New to the game, a few questions...

[MrFish85]

So I just took the plunge and have made my first purchase to pursue making my own soft plastics.  Awaiting my Essential starter kit with a few added colors, heat stabilizer, worm oil, softener, and a Senko mold.  Have my thermometer, pyrex, clamps, gloves, and an old microwave just for plastic.  Since making my order I have been browsing the forums trying to research some recipes, and pick up some tips.  Now just a day after my first order and i'm about to place my 2nd (this could be a problem??).  Going to get some of the HD Additive, and 2 more colors to start with, and was wondering if there is anything else I would be missing to get started with some Senko like plastics. 

Thanks in advance for any tips and suggestions. 

[andrewlamberson]

The only other thing I can see is a good fan for ventilation.  Blowing the fumes away from your microwave  and where you inject. It will help minimize eye and respiratory irratation.

A good 3M respirator from Home Depot is a good idea.

Read...and re-read the safety tips and remember to get your plastic up to 350 the first time and inject SLOW and steady with on light hand pressure.

And the answer to your next 5 questions is: temperature !

[ctom]

Welcome aboard Do-It's magical mystery tour. The mystery is why we do this. lol Anyway, welcome aboard. Good people and great information.

It sounds like you have pretty much anything you'll need to get started. I'll offer that you take small steps as you start and be sure to buy a college size spiral notebook so you can write down everything you add to a specified amount of plastic. Get in the habit of doing this for a couple reasons. First, if things head south on you its easier to figure out what went wrong if you know exactly what was added and in what order and at what heat for how long. Secondly, some very good colors come from accidental mixtures. If you know what you added to get the color you won't have to search thru an hour of color matching to get back there if its one you want to copy again.

Take your time and enjoy yourself but be sure to stay safe, this plastic burns big time if you get it on your hide. Most of all, have fun. If you have questions this is the best place ever to get answers.

[efishnc]

I agree on keeping notes in the beginning, especially if you plan to sell your baits; after a while you may develop rules of thumb as I have and make general color combinations instead of specific hues.  I think water clarity will have the most bearing on how subtle you want to get the details.  Anyway, I would recommend some red and blue glitter (because they are at opposite ends of the light spectrum) and one in gold or silver hologram for clear baits.  Start simple and figure out what YOU like/want to make; then ask momma for a little more leash... a fella can have this get out of hand without even trying.

And keep all your scraps... I was just in the garage tonight making 4" & 6" Senkos of darker re-melts... I never once had a bass complain. 

[olsarge]

Welcome aboard.  Great hobby and a great site.  Almost any problem you encounter has already happened to us and you can find the remedy on these boards.  A little tip on the senkos.  Cut them in half and you have two baits for ned rigs.  Cut the halves in half (lengthwise this time) thread it on a jig head and you have a great leech imitation/  Lots of ways to get creative.  Have fun

[MrFish85]

Thanks for the welcoming, and some great tips.  Today starts my work space setup, gonna have to clear a bench or two in the garage for this new hobby.  Have my respirator mask and fans on the ready, and was already planning on keeping notes of what I was doing but I do appreciate the reminder.   Olsarge, that's an interesting trick on cutting the senkos to use on different rigs, I will have to try that out.  Sadly we had some large rains recently and I doubt ill be hitting the water for the next couple of days, but it does give me some time to prepare for when my shipment arrives.   

[MrFish85]

Well my kit arrived yesterday so today I was able to spend some time shooting some worms.   I had a collection of old Senkos laying around (as I had thought there must be a way to remelt and reuse them) so I started out with that instead of fresh plastisol.  I ended up shooting the mold 6 times and was trying to experiment with adding some color, stabilizer, and glitter.  Also I wanted to experiment with shooting at different temps as I was reading on the forums to shoot as low as you can without the plastic hardening before you fill the mold. 

My first batch was just remelted old senkos with 5 drops of stabilizer added.  I shot this at 325F.   
2nd I added some motor oil and white, and shot at 330F.
3rd and 4th I added in some darker old worms and some more motor oil and shot at 335F.
5th and 6th I added in some more old worms, 5 more stabilizer drops, 1/2 tsp of HD, 10 drops Watermelon Grn, and 7 drops Chartreuse.  Shot at 340F
http://custombaits.com/index.php?action=gallery;sa=view;id=2811

What I found....
   So after trying to absorb as much as I could form the forums before starting my injections I thought I would share my findings for others starting out.

Safety!   I was hesitant (as I normally am) of all the safety warnings; gloves, long pants+shirt, respirator, goggles and so on.  Well its worth it!  The long pants and sleeves sucked in the heat of my garage but I was happy when noticed I had dripped hot plastic on my pants and I was not burned.  The respirator was well worth the $30 and I would highly recommend, and the goggles I had no problem wearing as I hate eye injuries.

Temperature.   So I had been reading a bunch about this, and as andrewlamberson commented in this thread it would be the answer to my next 5 questions.  My first shot I tried at 315F and I ended up with only a half filled mold.  The plastic hardened way to fast in my room temp mold and injector.  I then reheated to 320 and just filled my injector and shot it back into my pyrex.  A quick reheat and stir and I was at 325F.  This time everything went well.  I tried to increase my temps by 5 degrees for each of my next pours and found I had no issues until my last. I shot at 340F and noticed a dent on 1 of my worms.  This could also have been from the mold heating up im guessing.  Either way my thermometer was a vital purchase. 

I must say I really enjoyed taking old torn trash baits and being able to make them into brand new soft plastics.  And as far as Do-It Molds, I couldn't be happier.  Everything I ordered arrived quickly, looked great out of the box, and worked properly.  Cant wait to get back at it and start making my own plastics from scratch.

[MrFish85]

Some of today's pours.

http://custombaits.com/index.php?action=gallery;sa=view;id=2813

[DF]

Nice work

[Muskygary]

Those are great looking baits! Those are as good as you could buy and now you can make any color and different weights! (HD). Now your hooked! Your one of us, welcome to the club! Now just look at all the different molds, colors, glitters and supplies there is, but no one saves their money you might as well buy more.

[olsarge]

But don't worry, you are not addicted till you buy a mold that makes baits that targets species you don't even fish for.

[MonteSS]

Nice baits. No dents or voids

[Lines]

Looking Good, MrFish85!

[Do-It Corp.]

Great colors.  I would call that success.

[MrFish85]

Yea i'm hooked, and after landing my first 3 catches on my own made baits today the addiction is getting worse.