Painting Bluegill Stripes....

[.dsaavedra.]

i'm trying to paint a bluegill pattern similar to tru tungsten's:

but i just can't get those stripes down...

tom in sweetwater painted a pumpkinseed bait with similar stripes too:

i like tom's stripes more. he told me he does them freehand, but i have tried and ran into some serious problems. when i get the airbrush close enough to make a thin enough stripe, the air pressure makes the paint run on the bait, even when im only using about 18psi. my paint doesn't spray well below that, but maybe that is the trick. if i bring the airbrush farther away from the bait, i can't get the lines thin enough to do that double line thing. i don't want to use a stencil because they don't look very natural.

can anybody help me out with this technique? btw i have a .3mm tip.

Edited March 21, 2010 by DSV

[carolinaboy]

2nd picture one on the left looks amazing!

[.dsaavedra.]

haha i know, i only wish i could replicate that...

[QuickLures]

If you arent too against using a "stencil" here's an idea. For one stripe, tear off two pieces of masking tape or painters tape and put them on the bait parallel to each other to form a stipe. The tear pattern make the stripes look more natural and cant be replicated.

You can find the "how to" process on one of the topics here.I think it's called "how to make 3D scales" or som thin like that.

[.dsaavedra.]

If you arent too against using a "stencil" here's an idea. For one stripe, tear off two pieces of masking tape or painters tape and put them on the bait parallel to each other to form a stipe. The tear pattern make the stripes look more natural and cant be replicated.

You can find the "how to" process on one of the topics here.I think it's called "how to make 3D scales" or som thin like that.

i've done this before, i don't like the hard edges it produces. if i could make a stencil with the jagged parallel lines and hold it a bit off the bait it would produce softer edges, but i don't know how i'd make this stencil. i modified a hair comb by filling in third gap with hot glue. this will produce two slender parallel lines, then a wider gap between the next set of lines. but these lines are straight because of the comb and i don't really want straight lines on this swimbait i'm making.

[Tom in Sweetwater]

First, thanks for holding me up as a good example, lol.

Second, the issue you may be having may be due to paint. I am using urethane paint, 10 or so PSI and a .2 tip. I can do that because my paint is literally thinner than water.

The tape trick above might work for you with a little modification. Cut a rectangular window in a piece of plastic (milk jug will do) a little wider and a little longer than the stripe you want to paint. Now tear the tape as mentioned above and attach it to the window, with a gap a little narrower than the stripe you want. Secure your bait so you can work with both hands. Hold the window slightly away from the bait and spray through. The extra distance should give a softer edge. If you make a long enough window you can use a different sections for each stripe so you don't have to do a new one for each. Then you might carefully add a few dots of paint here and there along each stripe to break them up a little.

Hope this helps, and I look forward to seeing how this works for you!

[rlcam]

I picked up a comb at, I think the dollar tree that has wavy teeth.I have used it for blugill stripes before and it worked pretty good.By holding it away from bait as mentioned it wont leave the hard edges...Rob

[.dsaavedra.]

great suggestion tom! im going to try that for sure.

[Mnbassbuster002]

You might also use the stencil and make the lines a little more thin then go back over it and soften the edges a little.

[gunnie3035]

Taking the cap off your airbrush exposing the needle will help you shoot thinner lines w/o as much splatter. Just becareful you don't forget and bend the needle. A lot of stripes appear to be one color but they are a combo of three or four different colors. I usually shoot pearl gold stripes, move the comb or stencil covering up the gold, shoot a light brown stripe, shoot the upper 2/3rd's of the stripe again with dark brown, then shoot the upper 1/3rd of the stripe again with black. The gold will really highlite the stripes. Cover your bait or stencil with mesh and it will break up the line a little. Throw on a couple dark spots here and there and its good to go.

[.dsaavedra.]

yeah when i tried them freehand i took the cap off the tip of the airbrush to allow me to see exactly where i was painting and let me get closer to the bait. i'm going to try the window thing and see how it works out....

[Hoghunter]

a good thing to use for stripes are scrapbooking scissors. they have all kinds off different designsd. And if you manipulate them you can get a very natural look. I just happened to come across my wifes scrapbooking bag and I now use these scissors more then she does.. heres an example but its not one with a natural look but an idea of the patterns i am talking of

[.dsaavedra.]

a good thing to use for stripes are scrapbooking scissors. they have all kinds off different designsd. And if you manipulate them you can get a very natural look. I just happened to come across my wifes scrapbooking bag and I now use these scissors more then she does.. heres an example but its not one with a natural look but an idea of the patterns i am talking of

great idea! i think my sister has some of these, i don't know if she left them here though. i will definitely be checking, thanks!

