Custom Baits - Forum
Soft Plastic Bait Making => Soft Plastic and Plastic Baits - How To??? => Topic started by: k0diak on 06/18/19 20:23 UTC
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Hi guys!
Got a question. I'm making injected baits and i put eyes on them. I heat up the plastisol in the pyrex custard bowls to 350-370 stir and dip some lures and toss them into water to cool. As i'm dipping multiple lures the plastic in the cup is cooling and i notice it getting hazy or clouding up. When the lures dry/cure then have a matte clear coat, not a shiny one. I'm mixing the plastisol (1 gallon jugs) very thorough with a drill and mixing bit. What am i doing wrong? Thanks!
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You using a thermometer on the initial cook of virgin liquid plastisol?
If so, what temperature are you cooking to before you start pouring?
And what plastic are you using?
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You using a thermometer on the initial cook of virgin liquid plastisol?
If so, what temperature are you cooking to before you start pouring?
And what plastic are you using?
Thanks for the reply! Using Bait Plastics 312 saltwater formula. Yup using a handheld thermometer. i'm taking temperature when it gets to the clear state. Temps around 360-380. I can get this stuff up to 400 and its not scorching. I'm using the custard cups to dip lures with eyes on them around 350-360. Appreciate your help!
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But getting cloudy in the cup???
That's odd. Maybe it's the plastic...???
I won't openly talk about what plastic I use, openly on this forum. I'd speak more openly in DM...
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Handheld thermometer...probe-type or IR (infrared)?
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But getting cloudy in the cup???
That's odd. Maybe it's the plastic...???
I won't openly talk about what plastic I use, openly on this forum. I'd speak more openly in DM...
Yeah its turning cloudy while the cup is cooling off. I don't know if its the humidity. I've got a couple more new jugs. I'll open a new one tomorrow and see if it does any different.
Handheld thermometer...probe-type or IR (infrared)?
IR Thermo. I have a meat thermometer i just gotta sneak it out of the kitchen (wifey won't mind ;D )
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With an IR thermometer, you may be getting readings that's not representative of everything (EVERYTHING) in the cup, but IMO, that shouldn't cause cloudiness that fast.
Cloudiness caused by undercooking should occur weeks or months later.
IMO, it's either the plastic or undercooking due to your thermometer, but I've never read a report of what you're describing.
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With an IR thermometer, you may be getting readings that's not representative of everything (EVERYTHING) in the cup, but IMO, that shouldn't cause cloudiness that fast.
Cloudiness caused by undercooking should occur weeks or months later.
IMO, it's either the plastic or undercooking due to your thermometer, but I've never read a report of what you're describing.
Really appreciate this info! I'm going to buy a new thermometer and i'm going to bust open one or two of those other jugs tomorrow. Hopefully its just a fluke because i've never had this problem before. If you or anyone else can think of anything else please let me know. Thanks again! 8)
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Using something that won't scratch the plastic jug, scrape any hardpack of PVC from the bottom of the jug before you stir.
Oftentimes, the PVC portion of plastisol settles to the bottom, needing to be scraped free, as just shaking/stirring won't free a lot of hardpack, and plastisol can get crazy if it gets out of whack.
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Sometimes stirring doesn’t get the job done well enough. Try shaking the heck out of it after scratching the hard pack off the jug bottom. Shake about a half hour before you want to use the plastic to allow bubbles to settle out.
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And that's the drawback to plastisol in a bag in a box.
I use MF in 1-gallon and 5-gallon containers. I can scrape any/all hardpack with my 1/8" thick, 1/2" wide, 24" long aluminum flatbar, then stir the devil out of the 5-gallon, or shaking the 1-gallon.
I shot a batch of 6" Finesse Worms yesterday. MAN that mixer is nice!
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Helix Mixer intended for 1-gallon paint cans, perfect for mixing 5-gallon plastic containers after scraping hardpack.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/HDX-1-gal-Helix-Paint-Mixer-HM1-HDX/206509381 (https://www.homedepot.com/p/HDX-1-gal-Helix-Paint-Mixer-HM1-HDX/206509381)
(https://custombaits.com/gallery/315-190619092053.jpeg)
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If this is a mixing issue, I'll offer this little tid bit: Once I have my bulk plastic thoroughly mixed it goes into several smaller, transparent jugs....1 pint and 1 quart. I have about ten of these filled and right on the injection bench always. I leave about 3/4" at the top when filling to allow for shake mixing just prior to using. The smaller containers allow me to see the bottom of each and if any settling has happened I can see it and its a whole lot easier to shake any pack back into the plastic using the smaller bottles. Plastic coming in white bottles, boxed bags and five gallon units really make visual confirmation of packed plastic or thorough mixing a lot of guesswork.
Kodiak....if this turns out to be a hard pack problem or not you really need to get a probe-type, fast read thermometer. Do-It sells a dandy, but it won't matter what brand you need to keep in mind that when reading a temperature you want to have the probe's end in the middle of the mass of the plastic in the cup, not with the probe's tip touching the sides or the bottom of the cup. Your ir thermometer reads only surface temps so unless you're stirring that plastic like crazy when the take an ir reading you won't be getting the center mass temp and that is always the warmest. Also keep in mind that the plastic, like foods, coming out of the microwave will continue to cook for some time if you do not stir it to get the heat fully distributed and that too can cause clouding and scorching problems.