bassin2277

Thanks for the reply. That is the mold that I am currently using but I haven't tried those hooks yet. Those will definitely be part of my next order. I am looking for something to make 1/4oz and bigger but I've used this mold for so long I don't want to get away from the flat eye hooks that I am used to. They just work better for me. Any advice on modifying the TX mold to accept thinner gauge hooks?

Has anyone found a tapered tube jig mold that uses the 60° flat eye hooks that are NOT heavy wire hooks. I have been looking at getting the Tube TX mold and modifying it to accept the flat eye hooks but I have never expiremented with using the standard wire hooks in a heavy wire mold. If anyone knows of a mold that is designed for standard 60° flat eye hooks or of any modifications i can do to the TX mold to make it work without getting lead running down the hook i would appreciate your input.

Curious if anyone has used this topcoat on suspending jerkbait knock offs and how it effects the performance (depth and ability to suspend)? Also how does it work with topwater baits with open gill plates?

Thanks everyone for the help. I will be painting more lures soon and I will try some other techniques. I have done 3 identical suspending jerkbaits with d2t and had different results each time. Tested in a 5 gallon bucket and had one sink, one suspend, and one float. That was my issue with d2t. Maybe I did something else wrong. All baits had the same hardware and nothing was changed except the thickness of the d2t.

Thanks for your response. Sounds like i am better off pulling the tape and just trying to keep the bill clean. My issue with filling in the 3d features is purely one of ego. I see a bait sitting on a rack in a store and I want to be able to do it the same way or better. I am just painting for myself and occasionally my dad. I have only been doing this about a month now so I still have a lot to learn. I followed fatfingers tutorial on etex but I may have let it sit too long before applying. I will try to cut down the wait time and see if that helps. Planning on trying dn in the future just trying to keep it simple for now. I will get some before I start painting the suspending jerkbaits. D2t didn't work well for that.

I am new to tu and to painting lures. Thanks to everyone that contributes for all the info on this site. It made getting started painting less overwhelming. The issue I am having is with the final top coat. I am painting lure blanks that have raised gill plates and have tried d2t and etex and had issues with the clear coat filling in the raised areas leaving them featureless. If I put on a thinner coat I end up with small unpainted spots. Any ideas? Also wondering if you are clear coating the bill on these baits. I have ruined a couple of baits trying to remove tape from the bill after top coating and pulling the top coat off.