BobP

Whatever the color scheme, I always paint from bottom to top. When doing scales, I shoot them as the 2nd color. Last, shoot the dark back color and shade it down over the scales. That looks the most natural to me.

Yes, I'm seeing more and more crankbait bodies that have been molded on a rotary milling machine. You can always tell by the circular tool marks it leaves around the lure.

I rely on stencils for fine lines and sharp edge designs. Freehand? Maybe an airbrush master illustrator can but it requires more than the right equipment and paint, especially since you have to do exactly the same thing twice - once for each side. I've decided that's always going to be beyond my limited talents!

And you better like that lip shape before you buy the die! I read here on TU where someone got a community college machine shop class to build a die and mechanical press for almost nothing. Good example of your tax dollars at work I don't think a hand hewn steel pipe would do the trick.

I use a Dremel sanding drum to round over the edges and to do tapering, but then switch to 220 and 400 grit sandpaper for final smoothing and to remove any shaping marks. The Dremel works fast enough that you need to mark guidelines on the lure for the center and tapers so you can keep everything symetrical. But it has other uses: drill holes for hangers, make recessed eye holes and ballast holes, clean dried clearcoat out of hook hangers, shape lips, remove old finish with a flap sander. Seems I wear out a Dremel every 1-2 yrs and get a new one. They have a 5 yr warranty so buying one guarantees a lifetime supply You do have to pay attention when shaping balsa; wood disappears so fast that you can end up with a toothpick if you're not careful. Also, woods with alternately soft and very hard grain (paulownia comes to mind) are hard to Dremel sand without digging in where the soft grain runs out on the lure. As a low volume hobby builder who builds a variety of designs and is always changing my crankbaits, the Dremel is my main power tool.

The easiest way I've found is to rough cut it with a pair of tin snips and then sand down to the exact line with a Dremel fine sanding drum. Pretty fast and very exact.

Hardwood bass baits don't need through-wire construction and it's much more work than screw eyes or handwound ss screws. Just epoxy in the hangers, line tie and ballast. I use a piece of ss wire to plunge glue into the screw hole and also put some on the threads.

Iwata HP-B+. You'll give up some performance with a syphon feed brush. A gravity feed shoots paint at lower pressure and it's easier to clean. The HP-B+ has a good size reservoir for painting crankbaits. Squirt paint right into the cup and it will do 2-3 typical bass lures before you need to refill it. Much finer spray droplets and more exact spray pattern than the VL (hand tuned at the factory). Use only airbrush formulated paint - it has a tiny needle and tip. It's price point is well within your budget. I got one off Ebay. I still use my VL for basecoating with cheap paints but switch to the Iwata for all shading and details. I bought an Iwata to Paasche hose adapter from Dixie Art because I like the Paasche hose and wanted to avoid extra expense.

I get soft stainless wire from mcmaster.com and use .032" for line ties on bass baits. It's only slightly stiffer than soft brass wire, very easy to work, and holds up well during fishing.

BC!, check out the thread on this page begun by La Pala about thru-wire. For balsa baits, the easiest (and strongest) thing to do is split the bait with a single edged razor blade. Put in the wire frame and ballast and use 5 min epoxy to rejoin the halves. If you scribe a center line around the bait after you cut out the blank, while it's still "square", the line serves as a cutting line. Pretty easy to do and effective.

I think the loudest ones are like Kelly said; drill a hole side to side, smooth the interior and use 2 round pieces of pop can to cover the holes. I epoxy the covers on with 5 min epoxy. Careful not to glue the bead! The glass bead smacking the aluminum covers produces a very distinct noise and puts out good vibration. I'm don't usually want rattles in wood baits (want noise, use a plastic bait!) but the method works very well in hardwood baits and can easily be adapted to various body widths.

Well, OK, Janns Netcraft has a pretty decent selection of plastic bodies including some without rattles and even one with a circuitboard bill. Of course they also sell the other hardware you'll need and hooks too.

There are various epoxies but Devcon will produce the thickest clearcoat if that's what you want.

I get basswood from www.nationalbalsa.com . It has no significant grain and is nice to cut and sand. Of course, a trip to the nearest home center will score some redwood, cedar or pine. Balsa is much more bouyant and is easily shaped (maybe too easy!) but soft balsa requires through-wire construction and epoxy reinforcement to be durable. So it depends on how bouyant you want the bait and what construction techniques you want to use.

