leaving a worm on a the Rustoluem High Temp painted surface took about 4-5 days to soften the paint - plastisol seems to eat anything it touches - so I was pretty convinced all would be good if I didn't leave anything in the molds as the first 2-3 days the paint was nice and hard... but now its obvious even a empty mold must still has some surface contamination... and now I have paint in some molds I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to strip out.  I left the molds out in the sun for a few days hoping it would harden back up - but didn't do a thing.

Other than that... it works REAL NICE... just wish it didn't soften the paint... so I'd recommend cleaning the molds to reduce this issue.

  J.

I used the ultra high heat good fir 1200 degrees. We’ll its suppose to be anyway. My paint is soft so looks like i’ll be stripping them back down. 

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Just to be clear - I didn't see any issue when pouring or from heat.  All was just fine after using the molds the first time.... it was about 1.5 weeks later when I went back to make more baits i noticed the paint was soft.  So I'm assuming either the 3M silicone spray I use to "lube" the molds lightly did a number on the paint or there is a very fine film layer/grease left from the plastisol that slowly softened the paint. For record I used the Rust-Oleum Engine Enamel 500F - picked up from Home Depot.

As for baking the paint... I know some paints require that to full set/cure - but I'd be weary of putting molds in anything without temp control and even heating.... if you have an oven - that might work but I'd think there is always a risk as the metal will expand.

FYI - stripped two molds lastnight... acetone and a brush took off 90% of the paint pretty easily - I then put a citrus stripper in them after that and left overnight to get the remainder out of the smaller creavces... wasn't too bad... but kinda pissed it didn't work for me as I really liked the finish I got on the baits.  Might try it again and try to keep the paint REALLY thin and see if that helps.  I didn't go too thick - but I'm sure some areas were thicker than others due to mold shape and trying to coat all the surfaces.

 

 J.

 

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Not sure on the soft paint, as i havent had that problem.  I also used the Rust-Oleum Engine Enamel 500F.  The few molds i have sprayed, i dont use that often, so not sure if it needs to be reapplied every so often.  I wouldnt bake the mold, but that is just my thought.

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1200* is the melting point of aluminium & i asked do-it their opinion about it & they told me it shouldn't hurt however i think i'll strip them & try the 500*  paint first & i may set them close to a charcoal grill or by the burn pit in the back yard, but not to close to see if i can cure the paint like that. Good way to cure paint & have a couple cold ones too. :D

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24 minutes ago, Les Young said:

1200* is the melting point of aluminium & i asked do-it their opinion about it & they told me it shouldn't hurt however i think i'll strip them & try the 500*  paint first & i may set them close to a charcoal grill or by the burn pit in the back yard, but not to close to see if i can cure the paint like that. Good way to cure paint & have a couple cold ones too. :D

If I were going to cure the paint next to a BBQ grill, I would keep my digital thermometer handy to check the temps as I go, and have a hot glove handy, too.  Aluminum heats up fast, and holds heat, so be careful.

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I have painted my essential mold as well using hi temp engine paint as I was just too lazy and inpatient to tape it all off. It worked well for a will. After a bunch of pourings I noticed a lot of flashing around my baits.

I scuffed the molds a bit with light sandpaper, but that maybe ten thousandths or less of an inch from the paint heating away was enough so that the mold didn't close right. Not even noticeable to the eye. Add to the fact that when the molds get hot they seem to bow a tiny bit, and it seems after multiple reheats of the plastic it flows better, easier. The plastic found all these little imperfections.

I can see where the paint has warn away, and where some still remains. Just enough to cause the flashing

If I plan to use this mold again, it will have to be soaked in a solvent and wire brush cleaned. FWIW, I'd rather spend the money on a CNC mold. Less aggravation, less time consuming, and better quality baits.

That said. Other essential molds I have used were made baits that were nearly as shiny smooth as CNC cut molds. In particular, a ribbon worm mold. Baits are as shiny as can be.

My experiences would advise anyone to pour a few baits first before you paint the molds. See how they come out and go from there, Painting before pouring was my mistake thanks to watching YT videos.

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I made some baits with mine before i painted. I can rub on the paint & it doesn't come off on my finger & feels dry, but when injecting & letting setup for 3 minutes i can then demold & thanks to the heat they're black as can be & the paint is soft & extremely sticky & can be  wiped off with your finger or a rag. I'm going to strip them &  shoot them several times  to see what happens & to also  make sure there is no paint residue of any kind  on them  &  will clean with ether before painting again  if i do.

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9 hours ago, mark poulson said:

If I were going to cure the paint next to a BBQ grill, I would keep my digital thermometer handy to check the temps as I go, and have a hot glove handy, too.  Aluminum heats up fast, and holds heat, so be careful.

Mark, will do. I have a digital temperature gun i can use. I don't really figure on setting extremely close because i figure i'll have to handle them some to regulate temps & i don't want my cold one becoming a warm or hot one instead. :D

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4 hours ago, Les Young said:

Mark, will do. I have a digital temperature gun i can use. I don't really figure on setting extremely close because i figure i'll have to handle them some to regulate temps & i don't want my cold one becoming a warm or hot one instead. :D

I used clear paint. Didn't have to worry about the black coming off. Whatever paint I used didn't seem to bother the baits much, except for the flashing at the edges.

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Clean the mold with lacquer thinner. Paint with high temp paint. Let it dry over night and take a new razor blade and cut the paint of the flats. Eazy peazy! And yes silicon is extremely hard on paint and almost impossible to paint after silicon was on it.

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I used some aircraft paint stripper & it cleaned them a lot better than i figured it would. I layed them on the ground in the sun & sprayed them down & took an acid wash brush to each mold & really scrubbed them. Left a grey aluminium residue where they were laying. I then dried them & shot them & the first shot brought the remaining paint residue off. The next  round of baits were shinier then they were when new. Hopefully they stay this way. :yay:

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