same here. prime and paint is the way to go.

ooooops i made a thread instead of a post. well anybody done real well with their lures yet. i have only caught like three fish on one of mine but that was a while ago and off of a boat. i havent been in plug fishing territory in a while. just wondering if any of you have.i tried the swimmer i just made. it doesnt swim though! it just dives and goes in a straight line, no wobbles or fish like action. ive tried every speed. the only time it has any action is when i really jerk it. then it gives me a little bit of wobble.
the lure is relitivly light, and the lip is pretty wide and big. its a mambo style lure. wish i could show you it but i dont have a scanner or digital camera. the lip is shaped like a.........hmmmmm?????.....well it looks sort of like a broad spinner bait blade. it is placed at an angle and inch back from the verey tip of the lure. i REALLY want swimming action. should it be bent sort of that like an atoms swimmer? i neeeeeed your help.

First of all I am not sure if placing the lip an inch back from the front would be a good thing or a bad thing, Try again and experiment with woods and weights at different spots and amounts. The plug should float not sink, lighter is sometimes better as the heavyness can kill the action. Just try more stuff out and see it swim before bothering to paint them. Good luck

yeah next time ill try one without paint and keep working until it swims.

You can adjust the swimming action by adjusting the angle of the lip, the length of the lip, and the position of the line tie.

Here 'r a few tips:

Lip Size/Shape - The shape of the lip affects the diving depth, the wiggle ('action'), and the lure's ability to safely bounce off underwater obstacles. The more surface area, the more water the lip will catch and the deeper it will run. One way that to think of this is to imagine the lip is a canoe paddle. If you try to paddle a canoe with a yardstick, you won't get very far. This is because the yardstick's skinny profile has very little surface area compared to the large canoe to push against the water. On the flip side, if you try to paddle the canoe with with a paddle, you will move very fast. This is because the paddle is wide and long and has more surface area - thus it can "displace" more of water. Now, if we bring this back to crankbait lips, we see that the lips behave in a similar fashion: skinny lips don't move as much water and thus don't dive as deep. Wide lips with more surface area displace much more water and dive much deeper. Assuming we have adequate surface area, the next factor to consider is the lip's shape. Rectangular lips basically displace the water equally to both sides and the lure will dive and retrieve straight (assuming it is tuned properly) without much wiggle. Unfortunately, when it hits an obstacle, it will "bounce" back and disrupt the lure's natural appearance. Use these in deep diving lures that aren't likely to hit many obstacles. Round lures displace water equally to both sides, but they displace different amounts of water at different points on the curve. The end of the round lip has very little surface area and doesn't move much water and the middle of the lip is much wider and displaces much more water. This means that the lure will not dive as deep, but will have a wider and slower wiggle. Round lips are also excellent at gliding off of obstacles resulting in less disruption during your retrieve. Triangular lips also do a great job of naturally deflecting off cover without sacrificing much depth. When they hit an obstacle, they typically just tilt and glide past it.

Lip Angle - Lips that are connected at a 0 degree diving angle (e.g. they come straight out forward from the nose) dive deepest and have the tightest wiggle. Lips that are connected at a 90 degree diving angle run shallow and have an exaggerated wiggle. Lips that are connected in the middle of these two positions will have medium wiggle and medium diving depth.

Lip Material - Most lips are either aluminum, lexan, or stainless steel. Each material has its own pro's and con's. Aluminum and stainless steel lips are durable, add flash, produce stronger ultrasonic vibrations, and are easier to "tune" by hand. Unfortunately, they also extend the crankbait's profile which is can negatively affect the lure's appeal. Lexan lips are clear and do not affect the bait's profile, but they cannot be tuned without the assistance of a heat source and they do not emit strong ultrasonic vibrations. Overall, the lexan lip's clear profile makes it the preferred lip of many tackle makers.

Line Tie Position - The position of the line tie can seriously affect a crankbait's action and diving depth. The position of the line tie determines the lip's "positive diving surface". The "positive diving surface" is the area of the lip that is between the line tie and the tip of the lip. The "negative diving surface" is the area of the lip that is between the line tie and the body of the lure. The greater the positive diving surface, the deeper the bait will dive and the tighter the wiggle. A line tie placed exactly where the lip meets the body will have virtually no wiggle and will run deeper. A line tie placed at the tip of the lip will have a wider wiggle and will not run as deep.