A Nifty Little Trick

[Tom in Sweetwater]

Here is a nifty little trick I use that comes out of the auto painting world. It is a frottage technique for applying metallic underpaint for a little extra flash. And the only extra tool you need is a plastic grocery bag!

First, give the lure a solid base coat. To start, try just black or white. I also do fades or colors, but to see the effect the first time it's best to keep it simple. Black will be the most dramatic.

Prep your grocery bag. I grab the bottom between two fingers and pull it out in a tight straight line like I am trying to squeeze something out of it. This will cause the wrinkles in the bag to more or less pull in a straight line. Fold it in the middle and stretch it again, trying to keep the air out of it. Then I clip each end to hold it in this shape.

Load your airbrush with silver or gold metallic. Silver is the best bet here, but this can be fun with gold as well.

This next bit will take some practice. Shoot a fairly wet layer down the side of the bait. If you are using Createx or similar you will have time set your brush down and pick up the bag, but if you shoot urethanes like me you had better know how to work two handed. Gently touch the bag into the wet paint, working down the side and keeping the striations vertical and touching a clean portion of the bag each time.

Now just let it dry and start building up your paint scheme using transparent color. With a little practice, this can be a very cool technique, and effective as well. If done right, it will give a rippling flash effect down the sides of the bait as it moves back and forth.

Let me know how this works for you!

[Tom in Sweetwater]

Here's a pic of the technique in action. It is nearly impossible to photograph, because the effect is all about motion.

[hazmail]

Here's a pic of the technique in action. It is nearly impossible to photograph, because the effect is all about motion.

Thanks Tom, looks pretty good to me, and I use w/b acrylics, so this should be easy compared to auto paint. Thanks again.Pete

[Kris]

Tom, Thanks for the cool tip. Looking forward to trying it out this week. Wondering if you could post a pic of how the grocery bag should look when preped and cliped off on the ends???

[68KingFisher]

That same technique can be used with plastic bags, bubble wrap, sea sponges, to give a variety of textured effects.

[nugene]

GREAT TIP TOM...THANKS

[Tom in Sweetwater]

Here's a pic of the bag set-up