Pouring Plastics

[justlovetofish]

thats whats up man. i think Ima start with aluminum molds first and do the injecting molds. i think that will start me off with what i like to fish with and from there i will be able to experiment and expand. im getting ready to start purchasing my equipment, so soon i will be pm'n you and i'll do you one better with a 12er of Miller. i have some ideas i wanna tryout which i think will increase the amount of time the fish hold on to the bait(flavor). do you base the molds with a vegetable oil or worm oil?

[Flatirons]

I use a release agent based on the mold configuration/mfg/plastic being used. It's a good idea to start with aluminums, since you're starting out with a frog I can help with only certain aspects. We don't make a frog or creature currently because we don't inject and the mold has to be injected, tempting as it is and get asked for them we are known for hand pouring. Bring the beer and a box of 1 gallon zip lock bags (I throw away more plastic in a week than you could use in a month), have a "listen first ask questions second" mentality and you'll leave with everything you need.

[justlovetofish]

already. so will the oils not work?

[Flatirons]

Part of it depends on the quality of the mold and personal preference. Good molds should be polished in the cavity making demolding pretty easy. I don't mind it if the baits don't just fall out of the mold just takes a few seconds longer.

[Chris Coufal]

If you do oil them justlovetofish......a little goes a long way. Too much will build up and leave texture on your baits.

[justlovetofish]

yea a slight amount is what i saw being used. a light stroke with a paint brush.

[Flatirons]

Still leaves too much....the oil will be clear and the inside of the mold is shiny you won't be able to tell how much excess is in the cavity. You're just wanting to leave a fine film. I use one drop on one end of a Q tip then turn it around and run it back down to absorb excess. The upside to using a Q tip is it will snag on any burrs the mold may have letting you know you need to dress the mold. IE. in a frog mold there will be certain place(s) where the oil will want to go (build up) my guess it will be somewhere around the feet (liquid will always take the path of least resistance regardless of viscosity) get in the habit after using oil to check that place in the mold. If you have one or two molds you don't want to go through the set up process, shoot and then have a bait distorted due to something you could've done to prevent failure.