68KingFisher

I use one rated for organic vapors.....I keep it stored in the plastic bag it came in.....my masks last along time doing it that way.....I use to replace the charcoal filters on them, but know days it seems they are cheap enough to just replace the whole mask......I judge mine by can I smell paint with it on??....If so replace it. The isocyanides are usually in the catalyst.....so if you add cat to your basecoat you'd want protection from that....and all automotive clearcoats use catalyst so of course be careful there. Also what was said about the iso's getting into your system thru your skin is right on.....it can also get in thru your eye's......thats why guys that use the stuff daily like car painters, wear shoot suits that cover them from head to toe and a fresh air full face mask.....they want protection from the chemicals, but also so they don't have stuff coming off their bodies/clothing, and landing in the new clearcoat. For waterbased stuff only, you could probably get by with those paper masks...but they are not that great, and i'd highly recommend something better....like a real resperator...lol.

I'll try and attach the link to that thread about my booth. http://www.tackleund..._1entry128200 It seemed to work...lol....I hope it helped....hollar at me if you want to know more.

The way I understand it, is that paints bond in one of two ways....mechanical bond via sanding scratches, or chemical bond via solvents. If you spray waterbase over solvent base your not getting a chemical bond and if you didn't sand the surface your not getting a mechanical bond either, so that's why your paint wiped off.....You could've tried the Bulldog adhesion promoter, but i'm not sure that would've helped much either. Sanding chrome normally leaves you with silver....but most chrome rattlecan paints just look silver or aluminum anyways, so I don't think it'd matter much. The high dollar chrome paints are not only very expensive but difficult to use...as far as I know, all of them require you to spray them over a glossy black base....and i'm talking a mirror shine black base thats already been cleared buffed and polished....thats really where the mirrored chrome effect comes from.....so the process really wouldn't be feasible for use on crankbaits....certainly not cost effective. HoK and Duplicolor both sold kits thru Walmart that contained three spraycans of paint...one is a basecoat black....one can was the candy or prismatic color, and the last can was clearcoat.....i've seen some nice projects painted with the stuff, but I don't know how it'd work on baits,but the kit was cheap enough, that it wouldn't break the bank should you wanna try......Alsa corp also sells their chrome paint in spray cans albeit they are still not very cheap and still have to be applied over a shiny black basecoat. I think if it was me i'd go the foil route.

One of my "other" hobbies is aquariums and aquatic plants, so i'm also a member of some aquatic plant forums and I was reading some interesting info regarding applying foils and mylars behind the aquarium light bulbs as reflectors. Being aquatic gardeners naturally they want the most light they can get from their lamps. What I found interesting was a couple of the guys had access to some high tech light reading meters and they ran a bunch of tests using different materials as reflectors....everything from mirror polished sheets of aluminum, to mylar foils to just plain old white paint....And guess which one gave off the most light reflection?? The cheapest Aluminum foil you can get from the dollar store......White paint came in second place....after several repeated tests at various aquarium depths as well as tested in open air and in water depths upto about 2ft I believe....the end result was simple aluminum foil gave off the best reflection of light. You don't suppose that could translate into this craft somehow do you?.....I was thinkin more flash for the buck just by using dollor store aluminum foil instead of more expensive materials? I realize you'd have to use spray adhesive or something with aluminum foil but the added flash might make it worth while?.....Dunno...just throwin this out there.

I found out the hard way, that when Createx freezes and thaws it becomes junk....yeah you can still paint with it, but you'll fight it every step of the way. I've even seen the stuff freeze enough during shipping to cause problems so be thoughtful of where your getting your paints from during bitter cold winter conditions.

I know all about the bad eye sight buddy.....Got the same problems myself....sux gettin old...lol

I personally have not used a Grex, but I will say that from what i've read on the airbrush forums, is that most users seem to be quite happy with them over all. Grex started out in pneumatic tools and ventured into airbrushes only recently....my understanding is the design is a knock off copy and not really anything new, and they are manufactured in Thailand, along will several other airbrush "knockoffs". Depending on your needs a bargin basement price on a six pack might be worth your while. I do agree that the whole six pack concept is geared towards the tee shirt airbrusher who normally runs a setup with 12-15 brushes, but I can see where a production set up for lures could also benefit from having multiple guns. I wish I could be more helpful....I haven't seen much in the way of negative comments about the Grex line so you'll probably be ok with the purchase.

