benhben Posted September 24, 2007 Report Share Posted September 24, 2007 Hi, Ive recently started making my own lures carved from Balsa wood. The carving is not a problem. The thing im having trouble with is finding a quick but classy looking way of painting the lures. Ive got some acrylic paints that I used to use for other models, but these take forever to dry and the painting takes 10 times longer than carving and weighting the lure. Ive read that alot of people on here airbrush theirs. Having never even touched an airbrush can someone give me some tips. What type of paints need to be used when airbrushing, and where do they attach to the gun. Also what type of gun is best. Would a cheap one produce a good final result. Im living off a student budget. Cheers Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobP Posted September 24, 2007 Report Share Posted September 24, 2007 Ben, water based acrylic paint applied with an airbrush is the way to go for most hobbiests. Acrylics are non toxic, clean up easy, and dry faster than other options, especially if you flash dry them with a hair dryer. Clearcoat afterwards with epoxy. Use the Search feature at the top of this page to check on terms like "airbrush" "acrylic" "balsa" and you'll see lots of threads to read. There are also excellent TU tutorials on making crankbaits on the site. As far as equipment, you get what you pay for in both paint and airbrushes. But cheaper stuff can do the job if you're on a budget. Yes, a $250 airbrush and compressor is very nice to have and easier to use. But a $40 Badger running on aerosol cans of air gets it done too, just not as easily or with as much detail. Anyway, those are just the tools. The main ingredients are skill, experience and love of the craft. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...