The Hunt For Big Fish with Larry Dahlberg

hey everybody I am new here. i have been messing with water clear resin the last couple months with mixed results.
some times I get a nice clear cast but more often they are cloudy. so this is what i have been doing

warm up my mold (HS3 rubber) with inserts in them

mix up my resin

vac the resin

pour

set in pressure pot for 3 hours @ 52-58psi

hopefully I can learn what I am doing wrong and help some one else along the way. Thanks for any input

hi t
hmm. sounds like you are doing everything correctly. I'm sure GK (Goop King Mike at alumilite) will be able to help get to the bottom of it.
Is the cloudiness throughout the casting or just on the surface? Does the remaining mixture in your mixing cup also appear cloudy after it sets?
Are you making trolling heads, if so what are the inserts made of?
best,
L

I spoke with Mike this morning and here's the scoop: If you have too much A side, like 5% too much, you will get a cloudy casting. It's usually the result of measuring the stuff in two different containers and not getting all the A side in the process!
I'm sure this will take care of your problem.
best,
L

Ah ha!
Thanks Larry, I have had to put my lures on hold for a bit but will give it a go in one cup on the scale next time around. I have another question if I may:
Is this the right resin for off shore lures? I am thinking of getting a lathe too. So what speed are you lathe guys turning them at or should I be using different resin for turning?

Ok so I was back at it again this morning and I may have found my problem. So you asked about the inserts, well they are aluminum tubes with bits of plastic held on with zap ca. Today I mixed in one cup as you said and I also poured one lure with just the tube in it. Well whata you know. Lures with the inserts showed surface clouding again but the one with just a tube was clear. My first guess is the zap glue. So has any one had a reaction like this? Gonna try again later with one dropping the plastic pieces in and another with a al.tube with some of the zap ca on it to find out. If it is the zap glue can any one recommend a different adhesive please. I hope this info can save some one else's headaches too

Try plain old 5 minute epoxy rather than the zap and you should be free of clouds!
best
L

Is it possible that my molds are contaminated? Can they be cleaned some how? I'm using high strength-3. I'm wondering Should I make new molds with something else