I'd also choose Devcon 2 Ton epoxy. Comes in a double syringe at Walmart for about $2, enough for 5-6 bass baits. Buy the 2 Ton only, not the 5 min epoxy that cures much to fast to use as a clearcoat. Mix it thoroughly in a jar lid or the package blister and brush it on. If you don't have a lure turner, hang it up and switch it tail/nose every 2-3 mins for 30 mins. I bent a simple "C" hanger out of spare wire for hanging mine. The epoxy is usually touchable in 5 hrs and will be fishable in 24 hrs if you mixed it properly. Clean your brush with acetone or lacquer thinner.

http://www.upnorthoutdoors.com/stamina/plugs_hardware/shadbodies.html You didn't specify wood or plastic. Here's some wood flat sides.

I (and others) use an Iwata HP+. The directions say max 45 psi. It depends on the viscosity of your paint, but I've gotten good results down to 10 psi for detailed spraying. I often use a Badger 175T for color basecoating and then go to the Iwata for shading and detail - but the Iwata will do it all if you keep it clean and use properly thinned airbrush-formulated paints.

Another thing is where the line tie is located. The closer to the surface of the lip, the more/wider action you get from the bait.

I've delved through quite a few frisket catalogs without finding a source for fish scales. I think almost 100% of the crankbait painters on TU use netting, either purchased from Janns Netcraft, staminainc.com or from Walmart or another store that stocks fabric types.

Dixieart.com sells airbrush equipment as well as paints, so you might check their site for regulators/filters/etc. I've never used CO2, just saw references to it here on TU a couple of times. I'd check the yellow pages for industrial or medical gas suppliers.

I think Flexcoat tends to yellow more than Devcon so stopped using it. I use U-40 Rod Bond paste epoxy quite often to glue in bills, especially when replacing a bill where the new slot is larger than the new bill material. Rod Bond paste won't run and it gives you plenty of time to adjust things (several hours). It's plenty tough when cured. The slow cure time lets me mix a batch and work for a couple of hours installing hardware and bills without worrying that my epoxy is getting hard. It begins to gel at about 4 hrs and nominal cure time is 24 hrs.

Still no photo. After trying a number of solvent stripping methods on plastic baits, I didn't like the mess and found they sometimes damaged the plastic. Any chemical that will strip paint off of a molded plastic bait will also cloud its bill. Now I just shave old paint off with a sharp knife and sand it with 400 grit paper to smooth any nicks. On some baits, you can insert a sharp thin knife under the finish and peel most of it off. It's different for each bait. Bouyant baits often don't need old finish removed to retain their action. For those, light sanding to give the surface some "tooth" so the new finish will adhere is fine. For suspending baits or others whose weight is critical, all finish should be removed. The final effect you want on plastic baits is a smooth surface and it doesn't much matter how you get there. Although I refinish some of my baits, I tend to be very conservative about messing with them. I don't change a single thing on a great catching bait unless it breaks or the fish stop liking it!

No specific brand required. The HP works well on 15-40 psi and is rated at 45 psi max. Which compressor is mostly a matter of noise and convenience. A tool compressor outfitted with a pressure regulator and moisture filter is favored by many guys due to its moderate cost but it's too loud to use indoors in most scenarios. They usually incorporate an air tank to buffer the load, which is nice. An airbrush compressor is quieter and can be used indoors but is usually more expensive. I use a Badger Cyclone that supplies 40+ psi and turns on/off according to demand from the airbrush. It's too loud to use in living areas but would be OK in a basement workroom. If you want QUIET, be prepared to spend alot more for a compressor - or perhaps go with a CO2 tank, which is silent and supplies gas with no moisture content. I've read CO2 tanks can be used for quite awhile before refilling but have no experience with them.

I use 21 gauge (.032") soft stainless steel wire or 19 gauge (.040") soft brass wire because it's easier to work and has proved durable on my bass baits. There are various ways to go. I drill one hole in the bill and use a twisted wire line tie. Bend it 90 deg at the eye, fit it through. Cut a small slot in the back of the bill and crimp the wire over the slot and back down onto the top of the bill. When the bill is epoxied into the bait, the whole assembly will be very secure - without cutting grooves in the bill or epoxying the exposed wire.