I'm glad you figured it out.....Clamboni is right that these really are simple instuments. Bubbles in your paint cup can only mean one of two things...clog, or loose head parts....sometimes both.

When you mix kk with intercoat clear your basicly making the UK kandies......In fact i've been told by some old school painters that one can of kk mixed with one quart of SG100 will give you the exact same thing as the UK. Those same old school painters also showed me that they also use lacquer thinner instead of reducer most of the time.....I normally don't pass that on but I also do the same alot of the time. Nice lookin paintjob by the way.....I've always been a fan of the Brandywine color....try it over a gold base;)

My experience with the Shimrin line of Kandy base coats (KBC) have been good....they mimic a real kandy finish over a metallic base quite well, without all the extra work, and the Kandy Koncentrates (KK) are often added to boost the color intensity......The KK's are pretty concentrated and work well when mixed with either basecoats, intercoat clears or even in your final clear. Just remember the KBC line of paint, in fact the "Shimrin" line of paints all have a metallic or pearl in the paint so they are not transparent paints and will cover whatever you spray it over. As for the Kandy Koncentrates not being available in little bottles....well actually they are......I know that Coast airbrush sells them in as small as 1 oz bottles....A quick check of their website showed prices started at $4.95 for a 1oz bottle, or 2oz for $8.95 and 4oz for $16.95 and half pints are $25.50.....thats the size I get most often. If you making a candy, you'll want to mix it with intercoat clear (SG100) or if you want to add pearls go with the SG150...the pearls tend to suspend alot better in that without sinking to the bottom. You can also purchase those in as small as 2oz bottles if you want, but a quart is only $26 so i'd go that route....you'll find you use alot more intercoat clear then you do KK's....with those "A little dab will do ya"....lol.....20-25% is about the max without getting some bleed problems. Dont forget to grab some reducer....When airbrushing I always use the slowest reducer I can get...it'll depend somewhat on the temps in your area, but 90% of the time the slower the better when using it thru an airbrush....I use the RU312, but some time back they came out with a RU313 "Very slow" reducer.....I personally haven't used that yet till I run out of what I've got on hand but I will be trying some. Those items can also be purchased in amounts as small as 4oz....but again i'd recommend going with at least a quart if you can. I hope this helped....grab ya a couple of small bottles and play with them to see what ya think.

What brand urethane clear do you use? I've never seen one that was an even 1:1 mix of clear and catalyst? All my clears are 2:1 but most of what i've got is 4:1

I've only used automotive urethane clear on my lures so far, but i'd like to know how that compares to DN in both looks and durability? Any of you veteran builders/painters have experience with both of these? I may need to get my hands on a sample of DN to try out myself.

A true transparent paint is basically a dye and doesn't have the normal pigments opaque paints do. I use alot of House of Kolor kandy concentrates and I mix them with intercoat clear...which is basicly a clear base with no pigment. The concentrates are a dye.... I can intermix the kandy concentrates to achieve other transparent colors but I have no way of creating my own kandy color from scratch. You can take any opaque paint and reduce it with a clear binder to the point of making it appear to be transparent, but its actually not....the paint will always have solid body pigments suspended in the clear base, but it will appear as a candy....sort of.....I've done this several times using PPG, Dupont and HoK,and it allowed me to achieve what I needed to at the time, but its not a true transparent paint by any means. Same goes for any paint with pearls or irredescent colors....those pearl pigments are solid bodied pigments and in most cases will block whatever they are in front of....Althought there are some new pearls and flakes being used that are made from some type of clear mylar that allows the light to refract in a prism of colors....But for the most part when using pearls its easy to go from something that looks transparent to a solid opaque color by continuing to add layers.....the pearls would eventually cover whatever is below them....and they can do it quicker than you think sometimes. I painted a flame job on a Harley one time and the customer wanted a violet pearl mixed into the final clearcoat to give it a ghostly flipflop style of color....I was new at this at the time, and in just a couple of light coats, I took a black Harley and turned it into a purple Harley with just a little pearl....lol. I have not used any paint from Createx that was a true transparent color, but then again I haven't purchased anything from them but tee shirt paint in several years so they might have something I'm not aware of. Did I answer your question or did I just get to rambling?...lol

