How to get consistent Laminate without a plate

[Jake Hendrickson]

Hello everyone,

new to the site.  I have been shooting baits for about 2 years now, started with stone molds and have moved to aluminum.  lately I have been pouring a 3.5" Paddletail I had made for me, and am looking to get some advice on how to get a more consistent 2 color bait.  I use the Basstackle dual color injector setup, I melt my plastic in the microwave, and have been experimenting with different brands of plastic, but mostly shoot Do-it Essential Series.
There are times where I will get a few really good line between the colors, and then theres times where they end up blending or mixing, or one color shoots more than the other.    Is this due to the plastics being differnt temps maybe?
Does anyone ever use a heat gun to warm up the divertor you shoot into?

thank you in advance for the replies!

[WALLEYE WACKER]

Welcome Jack orientation of the bait in the moldis key in lam’s paddle tails I like the mold to be top pour. Swim shads for example will do great lam’s because of the way the mold is. The one question you answered yourself if one color is hotter then the other it will give you fits. I heat up my  injector and block with a heat gun before I pour lam’s. Hope this helped.

[Jake Hendrickson]

thanks Walleye!  Yes this mold is a top pour, it has a lot of ribs as well, so might not help the cause there either.

[WALLEYE WACKER]

I have the same injector the ribs I wouldn’t think would be the problem. How many cavity mold is it?

[Jake Hendrickson]

5 cavity, each bait has its own injection port though.

[JRC1]

if your temps are not close to each other you will get a lot of bleeding of colors if temps are very close to each other you should get a nice clean line

[superharmonix]

You need to heat up your colors to within around 10 degrees of each other to ensure a good clean lam.  Use an instant read meat thermometer, not an infrared thermometer, as the latter only reads the surface temp.   

I have used these for years with VERY accurate results:  http://www.chefsresource.com/cdn--proaccurate-quick-read-thermometer.html?cmp=googleproducts&kw=cdn--proaccurate-quick-read-thermometer&gclid=CjwKCAjw-8nbBRBnEiwAqWt1zbTJPDeCxQkkSzA9m2KD-ZD6q38F-aj9j5OQJV3agTi4x8heu9kloxoCFXgQAvD_BwE

Once within 10 degrees, shoot your lam and you will be happy.  The only note is if for whatever reason you are using different plastisols for each color.  Viscosity is key.  A firmer plastic will need to be slightly hotter than a softer plastic in order to lam well as the "flow" is more the same. 

Search the forum also, lots about this over the years.  Most importantly - Have fun!!

[Lamar]

  You know you can make a plate out of an old pie plate or something like that. Just lay your mold on it and cut it out. Very simple to do and your lines will be straight as a arrow. If that's what you're going for.

[Jake Hendrickson]

If I were going for a left and right laminate the plate would be the solution forsure.  I will definitely keep a closer eye on my temps, as I think that is probably my problem.

[Mike J]

Temperatures is key with dual injecting. Really its viscosity, if you have pearl powder in one color that pearl color will be much thicker at the same temp as a non pearl color. Also slow steady pressure on the injector.  I myself keep my blending block in the oven at 200 degrees to be sure plastic doesn't cool in the block.

[Lines]

Never used a dual injector, but welcome Jake!

[ctom]

Nice to see you finally mosey over to here Jake. Welcome.

Lots of good ideas for you here especially on close injecting temps and a good weld between the colors. If you're looking for a razor sharp line of separation between the colors you'll have to skip the twin injector as there will be some smudging along the weld when the plastics are properly heated. Injecting each port slowly can deliver some very sharp, clean color separation.

[Jake Hendrickson]

thanks Tom!  I wish my mold was set up that I could pour the belly by hand and then shoot the rest.  I will keep practicing!

[ctom]

There is a way Jake if the body is round. Contact whoever made the mold and ask them to cut one without the tail section, body only, then plate inject that portion so you can slip half back in the mold and re-pump it with the second color. Course if the body isn't round you're sort of stuck. 

[Jake Hendrickson]

got a little time last night to play around with getting a better laminate.  closer temp plastic, and a heat gun to keep the mixing block warm really helped with getting consistent baits.