Best Brand or Type of airbrush paint for Painting hard bait fishing lures?

[BassQuatch INC]

Hi, 

Well I'm getting started in lure painting, I recently purchased an IWATA ECLIPSE and 3 sets or CREATEX (pearlized, opaque, tropical) paint, I have not yet painted a single lure yet. so my question is did I really need to purchase CREATEX paint or is there other brand name paints that are cheaper that work just as well? HOBBY LOBBY $4.99 per 2oz KINDA PRICEY for me. luckily I came across sets that where much cheaper at COASTAIRBRUSH.COM. So one last question the airbrush I baught was origanally $210 dollars at Hobby Lobby but I had a 40% off coupon. Was purchasing this expensive airbrush needed? OK well I hope I can get those two questions answered. THANK YOU much ahead of time.

[Anglinarcher]

First, welcome to the forum Bass, good to have new people.

No, you don't need to use Createx, but it is a common one to use for water based paint.  I normally use that Hobby Lobby 40% off when I can.  

Buying it on line is also a good idea.

As for other brands, as long as it is an Airbrush Paint, you will be OK.  Some standard hobby paints are not airbrush worthy and don't have the pigment ground fine enough for the smaller needles.  That could be a problem.

[mark poulson]

Learn to clean your brush quickly, so you won't be tempted to skip it and wind up with a frozen/blocked brush.

Also most air brush paint shoots better when thinned to the consistency of skim milk.  Many lighter coats, heat dried with a hair dryer before you spray the next coat, will let you build up to a color you like quickly.  One thick coat won't dry completely, and you'll wind up with moisture trapped under your paint, which will cause problems when you add your top coat.

Take your time, practice on some white paper, and some white PVC pipe, to learn what your air brush can do, and how the paint is applied.

Good luck, and good painting!

[Saugerman]

BassQuatch, welcome to the forum. Sounds like you are well on your way. Hope you enjoy the hobby.

[Chuck Young]

My suggestion is to look forward, not backward. You have purchased a very good airbrush and excellent paint. Don't question these choices - everyone will have an opinion.

Here are some additional suggestions:1) Get a good regulator / water trap combo. The ability to vary air pressure between 0 - 30 psi is very important. 2) Get the brand recommended reducer and transparent base (basically paint with no pigment in it). This will allow you to make colors more transparent, creating more depth to your color schemes. 3) Watch some tutorials online. 4) Search the threads on this site for color recommendations and homemade tools.

[T4ckee]

Taking note of those tips too.

[BassQuatch INC]

Thank you all so much for your replies. It is all very helpful.  This will be my “paint booth” set up for the moment.

[osutodd]

Paint sounds expensive, but 2 oz. paints a lot of baits. Even for doing a full white base coat, I only use 5 to 8 drops per bait, depending on bait size. And I still end up shooting some into my waste jar.

It ends up being one of the least expensive items once you are stocked up. Blanks, clear-coats, and hooks will all set you back way more than the paint.

 

Edited January 30, 2018 by osutodd

[gone2long]

All good advice so far I would only add a couple pointers I kept a piece of pvc pipe next to the booth and tested colors on that you get different results from the same paint over different base coats and don't get discouraged and overthink your decisions of color choice once you've clear coated you will find that makes the paint pop and don't forget to get micro glitter and play with adding small amounts to your clear coat you get amazing results

[ctenn]

Again don't get discouraged. This is a skill that takes a lot of practice to become good at. One nice thing about water based acrylic paints is that they are easy to wash off and repaint. I've done it often. The plugs don't have to be painted perfectly for the fish to eat them. Have fun with your new hobby. Carl

 

[BassQuatch INC]

Thank you all so much the the info and replies.. I made my first batch of Crankbaits!! Here’s a couple picture for you guys. 

[BobP]

Nicely done.  Re paint:  Createx (and its sub-brands like Autoair) is the most popular airbrush paint for good reason.  It’s available everywhere and it maintains a high quality standard and consistency.  That said, there are many other brands including taxidermy paint brands that I mix and match with no problems.  As for price, I think you will find that airbrush paint lasts a very long time because you are using very small amounts of it on a single bait.  I buy the 4 oz bottles and as a hobby builder, only need to buy 2-3 bottles per year to replenish my paint box.  To me, using non-airbrush cheap hobby paint is definitely penny wise but pound foolish since a lot of it will just not shoot reliably through an airbrush.

[Fish_Hacker]

Nice setup!

I use the same setup as you have and it works extremely well. I have a bunch of other airbrushes and use them all but my favorite is the cheap Master brand one for when I am doing baits.

The hobby acrylics really suck for spraying through an airbrush. You can add a bunch of acrylic reducer to them to get the right consistency to flow correctly through the airbrush and they will work but it is just too much effort. Also sometimes you need to replicate the mix and it is tough to repeat what ratio you used. I used to measure it out and would get pretty close but it's a pain in the neck and that is why I just get Createx or the likes of it.

