Painting The Bills

[fivefishwish]

i ordered a few unpainted crank bait bodies from a supplier, and the bills are, well, less than satisfactory. Some are milky, some are scratched, non are clear, and all of them are covered in the glue used to attach the two halves. im very disappointed!!

So my question is, other than hemostats or x-acto knife handles, are there other ways for me to hold the bait so that i can paint the bills and cover up the flaws?

Or is there a way for me to fill in the scrathes and get them looking clear?

never run into this before, but im sure im not the first.

thanks in advance!

[Fishwhittler]

If you put your topcoat over the bill that should fill in most of the scratches. If however there is glue on the bill then you may not be able to fix it by top-coating. In that case it would probably be a better idea to simply paint the bill. As far as holding baits for painting, I hold my baits with a pair of needlenose pliers and then hang them on a piece of bent wire.

[BobP]

If it's external scratches, you can clearcoat the lip at the same time as the body and they will disappear. If you dip the lure in polyurethane like Dick Nite clear, it will look "perfect". If you clearcoat with brushed epoxy, unfortunately, you will see brush marks and run the risk of the lip yellowing over time.

Why something other than hemostats or Xacto handles for holding the baits? Both are reliable. If you are thinking about the clearcoat drying or curing, that's another vote for Dick Nite or a similar polyurethane. Just dip'em or spray them, hang them up by the line tie .... and walk away.

[gunnie3035]

i ordered a few unpainted crank bait bodies from a supplier, and the bills are, well, less than satisfactory. Some are milky, some are scratched, non are clear, and all of them are covered in the glue used to attach the two halves. im very disappointed!!

So my question is, other than hemostats or x-acto knife handles, are there other ways for me to hold the bait so that i can paint the bills and cover up the flaws?

Or is there a way for me to fill in the scrathes and get them looking clear?

never run into this before, but im sure im not the first.

thanks in advance!

I've had a few from Jann's come that way. After light sanding I mixed up some e-tex brushed it on and then wiped off with a rag. It doesn't make it perfect, but it will fill in all the scratches and make it more clear.

[rlcam]

I have run into that on new baits and some repaints where the bill was beat up.I have sanded them lightly all over and left them like that,similar to some LC crankbaits and they look alot better than before.I hate to see a fresh paint job with a beat up bill.Some may not like the dull finish but it doesn't bother me.I have often wondered if thats not better,in my opinion (which doesn't hold much water) the clear bills reflect some light and in some cases may be good but if you want to be a little more suttle when fish are pressured it may be better to be dull.Just my opinion...Rob

Edited January 30, 2010 by rlcam

[68KingFisher]

Just remember that when you paint a crankbait bill, you add to the overall length of the lure.......A 2" lure body with a 1" clear bill is considered a 2" lure....but paint the bill and you now have a 3" lure.

[clamboni]

Just remember that when you paint a crankbait bill, you add to the overall length of the lure.......A 2" lure body with a 1" clear bill is considered a 2" lure....but paint the bill and you now have a 3" lure.

It's not actually glue that you're seeing. A solvent is used to chemically weld the two halves together. What you see on the joint is actually just plastic that didn't get cleaned up after they glued it. Sand the bill with fine sandpaper, paint the lure as normal, then just clear over the bill at the same time as the rest of the lure. There's no need to undercoat, but it needs to be sanded or the clear won't adhere. Unfortunately epoxy probably isn't the best clear to use for this, it'll eventually yellow some, and you're either going to end up with it not leveling well or with visible brushmarks. You need it at a certain thickness for it to level out, and too thin to really level well to keep it from pulling from corners.