68KingFisher

I have a Flakebuster dry spray gun, that I've used on several different projects, none of which were lures.....I will say that I liked for some projects and not others.....Dry spraying flake is a great idea and works ok on some level, but what I found was, I end up with alot of flake on the floor and everywhere else for that matter.....Yes, you can try to recover the flake by sweeping or catching the extra flake on a substrate of some sort, but to me it was more hassle then it was worth, so now I'm real picky on which jobs I might use it on, but for the most part is just sits on the bench. If I were doing alot of lures at a time and had some sort of self contained booth that would catch the extra flake for reuse later without causing a big clean up then I'd say it'd be worth looking into....otherwise keep doing what your doing now and save your money for another airbrush or touch-up gun or more paint....something you'll actually use....lol

Sorry for the delay in my reply Ben.....and it looks like KcDano correctly answered the question for you already....No it does not take the place of a topcoat clear....Use it to mix dry pearls,flakes,candies or marblizers into...also can be used as a sealer or barrier to prevent bleeding of colors......but since it does not use a catalyst it does require that you apply a catalysed topcoat clear over it.

Ben since your using an automotive clearcoat, you might try whats known as intercoat clear....I use the SG100 from House of Kolor....Its a clear medium thats designed to be used for spraying flakes and pearls....Its also what I mix the candy concentrates with to create my transparent colors...You mix it 2:1 with a reducer for most applications, but often something like 1:1 works better for airbrushing.....Thankfully Its not real expensive, cause I use alot of the stuff....lol.

Ben since your using an automotive clearcoat, you might try whats known as intercoat clear....I use the SG100 from House of Kolor....Its a clear medium thats designed to be used for spraying flakes and pearls....Its also what I mix the candy concentrates with to create my transparent colors...You mix it 2:1 with a reducer for most applications, but often something like 1:1 works better for airbrushing.....Thankfully Its not real expensive, cause I use alot of the stuff....lol.

Mark, I've been using the same quick disconnect airbrush hose for more years then I can remember and its the best money I ever spent.....I've got a couple of male connectors for every brand of airbrush I own and its a breeze to switch brush to brush.....Not having several hoses always hanging on the bench ready to tangle up, made the investment more then worth it to me....lol....I'm as tight as a tick when it comes to spendin money, but in this case I think its money well spent.

Waterborne might be more accurate then waterbased, as that paint does contain a mild solvent and requires you to use their brand of reducer for optimum performance, but otherwise its a waterbased paint, although it acts like more like a urethane in the way it sprays, and even though I haven't used the product myself, I know alot of airbrushers and custom painters that do use it and have been since it before it hit the market and everyone of them swear by the stuff....Its designed to cleared over with a catalized urethane clearcoat, so I doubt that dipping in DN should not be a problem once the wicked colors are dry.

Since you appear to be located on the westcoast, your best bet is the guys at http://coastairbrush.com/

In the for whats its worth dept, here are my thoughts......Shooting automotive clear is no big deal as long as you'll provide a little ventilation.....Just a box fan sitting in the window with you spraying near it is usually more then enough exhaust to deal with the small amounts of overspray you get when using an airbrush......Of course you should wear a good resperator rated for organic vapors just to be safe, but do you need a separate building from your home to shoot clear in....NO.....Do you need to wear a "shoot suit" and cover all exposed areas of your skin and goggles to protect your eyes?....NO....I don't think so....not for the small amounts were dealing with when clearing lures....unless your shooting alot of clear with a mini or full sized gun and then you'll want to take better precautions.....But do you need to be clean shaven to shoot some auto clear on your lures.....NO, I don't think so. I mean lets be real.....If your were gonna start a body and paint shop in your family garage and be painting full sized vehicles, then of course disregard everything I just said, and get yourself a paintbooth and all the safety gear, and don't think about exposing your family to the fumes by painting cars in the attached garage.....Otherwise take a few minor precautions and use some common sense, and some decent ventilation, and you guys will be fine spraying a little auto clear now and then thru your airbrush. Disclaimer:.......If your an idiot, then none of this applies to you, and you should seek out a professional that can paint and clearcoat your lures for you.....There are several on this website so feel free to seek them out and use their services!

I was gonna say, it depends on the airbrush....some won't work when the crown cap is removed....Badger and Paasche's are among those, but I know that Paasche sells a "paint picker" cap that pretty much does what your after when you remove that protective cap...it allows the needle to be exposed so you can get closer to your work which allows for finer details....I've also seen guys mod their caps with a file to achieve the same results....just might want an extra cap if your gonna go that route though...lol

As is typical with anything I purchase, my Astro mini gun is no longer produced....but I found what appears to be an equally nice little hvlp mini gun for a decent price from Harbor Freight.....theres even a nice little video showing the gun in action so you can see the spray pattern before ya buy....check it out. http://www.harborfreight.com/air-tools/paint/hvlp-detail-spray-gun-46719.html My Astro has a 1.2 nozzle size and I find it works well for anything smaller then a motorcycle tank....Once I paint something bigger then a bike tank, I'll switch to a full size gun.

You can shoot auto clear thru a large tipped airbrush, but its not really the optimal way to it.....I've cleared lots of stuff over the years and while I have shot clear on several items with an airbrush (including crankbaits) I find its much easier, quicker and I seem to get a better finish when I use a bigger gun like a touchup gun or my preference, a gravity feed mini hvlp gun.....I've got one from Astro that is a Sata minijet knockoff and it works great for shooting clear on small items. Those smaller guns are perfect for work like this....Lures are just too small to ever need a full sized spraygun when clearing and sometimes an airbrush isn't quite big enough....Mini guns fit the bill.