RayburnGuy Posted August 8, 2009 Report Share Posted August 8, 2009 Hell everyone, First of all let me say what a great site ya'll have here. There is a ton of information here and everyone seems eager to help. I signed up a couple of weeks ago and have been trying to soak everything in ever since. It's like trying to read a set of encyclopedias I'm hoping someone can help me with painting scale patterns on crankbaits. My first attempt didn't turn out so well. I put down a coat of white as a base coat and then sprayed the whole bait a light gold. After allowing it to dry I then stretched netting (netting from a minnow dipper purchased at WalMart) over the bait and held it in place with clothes pins. I then sprayed a coat of white pearl. I wanted to end up with the scale pattern being gold against the white pearl. When I went to take the netting off it was stuck to the bait and you couldn't see the gold at all. The pearl had bled under the netting and left ridges in the paint where the netting had been. It gave it a 3-D effect which was kind of cool, but not what I was wanting. Could someone walk me through the steps to paint a scale pattern? It would surely be appreciated. thanks, RayburnGuy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobP Posted August 8, 2009 Report Share Posted August 8, 2009 You have the basic technique but it sounds like you're shooting too much paint. Scales show up best when the base/top colors contrast, and gold vs white isn't much contrast. If you spray too much paint onto the netting and it soaks or pushes through to the underlying surface, you cover the base color and lose the effect. Try shooting it more lightly and dry it with a hair dryer while the net is still in place. After you remove the net, you can shade it into the back without erasing the effect. BTW, if you thin your top color paint too much, it can also be a problem. You have to strike a balance between thin enough to shoot smoothly and "dry" enough not to run or seep under the netting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted August 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 9, 2009 Thanks BobP That sounds like what I was doing. The pearl I was using seems to be almost transparent and I kept shooting it until it finally covered the gold base coat. That must be where I messed up. What I know about painting and all the different types of paint wouldn't fill a thimble. I'll do as you suggested and try spraying multiple thin coats and see if that works. thanks again, RayburnGuy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atrophius Posted August 9, 2009 Report Share Posted August 9, 2009 Is it createx pearl? I have tried the white pearl and it takes a lot to cover something. I had the same problem in tryign to put to much on. I also lowered my air pressure some to because the paitn was pretty thin right from the bottle. I think the air almost pushes it under the netting. I use the same netting as you do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SMALLIEHUNTER Posted August 9, 2009 Report Share Posted August 9, 2009 I used Createx for awhile but I switch to Golden Irredesent White Pearl. You have to mix it with an airbursh medium, however it covers much better! If you are using a dual stage gun, make a pass with paint and come back with air to help dry the paint! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted August 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 9, 2009 Yep, it was Createx white pearl I was using. I've been shooting it straight out of the bottle. It seems to shoot really well with no thinning at all. The pressure is between 25 and 30 psi. I haven't tried any other paints yet. I purchased a Paasche VL kit and it came with a dozen bottles of Createx and I bought 6 more colors of Createx at Hobby Lobby a couple of days ago. I had never even been in the same room as an airbrush until a week ago and I know even less about paint. I'm learning a lot from this site though. Thanks for the help. RayburnGuy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
68KingFisher Posted August 9, 2009 Report Share Posted August 9, 2009 Couple of things about pearls.....first off they settle in the jar so make sure you stir and/or shake the livin daylights out of a bottle of Createx before you use it....if your using solvent paints and mixing powered pearls with intercoat clear then you'll find you need to keep it well stirred cause the pearls will settle to the bottom alot faster then the waterbased stuff....also remember, that if your using a gravity feed airbrush, the pearl particles will try to settle to the bottom of the cup so an occasional backflush of air or a quick stir might be nessasary to keep things mixed up...(Caution---be careful with backflushing or you'll find you and your work area covered in the paint that used to be in the cup...lol)......I normally stir mine every few minutes with a popcicle stick while its in the airbrush cup just to keep the pearls in good suspension, followed by a slight backflush of air. Secondly, when it comes to spraying pearls...specially white, and especially when spraying light colored pearls over light colored base colors.....You spray a couple of coats, but you don't really see any results, so you think you need to keep spraying till you do......when the fact is you sprayed your 2-3 coats and its there....you just won't be able to see the effect till its clearcoated...Don't keep sprayin.....by the time you see results you've usually put on way to much paint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clamboni Posted August 10, 2009 Report Share Posted August 10, 2009 You might want to try and see how it looks with only one or two coats on there. I know it looks like you didn't cover the gold, but you'll be able to see the difference once you remove the netting. If that doesn't give you what you're looking for, try spraying opaque white then coating that with the pearl white. the opaque white covers pretty well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gunnie3035 Posted August 10, 2009 Report Share Posted August 10, 2009 I've found if you go with a 50/50 mix of pearl copper & gold it will darken up the gold enough to see it better under the white. A tiny bit of black in the gold will darken it up nice too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted August 11, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 11, 2009 Thanks for all the help guys. I used to think that "paint is paint". I'm finding out there's a lot more to it than that. I will try these suggestions and hopefully be able to post a pic of a finished bait before much longer. Thanks again. RayburnGuy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lure--Prof Posted August 11, 2009 Report Share Posted August 11, 2009 Lots of great advice here. The great thing about Createx is that I never have to thin any of it. Like Kingfisher said, "Shake the crap out of it!" I also place a small square of panty-hose between the bottle and top, as a filter. I also change it on a semi-regular basis and wash the caps. After more painting experience you'll learn what your painted lure needs to look like, in order for it to turn out like you want after it is clearcoated. For awhile this requires some trial and error, and no small amount of faith! Dean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spinner Posted August 13, 2009 Report Share Posted August 13, 2009 I had the same issue. I have solved it by putting a very light coat on first, let it dry, then apply light coats until I reach the desired color. That first light coat seals the netting and generally does not allow the second coat to bleed through. Spinner Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
