Skeeter

Coley, What's the deal dude??????? You paint just fine. Yours look a hell of alot better than my first paint jobs. You did a real good job on the scales, and the dot on the side of the flat bait is good and sharp. I only see two problems. First you have some over spray from the back stripe on the plastic one and a little splatter from the red understripe on the flat one. It's an paint thinning or an air pressure thing . I still have this problem at times. It pisses me off. I can't stand overspray or splatter. You never see this stuff on Hughesy's baits. Man, I would love to see it just once on just one of his baits. It would make me feel better. If you are shooting lacqer then try taking the pressure up some. I shoot lacquer around 24 to 26 psi. If it is water based. Then try taking the pressure to around 14 to 18 psi. With water based it depends on the paint. I have shot some as low as 12 psi. On my second attempt at lacquer I had the same problem. I shot it at 24 psi. When I took the pressure to 26 and thinned the paint some more it stopped. From the look of it I would say that I would try to thin it a little more or make sure that the tip is clean before you shoot. Next, clean up the template that you use for the gills. Make a smooth 1/4 moon shape and cut it out with an xacto knife. Make your cut smooth, not jagged. I really like the flat bait. You did an excellent job cutting out the lip and it fits good and clean in the slot. You have nothing to worry about bud...... your doing just fine. Skeeter

I am not sure that I am giving you the right answer. But, I know that to paint a pencil type line that the needle is backed out of the tip and the gun is placed really close to the piece. Say an inch or less. You might try a #1 tip. Start shooting the paint before the edge of the piece and move quickly. You will have to play with the trigger to learn to get that air and paint right. This is what Testors has on their web site. Hughsey would be the best to answer this one. He has probably forgotten more about painting than all of us combined know. Skeeter

Coley, I just taught myself. I never saw anyone airbrush anything. I still after 3yrs of making plugs have yet to see anyone else do it or show me anything. I never saw an airbrush work untill I bought mine. Some folks have given me tips on different pressures for different paints. Hughesy and Fat Ratz have answered some lacquer questions for me. But for the most part it is just jump in there and do it. I just know what I want and try to hang in there untill I get it. It doesn't always work out, and some baits take longer than others to paint because I mainly use water based paint. I have to wait a longer time between coats because the paint does not dry like lacquer. They say to be a better fisherman you need to spend more time on the water..... to be a better painter, you just need more time on the gun. I have a Paasche VL double action airbrush. Seems I learn something new every time I paint a batch of cranks. You don't need instruction, just time on the gun. I will be glad to help you in any way that I can. Just hang with it. It will come. Skeeter

I took some plastic coating off of a clothes hanger and cut them into small pieces. I place them over the hook hanger on the belly when I paint. You could use any type of small tubing to cover them. When I do a wire through then I slip a piece of the tubing over all of the ties and hangers. When I put in screw eyes for the rear hook hanger then it does not go into the bait untill after everything is painted. I bought some small hooks at wall mart that I screw into the back of the bait. This is what I use to hold the bait as I paint them. It is nice because after I paint them then I can hang them by that hook to dry. Go to the hardware section. You will see them. Skeeter

Way to go Red!!!!!!!! You have some real tallent. Skeeter

www.jannsnetcraft.com has some. But they say that they are plastic. They will work, but I doubt if they will hold up for long. Skeeter

My favorite is the shimmering shad. How unique that you stopped painting the stripe where you did. Great effect. I also liked the craw patterns also. I love the tripple dotted eyes. Why can't I think of this stuff. Excellect work. Skeeter

Excellent job captbob. I really like the way you did the gills. Skeeter

I have bought wire from the site that blackjack gave. He was kind enough to suggest these folks to me. They have an excellent price and are real good people to work with. I was pleased. If you need it real fast then you can get 20 gauge copper wire on a spool at Wal Mart in the hardware section. However, I prefer 18 guage or .040 in thickness. 20 ga. is .031 but will work for smaller cranks. Skeeter

captbob, The main thing is that you do what you are comfortable and happy with. Painting just flat takes alot of practice. At least it does for me. If the single action gun is your thing....... then stick to it. You will figure out whatever you need to do. If not... then post it here. Heck, we all have answers for everything. Skeeter

