bassman2008 Posted May 14, 2008 Report Share Posted May 14, 2008 Does anyone know where airbrush stencils for creature baits are available? It's obvious they exist....but i can't seem to locate one anywhere. my attempts to make my own have been pretty disastrous. thanks! bassman08 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobP Posted May 14, 2008 Report Share Posted May 14, 2008 I've never seen any ready-mades for sale and besides, you need one that fits the bait you're painting. My advice is buy some sheets or a roll of stencil (aka frisket) material. I use the kind with a peel-off backing and one roll is a lifetime supply. Then find a craw pattern bait you like and copy the heck out of it They don't have to be too detailed to get a good effect. I draw the pattern, cut it out with an xacto knife and voila. Tip - don't remove the paper backing on the stencil when you use it, just hold it against the bait. Then you can flip it over (after drying the overspray with a hair dryer) and use the same stencil for the other side. That saves a bunch of work making 2 identical stencils AND you can reuse the stencil on future baits. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassman2008 Posted May 14, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 14, 2008 Thanks BobP, i'll give that a shot. do you by chance have any pics of stencils you've made? i've tried a few, but the plastic stencil material moved too much and i couldn't get a clean pattern.... cheers, BM2008 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oscarsteel Posted May 14, 2008 Report Share Posted May 14, 2008 Bassman, I looked everywhere for a craw pattern stencil when I started painting. I don't think anyone makes one. My first trys at making one was not good. It took me about ten trys to get one that looked right to me. The one I use now is made from playing card with an exacto knife just like Bobp said. I like the card because I use it on many differant baits. It works well on flat or rounded baits. I attached a picture of one of mine done with the stencil I made. The stencil its self is not very detailed. The best teacher in the world is trial and error. ..........Oscar 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassman2008 Posted May 14, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 14, 2008 that looks really nice oscar. mind me asking where you got the blank body for that lure? i've been keeping my eyes open for rattle shads with the dorsal fin but haven't seen any yet. thanks for the tip! cheers, BM08 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oscarsteel Posted May 14, 2008 Report Share Posted May 14, 2008 Its a Bill Lewis Rat-L-Trap. I buy them at Walmart or Basspro and sand off the factory paint job then paint them how ever. I also have looked for some with the dorsal fin and never found any. I have used the ones from Jann's and they work really well. You get like 5 for six bucks, but no fin. I buy a lot of these for my kids they lose about six every time I take them fishin, .............Oscar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danderson Posted May 14, 2008 Report Share Posted May 14, 2008 Hagen's has one that is nearly identical to the bill lewis lure except I believe it is made foam. Just letting you know. Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobP Posted May 14, 2008 Report Share Posted May 14, 2008 Sorry, no stencil pics but I use them for most detail - craws, perch bars, gills, kill spots, etc. I tried plastic sheets but for me it was hard to cut accurately and get the detail I was after. Switching to a frisket material made a big difference. It's thin so conforms to the convex shapes of baits better. It's about as easy as cutting a piece of notebook paper and you can get as much detail as you have the patience to do. Frisket material becomes a little floppy when heated with a hair dryer and it tends to stick to fresh dry acrylic just a little. You can use a finger tip to get parts of it tight to the surface and the rest of the stencil won't slide around on the bait like plastic stencils tend to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captsully18 Posted May 15, 2008 Report Share Posted May 15, 2008 I have been messing with stencils for past couple weeks. Used various materials, mostly plastic so paint could be washed off to use on opposite side of bait. Had a devil of a time cutting patterns out. Two nights ago I thought of trying to "melt" pattern into piece of milk jug. Chucked a needle into a pin vise, heated tip of needle over alcohol lamp, then traced the pattern I had drawn with a Sharpie. I was able to get a real nice pattern for a crappie I was working on with this method (had tried other ways and this was by far best) as it gave me a rather uneven edge. Then when I painted it on bait I held it just off the bait and got a really nice feathered edge. Anyhow, it worked for me. As soon as clear coat is dry enough to handle, I will post some pics. David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassman2008 Posted May 15, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 15, 2008 a milk jug eh? i am absolutely amazed by the versatility people on this site have. i'm learning a lot more than i thought i would and i appreciate the tips! pics of the milk jug cutout and pattern would be great. thanks guys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captsully18 Posted May 15, 2008 Report Share Posted May 15, 2008 a milk jug eh? i am absolutely amazed by the versatility people on this site have. i'm learning a lot more than i thought i would and i appreciate the