[numbskull]

Originally Posted by PASurfer

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About the sennet needle... to make it (actually, it took 5 hours, not 8; I got up late today, simply because I could, and didn't start until 10 AM) I abandoned a lot of the good things we do to our "usual high standards". But it still looks presentable. Again, this was just an experiment. Hopefully the fish (and regretably, the rocks) are going to beat it up anyway. I took a similar profile plug template, that I'm familar with (so, I wasn't starting from scratch, "designing") and tweaked it to look more like the sennet that the bass were chasing. Rather than tail load it -- I'm assuming that if Vic could see "spilled yahoo" in the water, then he wouldn't have had to cast very far -- I spread the weight across the belly, so the lure will slowly sink level if I stop the retrieve... in case I need to get down in the water column a bit. That took an hour, waiting for the hole filler to harden. Then I turned and sanded it, but didn't do the usual seal job... you know why; time for that later... I just primed it with rattle cans, hair-dried for several minutes, then airbrushed the 3-4 colors paint and blow-dried some more to remove the tackiness. Then I baked it in my mancave-dedicated toaster oven -- don't use your wife's (or mom's) if you value your life -- at 200 degrees for 15 minutes, took it out and immediately dipped in a water-based clear acrylic topcoat. It hung for 10-15 minutes or so while I had a smoke, then I re-dipped and flipped the lure end-to-end twice more, so that it's triple coated and -- at least temporarily -- sealed inside and out. I didn't even waste time signing it, or I'd miss the tide.

Thanks, this is very helpful. I've considered (but not tried) heating createx to "set" it. I've also been interested in a water based clear coat, but the tough ones I've located seem to be commerical finishes with/without various crosslinking additives. What product do you use (if you're willing to share) and how has it held up for you?