COLOR ME FISHIN

Tom, Welcome to the world of custom painted lures. Check out www.Dixieart.com-they have a good selection of airbrushes in all price ranges. I would get to know a double action airbrush if you are going to get serious. I would probably choose a Paasche VL-it is moderately priced and pretty user friendly if you keep it clean. Good luck......

Good idea ...........in reference to Tims comments about the big boys trying to duplicate his colors and can't...that's because they dont see colors the way Tim Hughes does and they can't afford to put the time and effort into the baits like we do. That's why the people come to us for something different, something better. I tell my customers that I can take anyones color scheme and make it better. I'm sure someone could take mine and make it even more better. That is custom painting!

Here is my version of Lucky Crafts Table Rock Shad-very tough to duplicate-washed out colors-like Tim Hughes was talking about earlier. I made mine a little more brilliant trying to keep the same hues as the original color. Customer bought these in a different color he didn't care for and wanted them that silly color-guess he "tricks em" with that color somewhere.

I agreee with Tim....I have copied some of his color schemes, but have added my little "twists " to them. That is why it is called "custom painting". My friends/buyers whatever you want to call them, want certain things done their way. Maybe less orange on the belly, maybe redder orange or whatever. That is the niche we fill. We can provide that to our customers and is why they keep coming back....we hope! I learned to keep a log of my recipes so I can duplicate a certain scheme to a tee if I have to. A shade off on green or whatever and the fisherman is not happy and loses confidence with your paint work.

You guys are too kind...... Like all ofyou fellow artisans I enjoy taking something good and making it just a little better, my way. If I can ever figure out how to take a decent photo I'll put up more color combos I have concoccted over the years.

Awsome color for an Illinois guy. I can say that cause I live in Burbank,IL. All the Musky guys I know just want, black, then some black, then finish it off with some.....black!!!!!

No secrets....mostly lacquers fro WASCO> You have to fool with them(mix 2 colors here and there) to get the colors you want. I also use waterborne for some colors. The bottom bait (Lake Michigan Perch) actually has a foil applied. Also start to play with PPG's Harlequin if you can afford it. The stuff is awsome. $30.00 an ounce though. Much more pigment than House of Kolor's version. These are holographic paints that throw off all kinds of color flashes at different angles. Don't know if the fish are impressed, but I am.

I would try to figure out what caused the problem to begin with and eliminate this from happeneing again. I painted cars for 25 years and learned early to recognize conditions that would cause a problem and eliminate them before they occur. Maybe water in your air lines. Your paints not compatable with each other, too much heat as it was drying? I found the more you try to fix something that is already done , most of the time you'll end up making it look worse!

I used to use an automotive polyurethane clear (IMRON), but even that is not as tough as epoxyand it's very dangerous to your health. If you are worried about adhesion, clear with the same type of paint as your basecoat. Lacquer over lacquer, waterborne over waterborne. You will not have much durability though. When you use epoxy, it doesn't really adhere to the basecoat-you just kind of encapsulate the lure with it. The trick is to find epoxy that is not super brittle and you wont chip the bait as easily. Keep in mind if you clear with something that lasts forever, no one will need to buy more of your lures!

I got mine from a place called American Science and Surplus. It was $7.95-is a gear reduction motor. I welded the stand and modified the bicycle wheel, it turns nice and smooth. I do quite a few musky baits for guys and have no problem with torque. I rigged up a switch for a cieling fan so I can adjust the speed of the motor to a point.

Here is a lousy photo of some new colors- can't seem to get them into the gallery

cool...............Lucky Craft sells sheets of rub on scales I have used but they tend to be a little guady looking and a pain to apply.

Always remove the tape before you clear....you may end up coating some of the tape and it will be impossible to remove. That is if you are brushing on your epoxy or whatever. If you are spraying, leave the tape on so you don't get overspray on the bill. Won't affect the action. but it looks cheesy. After your last coat, peel back the tape where it meets the body of the lure.

Some new stuff-I know my photos are lousy

Awsome colors-you have the talent!

SOME ROGUES FEATURING CHAMELEON COLORS-PHOTOS DO NOT DO THEM JUSTICE............

Bronze will rust...nickle as a rule will not rust as quickly. They have to justify the prices they are tagging onto these baits. I prefer black nickle on my baits-gives them a "stealth" look.

Tim Hughes is the godfather of lure customizing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My 150 is the workhorse in my garage........I sometimes pull the neddle out and take some Simichrome polish to the tip. this will help solve the seating problem sometimes and make the needle less likely to cake up. Lacquer thinner is sometimes not enough to clean all the dried paint up-I soak my tips in Spray Gun Cleaner which is diluted paint stripper, once and a while. Can only be bought in gallons, but if you visit a local body shop-they may have some to spare. At worst order a new needle and the small paint tip from Dixie.

Kameleon is House of Kolors brand name-PPG has their Harlequin line of holographic paint-much more intense than H.O.K.-$30.00 an ounce, but the stuff is wild-they have about 6-8 color change options(cayan/purple-magenta/gold). Have been using them for over a year and finally getting used to what they do.

Lacquer is generally agressive enought to bite into plastic-to be on the safe side-go to an auto refinish supply and ask for clear plastic primer or adhesion promoter-I use Bulldog with pretty good results. can be applied in between coats and prior to clearing to lock in colors.

I actually started going with 2 thinner coats vs 1 heavy coat of epoxy-less likely to solvent pop-adds more depth to the paint. after the first coats sets up-I install my domed eyes and cover with a second coat-this keeps the eye on the lure and gives it a goggle eye effect so popular with lure manufactures now

Any epoxy will yellow over time as ultraviolet inhibitors are not added to most-the most uv prtotection comes from the rod builders epoxy-American. Classic....... so they say-i have a few older rods and the wraps are yellowing -hopefully you will loose thae bait before it yellows......try this site. www.mudhole.com This is a rod building supply source

I prefer to strip the lure to the plastic-you will often change the weight of the lure or deaden the sound on rattling lures if you keep piling on paint. I have 2 cabinet sandblasters for this-one with rough grit then switch to glass bead to polish. Don't try this on a wood bait!

Thanks for the reply-lousy photos I know, but only have work camera to shoot with and it is obsolete know what I mean?????????????