[QuickLures]

If you dont want the hard line of the tape on the bait you can hold it off the bait by putting whatever you use to paint scales(net , mesh,...preferably a metal screen to hold it off farther) and then taping on that. It will give you the natural pattern and hold it off the bait.

[jamie]

First, thanks for holding me up as a good example, lol.

Second, the issue you may be having may be due to paint. I am using urethane paint, 10 or so PSI and a .2 tip. I can do that because my paint is literally thinner than water.

The tape trick above might work for you with a little modification. Cut a rectangular window in a piece of plastic (milk jug will do) a little wider and a little longer than the stripe you want to paint. Now tear the tape as mentioned above and attach it to the window, with a gap a little narrower than the stripe you want. Secure your bait so you can work with both hands. Hold the window slightly away from the bait and spray through. The extra distance should give a softer edge. If you make a long enough window you can use a different sections for each stripe so you don't have to do a new one for each. Then you might carefully add a few dots of paint here and there along each stripe to break them up a little.

Hope this helps, and I look forward to seeing how this works for you!

+1

[jugheadbait.com]

TOM YOU DA' MAN..... I ADMIRE HOW YOU SHARE YOUR TIPS & TRICKS WITH ALL OF US OUT HERE IN " TU LAND".... ALL THE BEST TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY........

[BassinMaumee]

I have learned a lot reading here, Thx for the awesome ideas everybody. When I get better (good enough to give tips lol) I will try and help people with painting and building all I can.

[.dsaavedra.]

well i made the window stencil and it worked out pretty good. i made it out of a material that is a little too flimsy though, i might fix this later. for now it works. i don't really like the patterns i cut out, some are better than others.

[Tom in Sweetwater]

Yes, this is where the practice part kicks in. I am constantly changing how I do things as I get better. It's part of the process. One thing to do is not work on one at a time. Get half a dozen working at once, you will see a big increase in how fast your knowledge accumulates.

[RayburnGuy]

I tried your "window" tip as well. Made mine out of a piece of clear acrylic. Also scored reference lines in the acrylic on each side of the window with the point of an Exacto knife. This makes spacing and alignment fairly easy. A little Windex and a paper towel keeps the acrylic clean and the scored lines visible. Thanks for the tip Tom.

Ben

[StrykerLures]

Take some kind of Clear Plastic (like on packaging you will get when you buy something). Draw the shape of the Stripe you want then use a Strait edge razor (I bought a 100 pack of cobalt) and go very slowly around it. you can make a pretty good stencil if you take your time, also make a second stencil and put masking tape over it and then cut small stripes or any shape you want, then you can go over it again and give it some depth with different shapes. Hope this helped

[.dsaavedra.]

i made a plastic stencil and it worked out alright, but i just can't get the thickness and depth i'm looking for. the stencil is producing a thin line with a hard edge, because the air pressure from the brush just pushes the stencil right onto the bait when i try to hold it away.

pretty frustrating because i have an awesome bluegill swimbait made that i am holding off on finishing because i want the paintjob to be as excellent as the bait itself.

[RayburnGuy]

i made a plastic stencil and it worked out alright, but i just can't get the thickness and depth i'm looking for. the stencil is producing a thin line with a hard edge, because the air pressure from the brush just pushes the stencil right onto the bait when i try to hold it away.

pretty frustrating because i have an awesome bluegill swimbait made that i am holding off on finishing because i want the paintjob to be as excellent as the bait itself.

Have you tried turning the air pressure down or making your stencil out of stiffer material? Or try one like Tom mentioned earlier.

[Fishwhittler]

Have you tried tearing strips out of a sheet of paper to get a pattern? I did that with this bait and it turned out pretty good.

Edited April 6, 2010 by Fishwhittler

[.dsaavedra.]

Rayburnguy, i have turned the pressure down. i do think i need a stiffer material. the stencil material i used on the one bait i tested on was VERY thin, thinner than paper. i made another out of stiffer packaging plastic, but i haven't tried it yet.

Ben, those stripes look good alright but they aren't what i'm after. i'm looking for some much narrower parallel bluegill stripes with softer irregular edges.