I wish I could be of help, but I honestly don't know the answer......I will say its possible as I think most of the knockoffs come from the same mfg but who knows for sure. I have found times when brand X airbrush parts will fit brand Z....as well as different models within the same mfg.....such as my micron nozzle and needle will fit my HP-SB....just don't expect that to turn it into a micron...lol.

Our family has alot to be Thankful for this year......And while I haven't got to do much lure building/painting, I have enjoyed my interaction with my new friends here....Thank you all.

And just for the record, i've used Press-n-seal as masking with automotive urethanes and had no problems.......Yet!

This is actually a very good suggestion...its good stuff...you can also buy a product known in the vinyl sign making industry as "Transfer tape"...sometimes called R-tape....its the paper backing used to apply decals....its fairly flexable and can be seen thru although its not clear...they do make a clear transfer tape but its not near as flexible. Now.....i'm gonna give ya'll my ultra secret all time favorite DIY masking material on the cheap cheap....."GLAD Press'n Seal".......its available at your local grocery store or even your kitchen cabinet if your wife already uses the stuff.....you can peel it up and stick back down till you get it like you want.....it wraps around curves with ease, cuts like butter with an Xacto and its clear....Enjoy.

From what I see, I think Frank nailed it exactly.....I do use automotive urethane clears instead of DN but I can tell you i'd get much the same reaction just by laying on a really heavy first coat.....Especially over enamel paint or primer.....the solvents just cause bad things to happen. When it comes to Createx, anytime I used it, whether it be their standard line of colors or AutoAir, I always used a fair amount of heat to cure the paintjob as I went along...theres something that happens on a molecular level that creates a much better bond that doesn't happen without the heat....I use a heavy duty adjustable heatgun instead of a blowdryer, and I've got'r cranked up to bout 6 on the dial that tops out at 10, so i'm usin a fair amount of heat....I don't get real close cause I don't wanna cook it but I want to heat it up real good....get'r really warm.....now if ya get too hot, or heat it too fast you run the risk of boiling the water within the acrylic paint and it'll bubble up on ya, but if you'll blow a fair amount of heat on it....frequently....you'll find you get alot better adhesion overall. NOTE:.....the advice I just gave has never been used by me on a fishing lure(yet).....so I can't say if heating your wooden baits up that warm would be harmful/problematic or not?...Not to mention the stick on 3D eye's??....I just don't know enough about the lure making craft....I've only used my method on plastic items such as ball helmets or bike fenders and alot of other misc plastic items except lures, but also metal and aluminum. The only problems I ever had was when I was rushing to beat deadlines and got items too hot and caused them to bubble up....as long as I took my time and didn't rush things, I never had adhesion or lifting problems and alot of my work required me to tape over colors multiple times.....if you've got adhesion issues they'll show up when it comes time to pull your tape....trust me on this.

