Using Tungsten Poweder with hard plastic

[GMan]

I want to make my hard plastic bait heavier and still keep the belly down attitiude you get when pouring the top half with a microballoon mixture. If I use the tungsten powder on the bottom half, do I simply mix it with the Parts A & B and pour, or do I need to pour a thin skin layer first and then dust in the tungsten powder or mix it with the remaining plastic?

[GMan]

I tried putting some tungsten powder into the mixture right before pouring the bottom half. Quite a bit of the tungsten powder stayed in the cup, but I drisseled much of it into the mold. Much of it then sunk to the bottom of the mold while it was setting up and could be seen through the plastic on the bottom of the piece upon demolding. Looks like a layer/skin should be poured first on the bottom before the tungsten is put in.

[Mike - Alumilite]

Couple ways you can do it. Mix up one batch of White, pour a 1/2" in the bottom and then dump tungsten powder in the mold. The important step is to stick a stir stick in the mold and make sure to stir it up to make sure the resin wets out all the tungsten ... you do NOT want pockets of tungsten that have not been wet out by the resin. Then continue to pour the rest of your resin until your mold is full.

The other option is to mix up two batches of White simultaneously ... a small batch with a high percentage of tungsten and the other straight White. Once they've both been mixed, pour a skin of straight White into the bottom and then scrape the high concentration of tungsten batch into the mold and then top off with the rest of the White. This will make sure the tungsten is wet out and no powdering pockets of tungsten are in your lure.

The easiest way that I tend to do the most is to simply mix up the amount of tungsten you want in the resin and add a small amount of microballoons. Mix up only what you need to fill the entire mold. Then quickly mix and pour the resin in the mold by the 35 second point. This allows the tungsten to settle and the microballoons to float for close to 2 minutes in the mold before the resin sets up and cures. You will have to scrape the cup to get all of the material out to fill the mold. This will make you scrape all the tungsten out of the cup and into your mold. The tungsten on the bottom and the small amount of microballoons on the top make a natural and very effective keel.

Mike

[aka anglinarcher]

"The easiest way that I tend to do the most is to simply mix up the amount of tungsten you want in the resin and add a small amount of microballoons. Mix up only what you need to fill the entire mold. Then quickly mix and pour the resin in the mold by the 35 second point. This allows the tungsten to settle and the microballoons to float for close to 2 minutes in the mold before the resin sets up and cures. You will have to scrape the cup to get all of the material out to fill the mold. This will make you scrape all the tungsten out of the cup and into your mold. The tungsten on the bottom and the small amount of microballoons on the top make a natural and very effective keel."


Thanks Mike, I wish I had figured that out myself.

[aka anglinarcher]

Thought I would follow up on this thread. When I add the Tungsten Powder, it turns the Alumilite White and microballons gray to black, depending on the amount of Powder added. Now this is not a problem, if you are not using Alumilite Dust to color your project. If your Alumilite Dust color scheme is one that is best done on a Black primer, then it will work very well, but I was trying for a lighter color.

I learned two things. One, doing it the way Mike said is so much easier then the skin method I have been using. Two, I will either need to go back to the air brush, or pour a skin first and then follow it up with Tungsten Powder, Microballons, and Alumilite White.

I am sure open to other ways to add Tungsten Powder and use Alumilite Dust at the same time. Please let me know if you have a method.