Zbass Posted June 10, 2008 Report Share Posted June 10, 2008 You hardbait guys do some amazing work. I am a softbait guy, but I may have a hankering to try this hardbait thing. I would be more interested in painting existing or premade blank bass lures. My question is what would a guy be looking at to get started cranking out some of these outragous baits? I understand that it takes time to get it right, but as far as equipment goes, what kind of funds would it take? Thanks for your thoughts. Zbass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcb19983 Posted June 10, 2008 Report Share Posted June 10, 2008 i use createx for paint and you might want to go with a good airbrush from badger or iwata Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vodkaman Posted June 10, 2008 Report Share Posted June 10, 2008 There is nothing wrong with starting out with pre-formed bodies, although personally, the pleasure is making the bodies and being able to say, 'I made it'. Like anything, you cannot expect to get it right first time, BUT, it is not as difficult as some might have you believe. After you have made a dozen or two, you will wonder how you ever got it wrong. If your design is normal, 'middle of the road', nothing pushing the boundaries, there is no reason why it should not work first time. You develope a 'feel' for what will work and what won't. With your plastics experience, you are more than half way there in this respect. If you are unfortunate enough to make one that does not swim right. Do NOT throw it away. This is an opportunity for you to learn. Bring it to the forum for a discussion and many more people will learn too. As for cost, it can be one of the cheapest hobbies on the planet. A box cutter, sand paper, a wheel weight or two, acrylic paints, a scrap of plastic for the lip and a tube of epoxy. An airbrush would be nice, but many here produce outstanding, mind blowing work with spray cans, don't discount the humble brush either, though I never managed to brush anything that didn't look like a 4 year old had painted it. You can get drawn into a massive power tool collection. Very useful but not necessary at the start. Welcome to hardbaits Zbass, If you ask for help, just like in the plastics section, you WILL get it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted June 11, 2008 Report Share Posted June 11, 2008 I actually started painting on bigger wooden lures I made. Rattle cans at first, and then I bought an Iwata airbrush, and it was on! A friend of mine was going on his annual trip to Mexico to fish for bass, and he asked me if I could paint him up some Tilapia cranks. I had enough old crankbaits around to learn to paint on that I didn't need to buy blanks. I painted him up three, using old cranks that worked. If I had any advice for you it would be to play around on an old lure that works, but whose finish is ratty. Plastic lure bodies are much hardier, so I'd start with them. Paint a piece of PVC plastic with the same base coat and scheme you want to use on your lure, and you can see how it actually works and looks. If you use an air brush and water based paints, which I highly recommend due to it's ease of use, everything is reversible until you apply the top coat. There's a learning curve, just like I'm sure there is with pouring plastics, but it's not rocket science. Otherwise, I'd be out of luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
