Super Ron

I had the same issue a few months ago. Place an order. Got charged. No product. Would not return emails or phone calls. I called my bank and they got my money back into my account.

I get it. I was having a brain fart and was thinking why seal a plastic blank. I paint blanks and don't make my own baits, so I was just in that frame of mind.

Why are you wanting to put a clear base coat? I'm not sure the reasoning and am here to learn

It's not the 110+1 but I've done some testing on the slow rise 110 from Predator. My thinking was to let the bait suspend or slow rise while in a level position. Best I could come up with is this: Split rings are from predator I have no idea how the compare to any other company So, the line tie gets a 6 mm, front and mid hangers get a 5 mm, and the rear gets both a 5 and 6 mm Hooks used were VMC barbarian outbarbs. #6 for the front and mid. A #4 for the rear that has lead on the shank with a piece of shrink tubing (Thanks Jim). With paint and 2 coats of Etex, it sits level. However: I have found level to also be a product of the position of the ball bearings in the weight transfer system. On the cast the ball bearings slam to the rear. With them in that position, the initial setting in the water 8 times out of 10 is with a tail down attitude. After the initial twitch/jerk the ball bearings move forward and then the bait levels out.

Thanks Dale. This is the second time you have mentioned practicing on PVC Taking that statement, I bought a piece of PVC pipe and a tube cutter. That's hard to paint. So you can say I'm dumb but I'm thinking now you meant like the PVC decking board stuff. The PVC pipe idea I said I can try that. But can't buy a piece of wood or pvc decking as I have no where to cut it. I live in an apt. My girlfriend of 7 years (you can have her) is a super super super super neat freak. I literally pull all my stuff out, set up, paint, and put everything back in a closet at the end of the day. She snapped when she came home once and I had the whole house (at the time) smelling like craws and garlic from pouring plastics all day. There is no way I could sand or cut that would make any saw dust in the place. Then again, if she came home from work and saw sanders, work benches, drills, saws, and lots of saw dust everywhere. HMMMM something to ponder.

I took a cheap jerk bait and made an attempt to paint it with only the green. First I used Op White as a base then as Monte hinted to, I sprayed an iridescent silver over that. Once I tried to spray the green, I made it a point to run my pressure higher and choke down the needle. I got a good spray and was presently surprised how the coverage went. But I don't know if I thinned it too much or not, I don't think I'm at a level to use this paint in fine detail and don't know if it's meant for that. I haven't gotten to the epoxy yet. I just need to see what it will look like. Right now for me, this would have limited applications but I will have fun finding out what those applications are.

My next door neighbor doesn't airbrush any longer as he has moved to other artsy stuff. He gave me 3 bottles of Auto Air Candy2o paint ( Caribe Blue, Emerald Green, and Tequila Yellow). What do I need to know about these? Do they need a white base or black? Are there examples out there of cranks that have been painted using this paint so I can see the results? Thanks

Take a look at a local Michaels. I am a big fan of the Martha stewart line of glitter. They come in individual bottles or in a kit that you can get a bunch of colors in smaller amounts to experiment with. They also hold up well to heating if making soft plastics.

Hey folks, I recently had an exchange with a TU member and wanted to tell how it went. I made a simple post in the fly tying forum saying I needed someone to a feathers on specific hook. A quick reply came then a couple emails and phone calls. What I wanted was to have a jerkbait sit in a certain position. Not knowing any better any better I thought a wet feather would do the trick. I was then given a lesson on the pros and cons of feathers versus synthetic. Jim Paden was then sent hooks for experimentation and with one of my painted baits. More phone calls and emails and the original idea was scrapped. He came up with an alternative and sent pics. Although from what I gathered he does not bass fish but did go to a river on a couple occasions to test the bait with his ideas. Success. Way above what I thought would be a simple job. Great job and communication. So to Jim Paden, Thank you. Ron

I kinda mentioned this a while back but more of having a pinned thread with reviews. And I don't mean bad mouthing any company but, an actual review of the blanks. I purchased 30 xyz blanks from abc. Of the 30 blanks I found 1 with bad seams. Once finished, they were fitted with 6mm split rings, and #4 xyz trebles. Then give examples of how you tested a fair sample and the action. That's a simple example but I'm sure a moderator could come up with a fair format.

ITs not the key for me is not faster, it's using better equipment, paints, and techniques I learned that has made me more efficient

Local stores I go to Hobby Lobby, Michaels, Blick, and if ordering online TCP Global has always treated me well.

I keep a lighter on the table just for heating an exacto knife blade or a piece of wire for that purpose.

But hey. I am having something done by a TU member. If everything continues as it has, I will definitely be giving him a shout out shortly.

I wasn't trying to validate anyone. I just see the number and was curious what it meant.

Sigh. Since no one knows for sure, I will have to chock it up to some kind of government tracking conspiracy.

Mark, I assume it's the tape sticking? Anytime I stencil with tape, I do 2 things. It doesn't take any stickiness at all to put the tape on and stick to paint. So, I stick it to and pull it off my jeans 3 or 4 times before it touches the lure. And second; whenever a stencil is the next step, I walk away for an hour to let the paint dry even after multiple heat sets This works for me without fail.

I wouldn't mind a reading a review.

Looking at the your posts or responses, it tells you how many posts you have had. But what is the Member total reputation? How is it calculated? Ron

Oh, it's not just craft stores. Jiminy Crickets, every place I go I have to look at something that might spark an idea. I've become an addict.

I've been wanting to experiment with food coloring, but I hate ruining a bait at the epoxy part. I'm sure someone has tried it.

I haven't been painting long but because that's pretty much all I do every day (especially when the water is hard), I've learned a couple things about thinning 1; Shake Shake Shake and Shake some more 2: If your painted doesn't have flakes in it then make sure you screen through a piece of panty hose. 3; If you watch a ton of youtube videos you will see all these EXPERIENCE( or at least more experienced) painters than me, thin their paints in the airbrush cup. I can not do that consistently. So at the local art store I bought 1 oz plastic bottles which a tip on the end. Fill 1/3rd with you shaken to death and strained . Fill 1/3rd with your airbrush reducer. 4: Shake Shake and shake a little more 5: Test paint playing with air pressure until you are spraying how you feel you should. If you don't get there, then you have another 1/3rd of the bottle to add reducer or paint as needed if too thin or thick. I don't always keep a good memory. Sometimes head has a hard time thinking properly. So repetition and order become important to me. This is what works for me. 6:Shake, Shake Ron