I ran across the following information on Createx's new website and found it very interesting and I thought it might be helpful to folks here.....the following is copied from their pdf file....they also have one for AutoAir should you use that product. APPLICATION GUIDE Airbrush Colors Wicked Colors Updated June, 2009 www.createxcolors.com Createx Airbrush Colors are textile airbrush paints suited for a variety of substrates, both porous and non-porous surfaces. Createx Airbrush Colors are intended for interior application and require heat for final curing. Wicked Colors are intended for both interior and exterior applications CONDITIONS....70º F or higher in a dry, dust-free environment. When painting in humid or colder conditions, allow for extended drying time. Use of air flow decreases drying time and is recommended as the primary means to dry paint. Air source should be free of contaminates, especially oil and water. Heat is best used to cure paint after paint dries. Refer to curing section for more. Set-up....Spray Gun Tip Size: Operate @ 40 PSI. 1.2mm: Touch-Up Gun: 0.8mm –1.0mm tip-size. Pressure settings may vary. Adjust fluid-adjustment knob for optimum atomization. Airbrush Tip Size: 0.5mm: @ 40-50+ PSI; 0.35m and smaller operate at lower PSI settings and reduce paint to desired viscosity best to atomize particular color with particular airbrush type and tip size. Reduced paint generally has viscosity of milk. Reducing: Mix 5608 Createx Illustration Base, Wicked W100 Reducer or Auto Air 4011 Flash Reducer in various ratios to achieve desired viscosity. Reduced colors best used 24 hours after mixing. Reducers greatly improve flow and decrease tip-dry. Reducing with water is not recommended as performance benefits are not achieved and tip-dry is increased. PREPERATION....Proper preparation is crucial to ensuring a successful paintjob. Prepare surface using a variety of methods including but not limited to cleaning, sanding or scuffing and applying a primer. This is an important part of any paintjob; there is no short-cut. Non-Porous Surfaces: Clean thoroughly using both soap & water and solvent-based degreasers to remove all contaminants and oils. Scuff using 600 –800 grit sandpaper or a scuff-pad an equivalent coarseness. Clean again after scuffing prior to paint. Best to start with Createx Opaque White & Black or Auto Air 4000 Series Sealer for initial coat with an even, uniform value over-which other colors with improved coverage and a brighter value. Porous Surfaces & Fabrics: Best to paint onto clean fabric. A few very light coats of 5601 Transparent Base locks down lint or knap preventing interference and contamination when airbrushing. Over black and dark fabrics, applying a base of Opaque White before applying colors with lighter hues improves coverage and creates brighter values. Stretching fabric or t-shirt over a board creates a flat, wrinkle-free surface which is much easier to paint on. For t-shirts, clamp down sleeves and loose ends. Plastic: Adhesion to plastics varies. With softer plastics, adhesion is possible after cleaning and lightly scuffing. With harder or oily plastics such as styrene and ABS, an adhesion promoter should be applied after cleaning & scuffing and before painting. APPLICATION....Apply in light coats. A coating consisting of multiple, light layers is much stronger than a coating of the same mil thickness which is achieved in fewer, thicker layers. Chipping and flaking of paint is most often due to excess build-up of paint. Allow colors to air cure between coats and before curing with heat (see curing section for more). Working in light coats is especially important when painting flexible surfaces such as leather and vinyl. CURING....Createx Airbrush Colors and Wicked Colors cure best when paint is thoroughly dried prior to application of heat. Curing times are decreased when coats are allowed to air cure prior to application of next coat. Use of 5608 Illustration Base, Wicked W100 Reducer and Auto Air 4011 Flash Reducer decrease drying rates and curing times. Do not heat cure fresh paint before it air cures for a few minutes. Premature application of heat may skin-over paint creating a latex film which peels easily when taped and otherwise lacks proper adhesion. Createx Airbrush Colors are not cured after drying, heat is required. Wicked Colors air dry to a durable film without heat curing although use of heat does achieve optimum film strength. Heat Gun: apply heat at a low to mid-temperature setting no more than 300°F. Keep air moving to avoid blistering. Apply heat until paint is warm to the touch. Shirt Press: 325°F for 15 –20 seconds. Iron: With a protective cloth over paint, set on high/ cotton setting and iron for @ 2 minutes. A shirt press or iron is recommended for curing t-shirt artwork intended for washing. CLEANING....After curing or thorough air drying, paint may be cleaned with odorless mineral spirits or a solvent-based, post-sanding degreaser. Do not clean with water. Clean airbrush during use with water or 5618 Airbrush Cleaner. Clean airbrush after use by soaking in 5619 Airbrush Restorer followed by brushing off partially-dissolved paint and rinsing with water. Colors....Opaque:Solid colors with excellent coverage for use as base color. For most projects, starting with either Opaque White or Black works best, allowing for quicker coverage of top-coated colors with an even & consistent value compared to applying over the substrate direct. Opaque Colors work best out-of-the-bottle with larger tip-sizes operated at higher PSI settings. For smaller tip-sizes, reduce using Createx Illustration Base, Wicked W100 Reducer or Auto Air 4011 Flash Reducer. Transparent: Bright, vibrant colors which do not have fillers for opacity. Transparent Colors work best over a white base or other bright color, blend well for smooth color transitions and are best suited for fine-lined, detailed airbrushing through small tip-sized airbrushes operated at lower PSI settings. Transparent Colors are the most common color used over base color. Fluorescent: Neon colors which emit a glow. Work best over a white base color. Fluorescent colors are NOT lightfastand are not intended for permanent finishes. Pearlized & Iridescent: Vivid pearl base colors with a shimmering effect especially when viewed in direct light. Work best over Opaque White or Opaque Black. Iridescent Colors have a shift from a lighter hue on direct views to a dark hue on side-cast views. SAFETY....Always spray in a well-ventilated area with access to fresh air. A NIOSH/ MSHA approved respirator is recommended. See Material Safety Data Sheets for complete safety and handling information. ADDITIVES....5601 Transparent Base: Clear binder for extending colors, increasing transparency, use as a protective inter-coatand to lock down fabric knap before painting. 5608 Illustration Base: Reducer with binder and a mild solvent intended to improve flow and atomization, especially when using small-tip sizes at low PSI settings. Reduction may be in any ratio; reduced paint generally has viscosity of skim milk. 5619 Airbrush Restorer: Cleansing bath for airbrush after use which dissolves dried paint. Wicked W100 Reducer: High performance reducer with solvent for use with all Createx paints;dramatically improves flow and reduces tip-dry in any ratio.

