jigman2 Posted October 4, 2008 Report Share Posted October 4, 2008 Guy's I have seen many paint jobs of crank baits for some time now and am very impressed! I have been painting Plastic baits with Vinal Paints and had limited sucess, how ever never the results you guy's get. I air brush and would call my self a intermediate beginner. I want to start painting and making my balsa and basswood baits and I know vynial paints will not work.! Would some one please take me under their wing and let me know what paints to use and the colors that give you such beautiful results. I'm about to go broke buying everything and not getting good results Jigman2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobP Posted October 5, 2008 Report Share Posted October 5, 2008 I think a majority of guys on TU use acrylic latex paint formulated for airbrushing. It's relatively cheap, less toxic, comes in a wide array of colors, and cleans up with soap and water. Createx and Smith Wildlife Colors are my favorites but there are other brands like Van Dyke Translatex and Polytranspar. Find them at Dixie Art or various taxidermy-centric websites. Createx is available at hobby shops and is the most popular brand but I like to use some Wildlife colors to fill out Createx's rather basic color palette. You'll need a white for color basecoating, black, brown, gray, neon yellow (aka chartreuse), pearl white, orange, red, plus light and dark shades of green and blue. You can mix them to get intermediate shades. I like transparent colors to overlay color over color and get more depth in the finish. You can see through light coats of transparent color but they're opaque when applied in thicker coats. How to start? Just blast away! Read tutorials about airbrushing on airbrush websites for techniques. It's really a eye-brain-hand skill that takes practice to develop: you learn and get better only by doing it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philB Posted October 5, 2008 Report Share Posted October 5, 2008 Hi Jigman The guys here favour acrylic paints because of their user friendliness and lack of toxins. Createx seem to be the most popular but there are many brands available. I would start with those and get a set of base colors initially as you will be able to mix most colors to your requirements, a little tip here is that a hair dryer is very handy as it will speed the drying process dramatically. As you progress you may wish to look at nitro cellulose paints, I use them and I know KCdano uses nitro as well, I think they are far superior to acrylic (that comment will put the cat among the pigeons ) but of course there are more health issues with nitro's and these are well documented on this board and the web, if used they require special precautions and should be used carefully. BobP's comment about base coat is very relevant, this is the single most important part of a paint job, get this right and the top coats will be more successful, base coats are almost exclusively white or grey. I have always been in awe of some of the talent displayed in the gallery and have realized that it is a skill that takes many years to perfect, I think you should learn to crawl first, then walk before attempting to run . The simplest of paint jobs will catch fish, some of my most successful lures are plain white with a red head that anyone could paint. I personally am a novice painter and still in the learning curve so my paint jobs are still on the simple side. Good luck and don't forget to post your efforts on the board regardless of perceived quality, don't be too self critical. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jigman2 Posted October 5, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 5, 2008 philB & BobP I thank you both for the information, I am some what computer chalenged and have yet to figure out how to post photos of my work. I will try to post photos when I learn how. Again thank you very much for the input. It is much needed. Jigman2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
