BobP

I dip basswood in a quick drying solution of propionate disolved in acetone to stop the grain from raising when hit by water based acrylic. Most any solvent based coating will do the same thing.

UH.... Createx IS acrylic paint. It just doesn't have very good adhesion compared to some other brands. Personally, I basecoat with thinned Apple Barrel Flat White acrylic using a VL. I flash dry it with a hair dryer and shoot successive coats until the lure is uniformly bright white (usually that means 2 or 3 coats). Just don't shoot the basecoat too thick and don't flash dry it too fast/hard or you can cause cracks in the paint or even push paint around with the dryer.

Everyone's skills differ and alot depends on what you mean by "detail". JMHO, if you mean freehanding details like gills, stripes, etc, the VL probably has too large a spray diameter. However, detail can be done with the VL if you employ frisket masks. I confess - even with an Iwata HP-B with .02mm tip, I still use masks for detail work. It's just the most relaible and accurate way to get it done.

IMO reading books, airbrush forums and tips is a big help in learning a few shortcuts and basic strategies - but there is no substitute for hours with an airbrush in your hand programming your brain for the right "touch".

I drape the netting over the lure and fasten at the belly with clothes pins. I like scales on the bait's shoulders, not on the top of the bait, so put a couple of pins at the top too to keep the area I'm going to shoot straight and undistorted. Shoot paint onto the netting, dry it with a hair dryer, do the opposite side, dry again, then peel it off. Then use your airbrush to shade the scale area into the back and put on a solid back coating.

No. Brush the epoxy directly on the wood as a waterproofer and sanding sealer, then shoot a color basecoat of white acrylic, then color. Also, Shoot epoxy? Brush it on. It's too thick to spray and if it cures before you can clean it out, your airbrush is toast. I like epoxy to waterproof balsa because it greatly strengthens the lure. On hardwoods, you have wider choices because the primary function is only as a sanding sealer to keep water based acrylics from raising the wood grain. So you can use sanding sealer, polyurethane or any solvent based coating. Some use plastic cups or cellulose propionate pellets melted in acetone for that purpose. Acetone evaporates quickly so you can undercoat the lure and be ready to start painting in 15 minutes.

Look up retail price on the web and base your Ebay bids on them, adjusted for condition, popularity of the item, and what you think is a fair price.

You need a slow cure epoxy like Devcon 2T or Envirotex Lite for clearcoating. Fast cure 5 min. epoxies have different chemistry and will not level properly, will yellow quickly and don't provide the work time needed. Use them for attaching bills and hardware only. I don't try to get fussy with 2T, just brush it over everything on the lure body. You want every part of the surface brushed but don't overbrush it or more bubbles will result. It's not fussy about cure temps but the warmer the room, the better it releases bubbles and the better it levels. Some guys use lure turners in a closed box lined with foil and warmed by a light bulb to speed curing but it's not mandatory. You can breathe on epoxy bubbles; the CO2 and warmth pops them. Envirotex Lite is another good clearcoat epoxy. When mixed, it is a bit thinner than Devcon and it results in a thinner clearcoat. It has a longer cure time and requires longer rotation to avoid sagging. EL also contains some solvent. It will make solvent based colors run but is fine to use on acrylics. I see EL sold at craft stores like Michael's as a table top clearcoat in a 2 X 8oz bottle set.

I'd try moving the line tie back or putting it in the bait touching the top of the bill (which I prefer when possible). That should give you the tightest hardest thump with that bill and body shape. If that doesn't do it, increase the bill down angle a bit. Interesting body shape. Looks average from the top but unique from the side!

Check the user submitted tutorials for answers to your lip questions. 2T Devcon is a good clearcoat finish with a work time of about 10 mins when brushed on. 5 Min Devcon cures much too fast to brush on, and too fast to level properly after application. As a clearcoat, fuggedaboudit. You can use any kind of glitter with 2T, just shake a little in after mixing the epoxy.

As far as I'm concerned, after it's cured it's there forever. Up to 12-18 hrs after application, you can get it off with a Q-tip dipped in Naphta (aka lighter fluid) without harming the Lexan.

Obviously, opinions differ! For Triple Grip style trebles, I like Mustad Ultrapoints which are stronger but the same basic design. I use Gamakatsu Round Bend trebles on all my personal crankbaits. They're very sharp out of the package, strong, and stay sharp. Plus I favor their non-flashy "stealth" finish. Expensive but worth every penny in performance, IMO. The cheapest place I've found to buy them is here: http://www.buyfishingstuff.com/gamakatsuhooks.html

Click on "Forum" above and then scroll down to the bottom of that page and click on "Member Submitted Tutorials". If nothing is listed, go to the display controls and choose "beginning" instead of the default 100 days. You'll see 43 tutorials, among which are several about crankbait building and at least one devoted specifically to balsa baits. If you have very specific questions, come back to the forum and do a search on your topic - you'll find many topics have been discussed in detail. Hope this helps!

I occasionally add some to the clearcoat. If you mix it in the paint, I think most of it will disappear or clog your airbrush. You can use any type in Devcon but plastic flake can disolve in solvent based clearcoats.

Sealers vs topcoating. I use propionate pellets (tks Swede!) and it works great as a wood waterproofer when disolved in acetone. Dip it, hang it and it dries in 10 mins. But I personally think it's too soft to use as a topcoat and it usually has a milky sheen. If you want tough, I think the 2 current best choices are either epoxy or water cured polyurethane. Epoxy has more consistent results (no bubbles, great leveling, durable, etc) while the poly is harder, slicker, thinner, and glossier (but levels poorly and is prone to bubbles). I have several repainted DLN's in my tackle box - none sink. I know Norman used to sell Suspending DLN's. Maybe a couple of those are in your batch? If so, you have to remove the old finish completely and use thin clearcoat.

The overspray from acrylic mostly ends up as dust. I just tape newspaper on the wall and fire away. Haven't managed to ruin my wife's Acura so far But there is quite a bit of spray stuck to my bench and the stuff sitting on it. If you want to be fastidious, consider a spray booth. I don't use one because you need to clean the dust out of it regularly or it will contaminate your paint job.

I think it's a pain whichever way you do it! The best I've come up with it is to stick a round toothpick in both ends and then stick it into a piece of styrofoam to dry/cure. I can never get powder paint to work without globbing the paint up on the weight, and heating tungsten weights also melts the plastic antiabrasion tubes inside them.

I like to use .040" soft brass or soft ss wire. It's much easier to shape than hard tempered wire and works as well or better.

I use interlinked handwound ss eye screws and make the eyes small. After the clearcoat cures, chuck a piece of ss wire in a Dremel to clean out the eyes. Not elegant but workable. One thing to avoid is leaving sharp edges on body segments. Epoxy draws away from a sharp edge while curing and will leave insufficient finish, so you need to round them off (or use another clearcoat). There are various tweaks for body segments. One is to slant the cut backwards so a fish following the bait from below can't see the joint space. If you get the segments too close, they'll hit and limit the amount of swing - a good or bad thing depending what you want.

I tried a couple of types of adhesive stencils and none worked very well. Even the "light tack" stencil will lift recently sprayed and flash dried acrylic paint. Or it will leave adhesive residue (just as bad!). I still use it but now just don't take the backing off. It's nice to have a more durable stencil that won't wear out after 3 baits. Otherwise, it's too much hassle to carve them. But it needs some pliability to conform to round baits. And I prefer a stencil made with a non-slick material so overspray will stick to the stencil and not run onto the bait. Maybe cereal boxes are ideal