CL Rods

Yeah it is just a bit of work. I didn't want to take them to the bare wood, so I have sanded them well, removed the screws enough to get the flaking off, sanded some more, wiped them with denatured alcohol, dried them well and am going to use thinned D2T to smooth them out and seal them. Then I will just scuff and paint and top coat with an automotive clear since I am using thinned D2T to re-seal and smooth out. If they had been for me and I was investing my time just for me I would probably sand them down much further. But since I am not charging him an arm and leg for my time like we all should when we put in that level of effort, I am taking a bit of a short cut. I am going to get a few RC3s along with payment so on those I think I might sand them alot further depending on their condition. I'll post some pictures when I am done.

A buddy from one of my fishing clubs wants me to repaint a bunch of old RC 1 and RC 3 crankbaits. After looking them over I am real undecided on how to proceed. Some have a bit of bare wood exposed either at the lip or around the screw eyes. Many have cracks in the paint. Some have the paint cracked off of the lead around the belly weight/screw eye and the lead is all oxidized. I have two initial thoughts, one is I am going to charge him more, but the other is in order to refinish these I will have to sand them a bit and then I could use either ETEX or thinned D2T and put a seal coat on before I starting to paint them. Now with all of the imperfections and old dirt and ..... on them I am thinking thinned D2T just to avoid the fish eyes possibility from ETEX. I don't have propionate or that might be a good choice. What amazes me is how far we have come commercially for crankbaits. These old baits have the screweyes and weights off center and the bills are crooked on most. Yet these old baits caught fish, but this goes back to the old thoughts about only 1 in X ran good and or straight. By todays standards I think they might have a real hard time selling these. Any and all suggestions on how to clean and seal these before repainting would be greatly appreciated.

just experiment with using tape cut in the semi circular shape and apply that to the bait, then you want half the paint sprayed onto the tape to create a feathering and once you remove the tape you will have your clean line on the outside edge. You can shoot a simple curved line shape by cutting out a stencil but the tape will give you that feathered look. If you want a second line just move the tape further away and spray again. Just remember to spray the first one closest to the front (eye) of the bait and then move the tape back.

Face it we all love to see each others work. Not having the Gallery as being one of the top priorities seems to be an error in planning. Let alone how long the conversion has taken. I am in the 'IT' business, and trust me if our conversions went like this, we would all be out looking for new jobs, the company would lose megabucks, and the company's reputation would suffer. I reckon I am a bit critical because of the level of testing and planning that I am required to put into my day to day work. So is there an expected end date to this conversion?

I agree with Bob on the D2T, but I will tell you not all 30 minute epoxies are waterproof. The 30 minute epoxy 'Extreme Power' sold at Hobby Lobby stores is flat out not WATERPROOF. It will soften if exposed constantly to water. This includes being left on the deck of your boat all day in rainy conditions. Not just when actually fished. In fact it will cure softer than D2T so I would track down the origins of any you try to verify if it is waterproof, or buy a small quantity and try them first if you don't use D2T or Etex. And most if ANY 5-10 minute versions are not waterproof.

IMHO, even thinned D2T will alter the bait. I have done several and well they just weren't the same. I have only done one since switching to using an Automotive 2 part clear and since it goes on so much thinner it did very little to the action and suspension, but the suspension was different. Not sure if it was water temp or line weight differences that may have also impacted the before and after. For sure though, D2T will affect the bait.

OK, I got to tinkering with this idea again. I tried a couple of different choices. First one I used a dark brown color and rubbed it on a naked lure and rubbed off the excess and it stayed in the cracks pretty well. I then coated the lure with a translucent irridescent paint like you would use on a ghost pattern. End result was the dark brown lines didn't stand out with the color contrast as well as I would like. So I tried one in reverse where I sprayed the same irridescent, heat set it for quite a bit, and then rubbed on a black. The problem is the black just doesn't wipe off the base color like it did with a naked lure so this was pretty much a bust. I have a couple I have sprayed with two different translucent base colors, one chrome, one blue that I have heat set and I am going to top coat lightly with a clear acrylic and then I will try rubbing the black on top once again. Now I am a bit skeptical as each layer of paint fills the cracks so there is less definition to them. If it works out I'll post it, otherwise I'd skip the whole thought and just lay out your base color as your scaling and use mesh as suggested. Or you can clear coat with automotive and try the licking method as suggested by Tater. Of course I think perhaps he was posting after a bit too much clear coating with out a mask. Tater, I need to laugh some more, let's go fishing again!! You promised to show me the stippers at night. Oh yeah you meant stripers not strippers.

