Flaswimbaiter

Can you make a stencil out of flexible material? It would be nice to have a real scale pattern of different sizes for painting baits of varied sizes and shapes.

I make swimbaits, but the process is the same, I start with 120 and end with 440. If you make a big mistake you can fix it was epoxy putty or bondo. As was mentioned don’t get discouraged, I have a whole box of failures. You need to have the lip slot even and the bait symmetrical if you want it to run strait. I make the slot really tight so I can switch out lips when I am testing to figure out which one works best. Sometimes they just don’t run right, but you can tune it by adjusting the line tie. I really like Tupelo wood over balsa and basswood. I have not used cypress because I don’t know where to find any.

So far so good, poured two pieces after heating with the blow dryer and they hardened. Hope it wasn’t a fluke. Thanks!

Would a hair dryer heat them enough?

I never thought about changing the formula that may just help I’ll try it on a small part

When I used spray paint, I would clean with alcohol after sanding then paint, then epoxy, nothing else. The few times that happened it was in a high humidity garage.

I tried making eyes with 1/2 hour and slow curing epoxy and still get bubbles. I just got some UV resin and did a test and it still seems cloudy. BUT, I may being doing something wrong. I even tried using a torch to pop the bubbles……and needless the say, that did not end well. I order clear plastic doll eyes from aliexpress. I cut off the stem and sand them level then paint the back the color I want. I am sure you could also use some type of reflective decals the same way I use paint.

Or make some wood plugs from scrap wood you have sitting around, just sand it with a fine sandpaper before painting. I got some cheap plastic blanks from aliexpress to practice on some don’t swim bad either.

I use a vinyl printer paper, draw half the lip with the top part on the factory edge, then cut half of it fold it over to make it symmetrical. Then peel and place the top part on a strait edge of the lexan. Cut it out a little outside the lines then use my disk sander to finish it off.

Thanks for the info guys. I think wood filler would work if I use it before sealing the bait, but for resin baits, I need this bondo.

I have not been doing that, I will next time.

Which bondo? Do you have a pic? You can still sand it after it cured, just not cut it?

I need something for non flat surfaces. I may give wood putty a try.

I have been using epoxy putty to fill holes and mistakes, but it can be difficult to work with and sometimes it doesn’t cure that hard. What kind of products are you guys using?

I used the same clear now that I used when I spray painted and many of the coats on my older baits are staring to fail. I was using a variety of Home Depot paints, but all were basically the same. Maybe spray paint need a specific kind of clear.