Dean
New Member
Posts: 1
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Post by Dean on Apr 9, 2015 11:01:00 GMT -5
Does this product float in water? I like making my own fishing lures but I’ve been having a hard time getting a consistent lure using Alumilite’s resins white or tan and micro balloons. I think it’s more of a mixing issue with me than anything. I tried a product form another place called Smooth-On Feather Lite a heavily filled low-density urethane casting resin with a shore hardness of 58D. My question would be is the Ultra-lite 400 the same as the Smooth-On Feather Lite? I prefer to use the Alumilite’s products I like them and they work very well. Thank you for any help.
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Post by mike on Apr 9, 2015 16:14:34 GMT -5
Alumilite White and Alumilite's Microballoons can be made to sink, suspend, or float depending on how much you add. It has a work time of approximately 3 minutes and demold in less than 10 in most cases (unless mold is cold and or part is very small). My understanding the other material you mention it is a 100% fill by volume of microballoons and has fairly slow open time and cure time.
Most lure makers like to dial in their baits so they can vary the buoyancy to their liking. Very few times have I found a standard 100% works for most lures unless they are just looking to make a floating bait in which it will accomplish. The ability to dial in a specific density as well as the much faster cycle time would be the main advantage of using the Alumilite White and microballoons. If you like that 100% fill density, simply add equal amount of microballoons by volume to your Alumilite White resin of each side and simply gain faster cycle times and keep the density. Personally, I will typically pour a very small amount of unfilled resin in the belly of the lure, then add microballoons, mix them in and pour the remaining portion of my lure. This gives me a solid belly that is heavier (acts like a natural keel which also adds in glide distance in most lures)and have a more dense area to screw in my hook hangers while providing much lighter top of the lure as it is filled with microballoons and provides incredible flotation for my topwater lures.
For a rule of thumb (not taking into account any wire through design, hook hangers, hooks, or any other hardware): 30-35% by volume fill of microballoon will make a neutrally buoyant material - suspending 50% fill of microballoons will make a floating bait 100% fill of microballoons will make it pop up to the surface and ride high in the water column over 120% of microballoons will start to dramatically effect the physical properties of the resin but it will float very high
Hope this info helps. Mike
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Post by saltydog on Apr 15, 2022 21:01:03 GMT -5
Alumilite White and Alumilite's Microballoons can be made to sink, suspend, or float depending on how much you add. It has a work time of approximately 3 minutes and demold in less than 10 in most cases (unless mold is cold and or part is very small). My understanding the other material you mention it is a 100% fill by volume of microballoons and has fairly slow open time and cure time. Most lure makers like to dial in their baits so they can vary the buoyancy to their liking. Very few times have I found a standard 100% works for most lures unless they are just looking to make a floating bait in which it will accomplish. The ability to dial in a specific density as well as the much faster cycle time would be the main advantage of using the Alumilite White and microballoons. If you like that 100% fill density, simply add equal amount of microballoons by volume to your Alumilite White resin of each side and simply gain faster cycle times and keep the density. Personally, I will typically pour a very small amount of unfilled resin in the belly of the lure, then add microballoons, mix them in and pour the remaining portion of my lure. This gives me a solid belly that is heavier (acts like a natural keel which also adds in glide distance in most lures)and have a more dense area to screw in my hook hangers while providing much lighter top of the lure as it is filled with microballoons and provides incredible flotation for my topwater lures. For a rule of thumb (not taking into account any wire through design, hook hangers, hooks, or any other hardware): 30-35% by volume fill of microballoon will make a neutrally buoyant material - suspending 50% fill of microballoons will make a floating bait 100% fill of microballoons will make it pop up to the surface and ride high in the water column over 120% of microballoons will start to dramatically effect the physical properties of the resin but it will float very high Hope this info helps. Mike
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Post by saltydog on Apr 15, 2022 21:08:58 GMT -5
Sorry if I'm sounding ignorant here, but your "rule of thumb" is confusing. 30% to 35% of what? The lure's volume? The epoxy/microballoon mixture? Better yet, if I have a lure that displaces 18 g of water and weights 20 grams , how much epoxy/microballoons do I need to reduce the lure's density 2g and down to the neutral bouyancy weight of 18g (plus the volume the epoxy/microballoon addition will add)? TIA. Cheers
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