Pouring Soft Plastic Bait

[hookum243]

Hello need some help on getting started pouring soft plastic baits . Reallly wanting to get into this and wanted to get some tips and advice from some that have mastered this.

I need to know all that I need to buy and from where to make the best baits

I'm really interested in only making creature baits big and small and Senkos.

Also be helpful to share your favorite reciepes as well

Ready set go?

[Mike Cork]

I haven't poured in years.

I know Do-It Molds is doing a lot of great stuff for soft plastics.

You'll have to decide how you want to heat your plastic. I used pouring posts, however I used to pour 10k a week and sold them. Most guys pouring for them selves are using pyrex measuring cups and microwaves now.

As far as recipes, experimenting is the best. Once you have your own versions of watermelons, pumpkins and various colors, then your baits will always be slightly different and likely to produce better.

I'll have to do some research but there are only 2 or 3 places to buy plastic and colors. Get with Doc Irv, one of our sponsors, I believe he sells plastic as well and it's the good stuff.

[northrivergeek]

Tackleunderground.com is where you need to go for info ..that and youtube is full of DIY Plastics vids

[SFL BassHunter]

Did a little digging cause I remembered Skimpy posting a pretty good video on the things you need to get started as an overview. He has a bunch of videos and if you look him up on here he has links to a lot of his youtube stuff on here.


http://www.ultimatebass.com/bass-fishing-forum/index.php?topic=124653.0

I am also going to shoot you a link to a site I use.

If you've never poured plastics before I recommend starting small. You don't want to go all in and end up not liking it and throwing away a bunch of money. As Skimpy said in that video it can get expensive.

My recommendations are:
Start with hand poured silicone molds. Find a bait that you like to use that you don't mind it having a flat side. For example a swimbait with a flat top. Or a finesse worm with a flat bottom. The nice thing about the silicone molds is the baits come out shiny. They are easy to pour from a pyrex cup. They do require a little more work after though. If you pour outside the crevices you will have to cut excess plastisol off. But trust me if you get the right bait molds to start it won't be a big deal. Silicone molds cost about 8-12 dollars. WAY cheaper than an injection mold. Though there are cheaper injection molds out there from Do-It but you'll need an injector which will run you anywhere between 50-70 dollars.

I also like to look for molds that have more than 2 slots. But if I can't I just get a few of the same mold. For example I have a fantastic silicone swimbait mold that makes 2 baits each mold. So I own 3 molds and make 6 at a time.

Plastisol you can get from a lot of places. I don't recommend getting it from the place I will send you a link to. It is far more expensive than other places though the plastisol quality was pretty good in my opinion. My last plastisol purchase was from Do It Molds it was a better price.

If you have a spare microwave great, if you need to buy one just go to walmart and get a cheap microwave. All you need is a device to nuke that plastisol.

If you don't want to use a microwave you can get a pouring pan. I personally don't use that though I suspect once you know what temp to keep that plasticol at it is easier to maintain it in it's third stage. Plastisol lifecycle of heating is liquid consistency, honey consistency, liquid consistency, soft plastic bait (once cooled).

Safety gear, make sure to get you a mask and make sure you have very good ventilation. If you are doing it in the house expect your house to stink up for a few hours. It is a strong smell.
Get a mask! You don't need a high end mask, you can start off with a pack of the disposable stuff at first while you figure out if you want to keep doing it or not. Once you go all in, get a good one like the one Skimpy showed on the video. You don't want to be breathing that stuff in on a regular basis.

Make sure you get yourself some scissors for trimming excess plastisol.

There is a lot more info you will need but I think Skimpy did a good job covering what you need to get started. Just watch more videos online and soon you'll get it all figured out. I will shoot you a few links.

[hookum243]

I poured some tonight got one 5 " 4 cavity Senkos mold made a 4 oz patch and poured the first time then had to re heat the plastic when I poured the second time I got a lot of air bubbles and pockets in the second set of 4. Can anyone help with this


How many times can you re heat the plastic one time I re heated it it started to burn?

[Tavery5]

I poured some tonight got one 5 " 4 cavity Senkos mold made a 4 oz patch and poured the first time then had to re heat the plastic when I poured the second time I got a lot of air bubbles and pockets in the second set of 4. Can anyone help with this


How many times can you re heat the plastic one time I re heated it it started to burn?

What mold are you using?  Injecting or top pouring?   How are you clamping your mold?  Are you re -filling the spru after your initial fill?     Answers to these questions might help to determine where you are having problems.

[hookum243]

I'm using the new essential series 5 " Senkos mold for do it molds.

It is injection mold pour hole is on the side

I'm using two clamps one on each end

Yes I bought the medium injection tube and when I make 4 oz It usually fills a tube and a half
Any excess plastic I put back in the Pyrex and put back in the microwave for an additional 30 seconds
Then I pour and use up whatever is left once I remove the first batch of worms from the mold once there cool enough usually wait about two minutes

[SFL BassHunter]

I'm using the new essential series 5 " Senkos mold for do it molds.

It is injection mold pour hole is on the side

I'm using two clamps one on each end

Yes I bought the medium injection tube and when I make 4 oz It usually fills a tube and a half
Any excess plastic I put back in the Pyrex and put back in the microwave for an additional 30 seconds
Then I pour and use up whatever is left once I remove the first batch of worms from the mold once there cool enough usually wait about two minutes

I have that same mold. I also had an issue with air and hollow senkos the first couple times I did it. I think I didn't have it clamped right. One trick I saw that helps with air bubbles is pour the plastic into the injector instead of sucking the plastic into the injector. Make sure the clamps are nice and tight on the mold and make sure you top off the hole with plastisol.


Also make sure you don't have bubbles in your platisol. When you stir it don't stir too fast. Hope that helps. Just keep on trying. For practice remelt the ones that didn't work out right. If you are burning it, it means you are leaving the plastisol too long on too high of a setting in the microwave. Try taking it out every 30 seconds and mixing, then putting back in till you have it at the right consistency. Scents also help reduce any "burnt" smell.

Good luck, hope that helps.

[Tavery5]

I'm using the new essential series 5 " Senkos mold for do it molds.

It is injection mold pour hole is on the side

I'm using two clamps one on each end

Yes I bought the medium injection tube and when I make 4 oz It usually fills a tube and a half
Any excess plastic I put back in the Pyrex and put back in the microwave for an additional 30 seconds
Then I pour and use up whatever is left once I remove the first batch of worms from the mold once there cool enough usually wait about two minutes

Those essential molds usually pour pretty good.  A couple of things you can try.  After you draw up your plastic from the pyrex cup to shoot, turn the tip of the injection upward and let it sit a second or two, then push out very slowly any air bubbles in the injector.  When you shoot the plastic, shoot it fast, meaning push the plunger fairly quick and hold pressure on it for a few seconds, then be sure to quickly re-fill the spru.    When clamping make sure to clamp right over the are that creates the spru, I use quick clamps and get them as tight as I can.    I have the same mold and can usually get about 16 good baits out of about 20.     Good luck