Panfish plastic

[arkansasbowhunter]

Just curious what kinda plastisol you guys are using . I have been using the essential series but was wondering about other brands and how they are to work with for these crappie baits. The essential series is forgiving on reheats for sure.

[Spoonminnow]

I like Essential and M-F. Lurecraft is the worst for smell and yellowing on reheat. Bears is middle grade.

[snake River]

I used nothing but do-it their new plastic surgeries it is the best plastic that I found to work with reading ability has way more than I ever expected were able to reach the plastic over many many times indicate you could run a heat wave over 400 some degrees without burning.

[CTom]

I use all Do-It Crystal Clear soft plastic and softened Essential for my crappie and panfish baits. I get the Essential in 5 gallon pails and add 1 quart of softener to the full pail and then mix well. The Essential softened to this degree is as flexible as the Crystal Clear soft but way more elastic than the CC, plus all of the other attributes the Essential brings with it.

I've tried duplex plastic using the essential for the front end of a small bait and the CC soft as the tail color and vice versa and have absolutely no issues with clean, complete welds so the two plastics will play nice together if needed. For those who use a clear dip to seal eyes, the Essential is hands down the best plastic for making the dip....at least at a hobbyist level.

[cutbait]

I use M-F regular plastic I like it the best

[arkansasbowhunter]

Anyone using baitjunkies? All I have experience with is the essentials. Like it but it is pricey. However since it is forgiving with reheats it may be best suited for the hobbies the.

[Angler's Choice]

Anyone using baitjunkies? All I have experience with is the essentials. Like it but it is pricey. However since it is forgiving with reheats it may be best suited for the hobbies the.

Bug sells a very good plastic, It's been around for a very long time and is quite consistent in quality. I used to use the same stuff for 5-6 years before switching to what I am using now. If you buy their degassed stuff they actually run the plastic through a vacuum chamber to remove all air from it.

If I had one piece of advice on plastic it would be to try out as many different compounds and brands as you can and find what works for you.I've used just about all of them out there and have settled on what I like, and my decision came after looking at everything from quality, heat tolerance, finished product, size of the manufacturer and their supply capabilities, their products consistency and cost (you will notice I don't list the plastic I use, because it really doesn't matter). Now to be fair, when you are making baits at the level most here are, size of the manufacturer and supply capabilities aren't things you need to worry about, I do this for a living and it's quite important to me as we grow. My point is try as many as you can and make your own decision, I see too often where some people will tout one particular brand of plastic as the best without ever trying anything else really, and the answer to the best plastic debate is always nothing more than mere opinion, and you know what they say about opinions.....................


If anyone want's to know what plastic is the "best" to use for whatever they are making, email as many plastisol suppliers and ask for a small sample to try, you may have to pay a nominal fee, shipping etc but is gives you first hand experience with several different compounds. There isn't one particular brand that will ever be the best for everyone or every application.

[arkansasbowhunter]

Angler words of wisdom I see. I have thought about trying some others but when you are small like I am $35 a gallon is a lot of baits to lose on at this point. I really like if folks could give non bias pros and cons of what they use or have used. Thanks for all the info everyone has provided.

[snake River]

We have tried every major plastic there is on the market the all have their certain little unique problems but here's not the place to comment on each of them like I told you I only use one and that is from do-it I usually buy it by the 5 gallon buckets but I'm thinking about start ordering a 55 gallon drum I ordered a drum a few years back when I was just start to get things going well that was a big mistake because I didn't like the plastic so like angler's choice mentioned cry out a small bottle from each of the different companies to see which one that you like the best you may not find out with a small bottle but you will get the general ideal if you're going to like that plastic the biggest fall back on a lot of plastics is they smoke in a course too many bubbles on certain ones and of course the fading or turning yellow after one or two times in the microwave is another big fall back and that's why I chose to do-it is because you can use it over and over and over again and you do not have the waste.

[B********s]

Im only giving one comment, to my knowledge there is not 1 single major manufacture using Do It plastic. It is a retail market. That said when you only get about a 1% discount on a barrel. Its a no brainer to see why there isnt. That said, its good stuff. As there are plenty of other good ones as well. In the end its all opinion. I can get our plastic well over 400, and its still very durable. Some day i will do a side x side comparison with a few other manufactures for real data and to prove and disprove some theories.