craig beverley

Etex for me. Where in the world are you?

Hi chaps. Have had some problems with the last batch of baits I etexed. There are some tiny bits appeared in the finish. I know they are not bubbles and am pretty sure they didn't land on the lures while drying. I am using clean plastic pots of a similar material to a yogart pot. Could I have scratched the sides of the pot whilst mixing the etex and the tiny "shavings" have come to the surface whilst curing. Would I be best with a metal container prehaps or are the bits a result of something else? I am etexing over createx painted wooden lures by the way if it helps. any thoughts?

All of my baits are six to eight inch gliders incase you were wondering. Once the blank has been shaped I seal it with varnish. I then screw in the hook hangers and line tie and also add the trebles and split rings I want to use. I then take two pieces of flat lead like you get on the roof and push a screw eye through each of them. Then screw these into the pre determined lead holes. Place the lot in a tank of water and see what happens. Then its just a case of triming or adding lead until the lure sinks or rises like you want it. You can then remove all the hardware from the lure and drill out the lead holes to suit the amount of lead you have. If that makes sense!!!

Have seen it but never used it. I always use etex lite. What about ex88?

Brilliant. Thanks alot. I put this posting on along with the comment in the gallery just to see how many techniques people employ to achieve the same sort of pattern. Thanks all. Once I've had a practice I'll put a picture or two in the gallery.

maybe your sanding the filler too much. Sand it till the filler is still feathering the outside of the hole instead of sanding till the filler resembles a perfect circle. Only happy to offer advice Waynee.

I pour the lead into the hole, cap it with epoxy and then fill whats left with wood filler. This stops the lead coming loose during use and gives the filler a solid surface to be applied to. I then sand with 120grit sanding paper with the grain with the sand paper in my hand. No sanding blocks or machines.

what do you mean dimples?

That picture shows exactly what I ment. Solarfall has just uploaded two in the hardbait gallery and they too are what I was meaning. Hazmail's method sounds very good but not quite what I after, cheers though. I thought about painting the bait, then painting the outline of the scales with pva glue. Spray the scales and peel off the glue. But if there is a better method I either haven't seen it or just can't think of it.

I have been using mesh or netting to shoot scales onto my baits for some time now and the results are pretty good. However, having seen some of the work on the gallery, I was wondering how those overlapping scales are done. Is it done with a template or is it just pure airbrush skill? Any help would be greatfully recieved.

how are the net scales done? do you press the foil over a piece of mesh to add texture?

Thanks chaps.