Beginning

[JFOWLER204]

I am wanting to start painting my own crankbaits. I am in the process of purchasing all the equipment. I would however like some opinions.

1st What is a good airbrush kit to start with?

2nd What primer and paints should I use?

3rd Also is there a instructional video or website for beginners?

Any help would be great I'm sure I will have alot more question as I get started. Also the crankbaits that

I am using are plastic I havn't got to the balsa yet.

[Fishwhittler]

Welcome!

This topic seems to be coming up a lot lately. I'd recommend you use the search feature, and see if you can find the info you're looking for.

With that said:

1. I use a Master G22 airbrush. It's available in a combo kit on amazon for less than $100, and that's with a compressor, hose, and pressure regulator. I've had mine for about six months now, and I'm perfectly satisfied with it. Here is a link to it. I know a lot of guys say Iwata airbrushes are the only way to go, but I really don't think there's much I could do with an Iwata brush that I can't do with my G22. Much more depends on the painter than the brush he's using. Even if you only have a "decent" brush, you can still do good work.

2. I use Createx paint almost exclusively. I never bother with primer; I just shoot with either white or black to get a solid base coat, and then paint. The black covers better when you need to mask over another paint job, so sometimes I spray black and then white in order to get it covered faster.

3. This website right here is a good place to start. There are many, many guys on here that can help with whatever questions you have.

Let me go a little farther answering your third question: there are a lot of places that someone will come on and ask for help, and all he gets are references to other sites. V-man said something about this a while back on another site (no I'm not going to say which one ), and it really started me thinking about it. If you send someone to another site for help, why bother with the first website at all?

Back on topic: I can't think of too many painting videos out there, but then I never looked. You might look in the Hard Bait Color Book sticky at the top of the page, although a lot of the pics that were there have been removed or lost. However, the best way to learn how to paint is to get an airbrush and start practicing.

I hope this helps.

Ben

Edited December 7, 2010 by Fishwhittler

[Musky Glenn]

Great answer Fishwhittler, don't be afraid to take an old plug and experiment with painting it. Don't expect the first one to be perfect, but part of the learning process of getting good. The guys on here know what they are doing, and have done wrong. Great place to ask questions. Musky Glenn

[Richard Prager]

I've only been painting a couple of months and found this pretty helpful. It's nice to see a visual. If you happen to like the type lure holder he is using, you can get them at Harbor Freight for about $3. It comes with a mirror. Just replace the mirror with the clip of your choice.

[RayburnGuy]

One thing you can do to practice painting is to try spraying on a piece of PVC pipe. This will give you something with contours to practice on and it cleans up easily. You can try different air pressure settings, thinning your paint to different consistencies, varying the distance you hold your brush from the object your spraying, etc. etc. Just remember one thing. There is a learning curve in anything you attempt and the more time you spend with your airbrush in your hand the easier it will become.

Good luck,

Ben

[JFOWLER204]

Thanks guys for all the info. I am ordering my stuff this week. I'm sure there will be more questions to follow.

[mark poulson]

Make sure your paint is thinned according to the manufs. specs, spray thin coats, and heat set with a hair dryer between each coat.

And a clean airbrush is a happy airbrush, so set up a convenient cleaning station where you paint, and develop a cleaning routine that is simple and quick so you will make it a part of each painting session.

[riemanbt]

If you go to the main Forum page you can scroll down to the tutorials, in the hard bait section their is one post that has a few videos. I think that it would help a lot!

[rotorhead]

After all is said, done the key to becoming good with an airbrush is one thing practice, practice and more practice. When I first started painting I thought I would never learn and as you learn you will find there are tricks to doing everything and this site is the best place you could have come to for answers. I like as many other do Createx paints, they thin with water, clean up easily and are not toxic. A good idea is to heat set the paint after you apply each color, speed dryings and the paint after heat setting becomes very difficult to remove. As for clear coatings there are many but I like Envirotex. It is a little slow on the drying and the lure should be rotated to stop heavy build-ups but all in all it works great. You might want to experiment with Dick Nites clear coat it to works well. Anyway keep up the practice and you will be showing the rest of us some of your handy work

Rotorhead