So many colors and deviations. If you have Sand/Khaki you might want to try a touch of that with your orange/yellow mix. Also have you looked at a Yellow Ochre and say Sunrise Yellow or Canary Yellow and Orange mix? Yellow Ochre is a fabulous color by itself or for blending with transparents. Now mind you I am color blind

Just remember there are thousands of deviations in nature and everyone has different things they do. I just painted up a DT10 and DT16 copy today that don't look like the above or below at all but they still look great. If you stick with browns, greens, golds, blue, white, orange, yellow and tinker using combs or templates to shoot through with or without mesh or templates...

Do a search on paint schemes for bluegill and or sunfish. Here is one version, base coat white, pearl white, back and part of side sprayed with Pearl Ex interference bronze in translucent base, portions of bait sprayed through mesh with a blend of blues over the bronze and pearl white belly, top - shoulders and sides a mix of Createx & Auto Air golds sprayed through mesh over the bronze, back and front belly is sunrise yellow sprayed through mesh and then oversprayed slightly with the mesh off, front belly then has pearl copper added, light & dark brown blend for bar/stipe accents sprayed through a template, gill accents are done in Faschange Blue using 1/2 of a medicine cup to create the curve, pectoral fins are yellow ochre and translucent brite yellow sprayed through a template, gill tab is just opague black using a template, back is then accented with a very faint hint of brown/bronze and topped with Gem Ruby and an ultrafine gold glitter in translucent base. Apply the 3D eye followed by two coats of clear. Every now and then I'll add black glitter for a slightly different look. Just your basic pattern

And people wonder why "CUSTOM" costs so much...

Suspend them weighted or put them in the coping saw or on your lure turner or ??? to keep them pulled tightly. Spraying the baits is the best choice. I have used Dick Nites and TaterHogs Joe Moliki clear and either work. Dick Nites just takes longer to cure. I have used both products on Strike Kings, Rapalas, SPROS, and Jackall knockoffs. But based on availability, cure time and ease of use overall, spraying a clear is just the way to go if you can.

buy some Createx Air Brush Restorer! Ok, I will quit shouting now. Like others I keep a spray bottle filled with generic Windex (and it has no silicones or oils or anything that will effect the adhesion of topcoats in it) and I spray out the bulk of the paint AND i finish with Createx cleaner. But if your airbrush is dirty and as finatic as I am they all seemingly get a little build up that just doesn't 'rinse' / spray out try using the Createx Air Brush Restorer. Take out the needle and soak the nozzle, tip, cap etc. and also run some through the air brush. Just follow the basic directions on the bottle. This stuff is great!!!!! and use a little of their lube from time to time.

Well I decided I should share this with the people who have shared a lot with others, and with newbies as well. Color blending can be a pain as well as trying to figure out new color patterns etc. Especially for me since I am color blind. So I probably tinker more than most to achieve what some folks do easily. So to practice on, you can go buy a '3gang' (~6.5") or larger solid white and solid black plastic electric wall outlet cover plate from Lowes/Home Depot/Menards etc... The comver plate will be just like you have base coated in white or black and because it is smooth plastic the paint will run if sprayed too heavy or paint is too thin which is what you need to learn to not do, You can learn trigger control, color layering, use of templates, color blending, try irredescent / color shifts... and wash it off a million times and it will always be base white/black. One of the best tips I could have given you for learning. I had one laying in the garage (read that as I am a pack rat) and have been using mine for a little while and it has been most helpfull. Hope this helps get you started.

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