by Fomen38 » Thu Jul 16, 2015 9:23 am
I know I posted this thread a LONG time ago, but as anglers, and fabricators we should always be in a state of learning. I noticed the Alumilite dye colors and its consistency weren't (in my opinion) ideal. The green color actually looked like turquoise/blue instead of vibrant green, the brown looks yellow-ish, and the red ALWAYS bled into whatever color I poured with it. So I turned to lure dyes that were made specifically for plastic lures. there are about 150 different colors on the market. I poured up a few of them (thinking the issue was the dye), and the trouble followed. At this point, I realized I wasn't doing something right. So I started to research and found the answer right in front of me. When I watched Larry's lure making videos, he always added his lure dye to the hot plastisol after pulling it out of the microwave (right before pouring into his molds). So instinctively, I always did this too. Well, when I visited the website of the lure dyes I bought for my plastics, I went to their "instructions" page, and I discovered the dye should be added BEFORE the curing process begins. I though this strange since the molecular properties and the appearance of the plastisol is different in it's uncured form vs. it's cured form. The uncured plastisol is milky, so I thought it would be difficult to get a true gauge on what the color would be. So here's what I did- I poured 1/4 cup of plastisol in 2 separate glass measuring cups. I added 6 drops of red to one, and 6 drops of white to the other. I stirred vigorously, and of course the red dye looked pink in the uncured plastisol. I popped them both in the microwave, set it to low, and let it run until it achieved a temperature of 350 degrees. The pink, milky liquid transformed into a beautiful, vibrant red, while the white came out looking like it came down from the Mount of Transfiguration. BEAUTIFUL! I poured a 2 tone lure with both colors. It's been a week, and there has been ZERO bleeding! I will admit, it makes it more difficult to gauge the final color you're looking to achieve, but there's no bleeding at all. This is just my experience though. Maybe none of you guys have experienced this before. But if you have, try adding the dye before you start curing and see if it eliminates your problem.