TAILS NOT BINDING

[BobTheBeast007]

I'm having trouble getting some of the tails to connect, I'm making some baits for a guide at the coast from extra hard plastic cause he said hes having trouble with the soft tails getting torn apart (i know the hard plastic wont stop this but I'm hoping it will lessen it). My problem is I'm having inconsistent results with the tails. I'm trying to do a few different colors for the bodies but all the tails are chartreuse. I've already made the tails and i even cut them at an angle (I think it looks cooler and I try to give the bonding surface as much area as possible). On some shoots the tails seem to be attached really well, they can still be torn off but its not much easier than breaking the bait itself, however some of them only require a small tug and the tail rips clean off. Is there anything I can do to get more/ better results, or any ideas what may cause it. The only thing I can come up with is that the worm oil I put on the tails to get them back in the mold is somehow interfering and acting as a barrier between the two colors.

[RufNec]

Lureworks Bondcoat works great for this. It takes a few minutes to apply but it works!

[bassinfool]

Before you even place your tails in the mold, run a piece of paper towel or cloth with some rubbing alcohol across the surface you want to bond with to remove any oil residue if the tails have been sitting around.  Shooting your body temperature a little higher than normal if your plastic can tolerate it will also help you get a better bond.

[olsarge]

One thing that I was guilty of when I first started.  Plastic needs time to cure.  If it looks solid after you first pour/inject do not pick at it for at least 24 hours.  Give it time to set.  Not trying to imply that you are doing that just some advice in case you are.

[BobTheBeast007]

All good ideas, I’ll try the bondcoat whenever I can get some in, unfortunately the baits have to leave out on Thursday so I may just have to tell him that I’ll mail out some improved ones as soon as I can. I’ll definitely try to wipe them down first hopefully that gets a good enough bond for now. And I’m definitely guilty of picking at them, I knew letting them sit for 24 hrs was best, but on baits that end up bad after a shoot I test them since I can’t use them anyways. And on those I noticed that some were very easy to depart compared to the others which concerned me as I don’t want to sell someone a bad product

[ctom]

If you are making the tail stock ahead of time, cut the sections of tail you'll be using a bit longer than you want. While stored, even for a few days, the plastic exudes some oil that if left on the tail will hinder the welding when the body color is injected. Rather than messing with bonders just trim the tails to length as you need them. I have bags of tail stock for the full line of  Thump-Its, Rippers of all sizes and some Kietech Baits I make and all of these tail pieces are at least 1/8" longer than I need. In the bags they are oilier than heck. When I am going to make baits that call for those tails I count out what I need and trim them and use them right away.

Also, if you are injecting a firmer plastic for the tails, add stabilizer to your body plastic and inject the bodies at about 170 degrees and hold pressure on the injection after the plunger stops....5-6 seconds

[BobTheBeast007]

That’s another really good idea, I didn’t even consider that the baits themselves produced oil. Ive never a a problem with it on my flukes that I make for a local striper guide or grubs that I make for myself. But then again I’ve never used this hard of a plastic or done it with the smaller swimbaits like I’m am now. Any advice on the amount of stabilizer to add? I always add it anyways but I kind of just add whatever looks good in the moment

[ctom]

How large is each batch of chartreuse? I add about 10 drops to a 4 ounce batch of essential plastic when I make tails but seldom add any to the essential plastic used for body colors since they're either deep purple or junebug in 4 ounce batches but the plastic is the same in both components. I had some MF firm as well as Caney Creek firm that I use in reverse of what you are going to do...firm in the bodies, Essential in the tails and I amped up the body plastic with some stabilizer and shot the firm in at 370 to get a solid weld. I can't see why you doing this in reverse would be much different.

In an 8 or 12 ounce batch of plastic I guess I'd add about 1/4 tsp to the 8 ounce and maybe up to 1/2 tsp to the 12. Light colors will need more, dark less.

[Bass Boys]

If you are making the tail stock ahead of time, cut the sections of tail you'll be using a bit longer than you want. While stored, even for a few days, the plastic exudes some oil that if left on the tail will hinder the welding when the body color is injected. Rather than messing with bonders just trim the tails to length as you need them. I have bags of tail stock for the full line of  Thump-Its, Rippers of all sizes and some Kietech Baits I make and all of these tail pieces are at least 1/8" longer than I need. In the bags they are oilier than heck. When I am going to make baits that call for those tails I count out what I need and trim them and use them right away.

Also, if you are injecting a firmer plastic for the tails, add stabilizer to your body plastic and inject the bodies at about 170 degrees and hold pressure on the injection after the plunger stops....5-6 seconds

  What plastisol are you using  ?  Different brands give off more oil than others .

[BobTheBeast007]

My preferred plastic is “dead on plastix” black label but when we went to reorder supplies they were out so I went with spike it “pourasol” in the medium and extra hard mixtures and I can say that I’ve absolutely hated working with the extra hard (I think it’s their formula cause I never had issues with the dead on saltwater blend which is also extra hard) but both the medium and the extra hard seem to be prone to yellowing. I’ve also tried do it essential series, which I didn’t hate but I just prefer the dead on.

[rmturner54]

Heat,heat, heat thats what bonds.
When I shoot a mold where I have seperate tails , I insert the tails, close the mold and put in on a heat source(hot plate) to heat the tails. THen shoot the body. THis way the tails and body are a temperature. I have never had a problem. Also I let my bait cure for a minimum of 24 hr, longer is better.