Chuck Young

Here is a real cheap spray booth. It cam even be ducted outside with a little duct work. http://www.tackleunderground.com/community/topic/31997-spray-paint-booth-work-center/

Thanks Bob. Just spitballin here. I'm always thinking of new things.

If you use D2T, I recommend thinning with a drop or three of denatured alcohol (depending on how many or how big of a batch you do. Thinner epoxies like E tex or Art resin (by far the clearest and uv protected) tend to be more flexible. Use a lure turner to ensure a smooth topcoat free from runs. http://www.tackleunderground.com/community/topic/31513-high-volume-cheap-lure-turner-lure-holders/

Has anyone tried using Tung oil on carved wood lures to strengthen them before painting? Which woods are good candidates?

Better yet, touch it up, then give it a second coat. That ensures both total coverage and a smooth second coat. If weight is an issue, thin the second coat with DNA.

Try putting an orbital finishing sander on the table and weighting it down.

God bless you for working with the kids on this craft. I try to get all my nieces, nephews, and grandchildren involved. Their work goes into my Hall of Fame. I also get them involved in some native american craft. My sugestion for a kid friendly topcoat is Devcon 2 ton 30 min epoxy thinned with a few drops of denatured alcohol. The thinner epoxy has less chance of reacting with the thin paint. Apply epoxy liberally with light strokes. Put it on a lure turner. http://www.tackleunderground.com/community/topic/31513-high-volume-cheap-lure-turner-lure-holders/

Hazmail had a great idea. Try making them yourself. Download GIMP (free). It allows you to download pictures of fish eyes from the internet. You can resize them, bundle them, print them, apply them to to holographic, silver, or gold foil, cut them to size, then apply a drop of solarez uv (thick or medium). The beauty of this is that you can make specific eyes for specific lure patterns. There are a few vids on you tube.

Flexibility is uder-rated. with topcoats. If it is too hard it will chip and crack. Devcon 2 ton can be too hard (esp when put on thick. Thinning it a little with DNA seems to make it a little more flexible. Thinner epoxies like E tex and Art resin are more flexible. Some automotive and concrete sealers, as well as polyeurethane can react with your paint.

A section of swim noodle glued to the plexiglass with E6000 and some cheapo plastic paint brushes from wallmart. plus some alligator clips is all you need. Total cost = $3. Cut the brush end off three paint brushes. Slide on the alligator clips. Clip them onto the hook hangers. Insert the ends of the brushes into the foam. Some pictures from this link will help.

A tin / bismuth blend is an eco friendly alternative that is about 80% the density of lead. As a rule of thumb, casters using this metal use the "next size up" method to achieve close to the proper weight.

I use mostly non toxic paint. But this paint booth works with laquer as well. A bathroom fan , ducting and dryer vent will vent the fumes outside.

I never had that issue with an airbrush and solvent. It sounds like they used a cheap plastic for the seal. If that seal goes, your airbrush sucks air. It might pulse and eventually not draw paint at all. Cheap airbrushes come with little customer support. If you decide to buy a new one, it does not have to be a fancy one. I use a Badger 150 bottom feed. Customer support from Badger is UNBELIEVABLE. After thousands of hours of use, that seal wore out on my brush (about $90 retail). For $12 shipping they restored the whole brush. It was like new when it came back. There was a new trigger assy, seal, head, needle. It came back quickly too! You can't beat customer service like that. As for ability to paint detail, check out gallery pics.

A note about posting pics. The higher resolution your camera is, the more of an issue it will be. Over zooming can help. So can the crop feature on photo software. If you zoom out then crop, you are effectually reducing the pixels in the image . As far as fins go, water is a high resistance medium. Your manatee fin style fins are probably more than sufficient. And aesthetics count.

You won't believe how many lures, flies, jigs, etc I can cure on this thing. I have done up to 12 8" lures at a time with no problem.

I use Createx paint. The cap opens and you can squeeze out 1 drop at a time. Counting drops is how i mix custom colors. If you know someone who is diabetic - ask them to save the test strip vials. They are great for storing small amounts of leftover colors.

You will have to let it cure first.. or remove it with a solvent and repaint. Coating an uncured substrate with epoxy will seal it in an uncured state. All kinds of bad things will happen. For instance, when bitten, the epoxy will crack and slide on the lure---Taking the paint job with it. Or the clear coat can cloud up. Perhaps low heat and moving air will help it cure. But it sounds like the clear coat you applied has formed a chemical reaction with the material that your lure is made from. Some materials are incompatible. Others may have had different experiences, and may have a solution for yo.u