MaxRV

Good Advice. Im going to have to relocate the clear coating process to the garage. Thanks Ben!

Awesome. Thank you! Max

Jeff, at first I was a bit unsure about auto coat, however after using twos coats, the baits come out with a very nice finish. The finish is more what you are looking for....clear and thinner than epoxy. I am pretty happy with it, however I think I am still partial to the thicker coating of the epoxy. It seems to work a bit better with stickon 3d eyes, and I think I looks better with painted eyes (for my taste). You should give it a try for yourself. As for the fumes, I am only doing 2 a 5 baits at a time, and I use a brush instead do the airbrush, so the fumes are minimal, and do not bother anyone in the house. Keep in mind it only takes about 1/2 teaspoon of the clear coat to do 5 baits. Good luck, Max

I appreciate it. I really don't have an artistic bone in my body.....can't even draw a good stick figure, but after years of lookin at'em, I think it makes it a bit easier to paint them. I admit though that I was luck to find this site before beginning. Everything I have learned to this point has come from members of this site. So, thanks for your help! Max

Ben, I am using a product called Xtreme Classic Klear Kote 5155 with Xtreme Universal Urethane Activator 5162 (Fast). It came in a 1 quart can, and has a working time of a couple of hours. The stuff seems pretty good, and the shop owner felt it would be ideal for fishing lures based on hardness etc. I also have an El Cheapo from Harbor Freight that I am going to try with the clear coat. I was very scared to put the stuff in my Iwata CR. I am going to pain a few once I get back from a business trip, and when I do, I'll let you know the outcome. Thanks again, Max

I started airbrushing baits the first week of January, and since that time, several of you have provided my with volumes of helpful information. Since I put all of your guidance into action I have painted between 20-30 baits. Please take a look at the attached pictures and let me know what you think. I welcome any advice you can provide. Thanks again for all the help! Max Woodbridge, VA

Thanks Gunnie and Ben. Sounds like you guys got this figured out. I have only been doing this since the beginning of the month, so I am still well behind the power curve. With that, I have attached a couple of pictures of my most recent baits. THey are somewhere in the Bait number 20-25 range. Any comments of suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Lastly, this is most likely a dumb question, but you are not Gunnie the bass fisherman from the Central Virginia (Quantico) area are you? Thanks, Max

Thank you Ben! Yes I am using the Rusolium Primer on plastic baits as the base coat. I do have Createx White, so i will give that a shot instead. Another question or two. Are you spraying your Auto Clear coat with your air brush, and if so, what kind of solution do you use to clean your airbrush? I have been painting on the Auto clear coat only because I was under the impression that it could not be thinned. Can Urethane Auto Coat be thinned? Thanks Again!!!, Max

That is an interesting idea, and you may be correct. The baits that wrinkled where the ones that I spent extra time trying to dry the painted eyes, while the ones with stick-on 3d eyes came out fine. Maybe next time I will throw them all in the fridge for a couple of minutes to see if that makes a difference. Thank you, MaxRV Woodbridge, VA

//Arkie// Have you tried Devcon 2 Ton Epoxy? It's one of the most common clears you'll find here, inexpensive compared to auto clears, and you can find it at most ACE Hardware stores. I have used Devcon 2T, but it is nearly impossible to find in my area. So far I like the urethane clear coat I tried, mainly because it seems like it will coat significantly more baits for my dollar, however I do not know how durable it is yet, and I have to solve the crinkle problem. I fI could find a good inexpensive like on Devcon, I would probably stick with it. Thanks for your inputs, MaxRV Woodbridge, VA

Until today I have been using a 20 minute epoxy for sealing my crankbaits, but this has become expensive, and the 20 minute epoxy is difficult to find. I have heard of others using an automotive clear coat, so I thought I would give that a try. Long story short, I painted six lures using Rustolium Primer and Createx Airbrush Paints. After drying them with a hair dryer, I clear coated them using a Urethane Automotive clear coat. The problem I experienced is on half of the baits, the paints immediately crinkled in a couple of spots. Does any one know what caused some of the paint to crinkle, and does anyone know the solution? What did I do wrong? Thanks in advance! MaxRV

Seth, I recently started my self, and the folks here in the forum have been a great help. Experimenting on my own, I have also learned a few things of value. 1. Go to your local fabrics/arts and crafts store to buy vail netting for your scale patterns, and acrylic paints. I go to Joann Fabrics because they have a great selection of acrylics. The best thing is their paints cost between .69 - $2.50 a bottle, so they significantly cheaper that Createx (which is nice when you are learning and going through a lot of paint. I started with all the basics: Dark Metallic Blue, Red, Yellow, Orange, Gold, Pearlized Transparent, etc. 2. The best base coat: standard white Rustolium Primer 3. Clear Coat: DEVCON. Devcon dries clear instead of yellow. However, I have seen videos where people are dipping their baits. I am trying to run this down. 4. Scales: definitely vail netting from your local fabric store 5. To practice, I just ordered 15 blank baits from Bustinbassbaits.com. The baits were .75 each and were very high quality, and arrived quickly. 6. One of the best pieces of advice I received is simply to experiment. Try different types of combs, fabrics, screens, etc and spray them on paper and see what happens. Don't be afraid to also experiment with things like Candy Foil (available at your local Arts and Crafts store. This is a very thin foil that comes in various colors and is great for making metallic bodies. Lastly, attached is my 3rd and 4th cranks I just finished. Enjoy, MaxRV

Uh-O! That didn't work out right. Also, the Iwata REV HP BR came in and it is worth every penny (all 7200 of them). Compared to my $25.00 Harbor Freight Cheapo, the Iwata is AMAZING! Now I'm gonna have to start buying more blanks, and coming up with more lies to cover the money. I would tell her I have a girl friend on the side, but she'll know thats not true cause I'm always fishing.

...and a new bass boat is cheaper than a wife? Now you've got me think'en!