[web]

On 1/30/2018 at 4:40 AM, BassQuatch INC said:

Thank you all so much for your replies. It is all very helpful.  This will be my “paint booth” set up for the moment.

 

[web]

Cool picture of your booth!  I am also new to the hobby... about 18 months.   After a while with a similar set up inside, I found a lot of paint dust settling on flat surfaces in my office.... also noted my pups and  I were breathing a lot of it to a point where one of my dogs started to have a cough.   So i went out and spent around $70 on a Master Airbrush spray booth on amazon that seems to help suck most of the excess spray into its filter and exhaust the air out the window vent that comes with it....  Dust seems to have almost completely dissappeared.

[talleyho]

  My first post.  All of you be very careful when using the more "user-unfriendly" paints and solvents.  I was careless and took my respirator off too soon after spaying in my basement.  I spent several days in the hospital with pneumonia May of 2015, and again in June of 2016!  I was holding my breath, (no pun) all through July of 2017.   But I no longer spray in the basement: I've set up in a back corner of my detached garage.   I'm glad someone posted a comment about cedar dust being harmful.  Guess I'll wear my mask while turning. 

   I love the character in red cedar so much that I leave quite a bit of it exposed through the finished lure.  If I ever figure out the finer points of "facebooking" I'll send some pictures.  I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer with computers.  I thought I needed my own page.  Every book has pages -- facebook -- facepage.  Makes sense to me!    

  To anyone who wants some red cedar blanks 5 to 7 inches long, 1/2 to maybe 3/4 inches square, I'll send them to you for whatever the mailing costs.  They're not kiln dried, but they've been gathering dust in my attic for, oh three to six years.  So -- kiln dried or no, they have baked in that attic!  I have more than I'll ever use.   I'll have to have my wife check to tell if I get any responses.  I'm still a babe with this "facepagi -- er, facebooking" thing.

Tight lines and trust God

Talleyho

[Bill Reed]

I am wanting to start painting cranks and I hear people say they use or bought an Iwata eclipse airbrush and that they are the better airbrush. When I go on line and pull Iwata airbrushes up there are several different models of the eclipse. Which one is best for painting crank baits ? 

[RM3]

On 9/20/2019 at 11:20 AM, Bill Reed said:

I am wanting to start painting cranks and I hear people say they use or bought an Iwata eclipse airbrush and that they are the better airbrush. When I go on line and pull Iwata airbrushes up there are several different models of the eclipse. Which one is best for painting crank baits ? 

Eclipse HPCS is the most common and a good workhorse airbrush. 

[Bill Reed]

That is the airbrush that I have been looking at along with the Neo. With me just getting into painting crank baits I was thinking maybe the cheaper airbrush would be better to start out with. Thanks for your reply sir. 

[ravenlures]

Bill Reed

If you are starting out just go to Harbor Freight and buy the one  for 15 bucks and start with that, then when you feel good enough then move up to a better one, and start with airbrush paint, don't start mixing Hobby Lobby paint just not worth it in the long run, you will just find that you have a bunch of bottles laying around. Starting out just try and use straight colors and when you are ready  then start mixing them. Just keep the airbrush clean most important.

Wayne

 

[Bill Reed]

Getting a cheaper airbrush has crossed my mind. From what I have read about the paint on different sites is to use good airbrush paints. At the moment I have not bought anything yet but have come close. Lol. I’m trying to do as much research as I can and pick the brains of those that have been painting for some time. I know I will make mistakes but I respect the advice of those that have done this for a while and hear them tell of the mistakes they have made. 

Thanks Wayne for your reply. 

[Chonch12]

just wanted to give my 2 cents. I am very new to lure building and painting. I purchased the big combo Air Compressor, IWATA from Amazon. It came with a small set of paints. I tried them about 5-6 times and was getting terrible results, I thought I was just downright awful at painting. I was very fortunate and found some Createx and Wicked paint sets at a great price all new. Talk about night and day when it comes to painting with nice paints compared to the cheap ones that came in the kit I bought. Literally blown away. I have no idea about other brands, but I will say the there is an incredible difference when comparing the super cheap paint to more expensive paint.

[Laura Kate]

I would like to purchase an airbrush kit for my boyfriend. Any tils on which kit would be best?

[Jonah]

1 hour ago, Laura Kate said:

I would like to purchase an airbrush kit for my boyfriend. Any tils on which kit would be best?

If this is his first airbrush. take a look at the Iwata Neo combo at Hobby Lobby. It comes with a small compressor. Get a 40% off coupon online. 

[mark poulson]

I would suggest the Iwata Eclipse HP-CS with the .5mm needle conversion kit.

I've been using an airbrush for 20 years+-, and I wish I had started with this brush.  It's easy to use, shoots most paints with just light thinning (like skim milk), and easy to clean.