I would deffinitely try the topwater. Try a pop-r or a floating rapala and just twitch it. The jerkbait thing is good. You also might try something like the 1/4oz spinnerbaits that you sent me or a small normans tiny n cranbait around anything that sticks up or down long stretches of bank. If all else fails then there is one killer thing that always works for me. Fish a weightless finese worm or frenchfry. The frenchfry throws and sinks a little better and believe it or not has a good action as it sinks regardless of its shape. It is slow, but it ALWAYS works. Let it sink to the bottom and just give it a soft hop. Skeeter

Mainly I leave the cover off of the back of the gun so that I can adjust the needle in and out of the tip if I need to while painting. Sometimes paint will dry on the tip of the needle if you are spraying alot and you can loosen the nut and move the needle back inside the tip and clear any dried paint from the tip with a toothpick. If I am shooting the white undercoat or say yellow on the entire bait before I shoot the scales, then I move the tip back some so that I get more flow of paint. It just shoots a thicker coat that way. When I shoot the scales or a back stripe then I want to shoot as thin as I can because I want to create a fade. If I want the scales to stand out more on the top of the bait then I can shoot back and forth over the same spot and darken those scales without the paint running or blowing. Now don't get me wrong.....If you go back and forth too much you can still get runs and blows. But you can control this problem much better shooting a THIN amount of paint than a thick one. The rule of thumb for this type of stuff is.... the least amount of paint used the better. Skeeter

You can replace these things, but it takes time. You will have to strip the cork or EVA from the handle. Cut it, sand it, maul it, or what ever it takes. The real seats from what I am told are cut off. The whole thing to remember here is to protect the blank from damage.... cuts, nicks, etc. Then the butt end of the blank is sanded clean of glue etc. Then the new parts can be put in place. Usually Devcon or hot glue is used. Skeeter

I still work there Al. Skeeter

Hey Charlie, Now I know where to find you at lunch time. Skeeter

I only use trailer hooks if I'm fishing for money and getting short struck. I really don't like trailer hooks because if the the fish really slams the bait then alot of times he is gut hooked. I know how to free gut hooked fish, but sometimes you just can't. This stuff about hooks eventually rusting out if you leave it in the fish is crap. Yeah the hook will someday rust out, but it takes alot longer than the 2 or 3 weeks alot of articles suggest. Skeeter

I knew you would show up. Just couldn't stand it... could ya. Welcome. Skeeter

I think that could be one HELL of a possibility. Skeeter

I love the Hockey Stick. Skeeter

Pa, I am not sure if you are asking about my plugs or not. I saw the 1 in your message, so I am assuming you are asking about picture 1. Yes, they are wooden plugs that are completely handmade. All parts except the rear screw eye, the split rings, and hooks are made by hand. They are for sale. Send me some email or something and we can talk. Skeeter

So if I spray white pearl over the bait, then spray translucent yellow over that, then I can shoot a green stripe down the back that is a solid and it is not translucent and the yellow will not bleed through the green? Skeeter

It seems to me that the ruling was not because the lures were similar, but due to the fact that Renosky led folks to believe that the new lure was a product associated with Banjo Buddies. Since he left that company, then I can see where the new product should not be represented or implied as a Banjo Buddies product. Skeeter

Fat Ratz, Thanks much. I am not using any thinner with it. Normally I use acetone as a thinner. I know that this is the hottest of the thinners. I find that with translucents and with most pearlized paints that I don't have to thin it. I like to do that if I can. It dries quick and coats well. The strings don't bother the finish of the lure, it just blew my mind when I saw all of that stuff floating around. I thought that it might be what you said but I never thought it would be that much. It looked like someone sneezed into a pile of dust. I am wanting to spray that translucent yellow that you gave me. It is taxidermy paint. If I spray another lacquer color on top of it, will the yellow bleed through the color over the top of it? Skeeter

Shoot son, I can here that thing all the way to North Carolina. These are some really beautiful skirts that you are making. Skeeter

I am using some Testors lacquer that is used for RC Cars. The pearl colors you really don't have to thin. Other colors you do. Otherwise you can get overspray or real light splattering. I shoot it at 24 psi. It is a little expensive ( about 2.80 for 3/4 oz.) but it goes a long way. I can spray about 15 to 20 DBIII size baits with that amount. I thin and clean up with acetone. Skeeter