Hand Pouring

[Slow Burn]

I have a question about hand pouring.  When pouring multiple colors do I need each color to be hot and poured directly on top of one another or can I let the bottom color cool before I pour another?  The reason I ask is I have been practicing with the junk pile on a cheap single cavity plastic mold and every time I hand pour a laminate, the backbone is separating from the bottom layer of the bait when I attempt to remove it from the mold.  Any advise from the masters would be appreciated.

-Chris

[gone2long]

Timing is everything you need all the plastic hot but you need to let the previous color set enough to preven it swirling, also it takes a bit to set up correctly I was doing frog bellies and thought I was doing something wrong with temps and here all it was is I wasn't letting it set up enough.

[Justin9j]

Yes. Wait until sets up. It will be sticky then pour on top.   I do my two or three hand pours with my mold pretty warm. 

[ctom]

I try to keep things moving and pour hot on hot or inject hot on a hot hand pour. If you are seeing some separation using junk plastic it may be from residual oils that have bled out of the plastic with cooking that can cause a weak weld or joint. Most of my baits weld fairly tight and if I have a request for eyes and the bait allows for it I dip right up to where the tail starts with the cover dip. The cover plastic seals any iffy joints.

Something to try is to boot the plastic temperature to around 355 degrees for each of the second or third colors. Another consideration is the plastic formula you are using. The softer the plastic, the easier it is to get good welds with only a couple degrees more of heat in the second and third colors.

When doing laminates, try to do them in one sitting. If you do belly colors and let them cool for an hour or so that's fine. But in as little as 24 hours the plastic can exude enough natural oil to get in the way of decent welds when another color is laid over the top of the belly color. I have noticed this more in the MF plastics than in the Do-It plastic.

The more complex your shooting becomes [needing to keep several colors hot for instance], the more you need to find and utilize ways to meet your needs. This is where real though comes into play and what might be working wonders for one person might end up being a nightmare for another. I have a sand bed electric skillet I'll use if I have to keep a bunch of colors active, but that really takes some getting used to and I do have to proof the temps before each use to make sure things won't go up in smoke. I use cooking oil to proof the temp since its almost identical in viscosity to raw plastic and heats more consistent than water. I bought a quart jug of the oil for a buck at a discount store and pour the oil back in the jug after each use so it'll be around for quite a while. Another way to help keep plastic up to temperature is to "nest" the cup in a heavyterry cloth towel that is wadded up so the cup sits down in a pocket. The more often the cup gets set in the pocket the better the heat retention gets.

[DF]

 I let my first color firm up before I pour the second. Then I hit the second color with heat stabilizer and warm the plastic a bit more than  usual, not to much, just enough to make the plastic extra runny. When you pour try to keep a nice even flow don't start an stop, and you have to move fairly quick to if your shop is cold or that thin stream your trying to pour will cool fast. Its all about keeping the temps up in that second color so it will bond the first.

[Slow Burn]

Thanks for the advise. I will give that a try this evening. I will post a pic either way to try and fine tune this.

[BigFoot_158]

What about toaster ovens? I saw this one on another site cant remember which one(old age attack again).