I have a 65 gallon 6.5hp 220v upright unit that is mainly used for airbrushing.....you just need a regulator to adjust the tank pressure down to something usable for airbrushing and chances are your big compressor already has one. A Big honkin compressor works great and only kicks on every few hours or so depending on the tank capacity....fire it up and use it.

Ben, I think if your lookin at painting alot of baits, all day every day then you should concider going with something that has a bigger tank....say 20 gallon min.....but if your talking about a dozen baits a day then your three gal unit would probably work ok...as pointed out three gallons of air won't last long so the unit will be cycling reasonably often.....if its too often then your just gonna wear it out prematurely and you need to upgrade a size or two. I started with an old Brown mfg airbrush compressor with no tank or regulator...then a friend gave me an old piston unit compressor on a 2gal tank...it worked great.....eventually I ran across a larger tank at a flea market and mounted my unit on top and plumbed both tanks together which gave me 12 gals....I used that for several years till I purchased a new Puma with a 20 gal tank....that unit lasted along time, but I eventually needed more and finally went to a 65gal upright unit with 6.5hp 220v.....even though its large enough to do anything I want, its number one purpose is still for airbrush use.....its nice when the unit only kicks on once every couple of hours or so....lol. Get the largest tank you can afford.

The first thing I noticed was the speed is alot faster.....so far I like the layout, although i'm not at all crazy about the color pallet, but maybe we'll have the option of changing skins later on??..."hint,hint"....lol I think its great that the site is attempting to upgrade and improve.

I suppose you could try and spray something like WD-40 on it if you want....Otherwise just grab the nozzle firmly between your thumb and forefinger and try to rock it back forth....that usually breaks it loose.....I wouldn't tap it with anything just yet, as you run a risk of damaging the nozzle.

The site is looking good so far, but I would like to bring to your attention that the pages are not resizing to fit my screen resolution of 1024 X 768....So some of the pages run off the right side of my screen and I have to scroll left and right to read the page, as well as some of the advertising banners are seem to be over or under other items....I'm sure its an easy fix, but I wanted you to be aware of the problem if you weren't already. Michael

The Eclipse HP-CS does have a free floating self centering nozzle just like your VL...Not the screw in type...its probably just stuck....i've had that happen several times.