tips!pics of the milk jug cutout and pattern would be great. thanks guys! Tomorrow David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CL Rods Posted May 15, 2008 Report Share Posted May 15, 2008 I stumbled across a great plastic similar to translucent milk jugs, and it was the lining or tray that came in smoked salmon packs. And no, I don't remember the brand. The other thing I have been using is to cut off the bottom 1/3 of clear waterbottles to use as mixing containers. Works great and then I still recycle the thing. If you have a fine tip soldering iron you might try it to burn/melt with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted May 15, 2008 Report Share Posted May 15, 2008 If your pattern extends up onto the back, and maybe even if it doesn't, try folding the stencil material in two after you've traced the pattern on one side, but before you cut it out with an exacto knife, so you get two identical faces when you cut out one side. the same way you did art projects in grade school. By draping it over the back and pinching it at the bottom with clothes pins, or whatever clamp you use, it will hold itself in position while you paint both sides of the lure at the same time, so you only have to clean up once after each color. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captsully18 Posted May 16, 2008 Report Share Posted May 16, 2008 (edited) Here's a pic of the bait and stencil I painted it with. This is just a piece of milk carton with the pattern drawn with a Sharpie and then "melted" out with a needle heated with alcohol burner. Edited May 17, 2008 by Spike-A-Pike Clean up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Ron Posted October 5, 2013 Report Share Posted October 5, 2013 Does anyone know where airbrush stencils for creature baits are available? It's obvious they exist....but i can't seem to locate one anywhere. my attempts to make my own have been pretty disastrous. thanks! bassman08 I have started making stencils and now I'm cutting Crawdad patterns for RC 2.5, Baby Bass Pattern for RC 2.5, Wake Bait, and Pop Max, but that is all I have for now, more to come as the demand comes in. I have them listed on ebay, name....gingee1970. Take a look. I make the stencil out of PETG .020 (clear top quality) and I hand cut each pattern myself as the order comes in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassguy Posted October 5, 2013 Report Share Posted October 5, 2013 Here's one I hand cut. I'm not thrilled with it but it works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Ron Posted October 5, 2013 Report Share Posted October 5, 2013 Here's one I hand cut. I'm not thrilled with it but it works. I'm very happy with mine and I sell a lot of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Ron Posted October 5, 2013 Report Share Posted October 5, 2013 Hey Bass man here are some of my works. "FISH ON" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hughesy Posted October 5, 2013 Report Share Posted October 5, 2013 Check out his post on stencils 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gone2long Posted October 5, 2013 Report Share Posted October 5, 2013 Check out dakotalakestackle on youtube he has a great method to making stencils with a home vacuum a coffee can and a heat gun they last a long time too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted October 5, 2013 Report Share Posted October 5, 2013 Those are some really nice stencils Mr. Hughes. I've made a few vacuum formed stencils, but haven't tried the heat shrink tubing yet. It looks like it would be much easier. Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Ron Posted October 5, 2013 Report Share Posted October 5, 2013 Those are some really nice stencils Mr. Hughes. I've made a few vacuum formed stencils, but haven't tried the heat shrink tubing yet. It looks like it would be much easier. Ben Hi Ben, thank you for the complement. I researched this process for several years before I decided to build my stencil producing machine. I also looked at Laser machines for cutting patterns. The problem with the laser machine is the material it's self, made with chlorine gas and that is deadly, so I started hand cutting the patterns and they come out real good. I use a multitude of tools to assist me in the pattern cutting, but with that said they are still labor intensive and that is what drives the price up. The Laser machine I needed for cutting patterns out of the stencils would cost around $5000.00 and I can't justify that, so for now I will keep cutting a select few buy hand, like the Crawdad and Baby Bass patterns. I will add more as the demand comes in. "FISH ON" my Brother..........Capt. Ron Those are some really nice stencils Mr. Hughes. I've made a few vacuum formed stencils, but haven't tried the heat shrink tubing yet. It looks like it would be much easier. Ben You are to kind Sir, thank you.......Capt. Ron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhersh Posted October 5, 2013 Report Share Posted October 5, 2013 If you buy the heat shrink, just watch so you don't get the kind that has a type that has the heat activated glue on the inside of it, that would really mess things up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted October 6, 2013 Report Share Posted October 6, 2013 Captsully18, Nice to see you posting again! How have you been? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted October 6, 2013 Report Share Posted October 6, 2013 uhhhhh.....Mark...............you've been napping again ............that post was back in 2008 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
