crzyjunyer Posted December 20, 2011 Report Share Posted December 20, 2011 i have recently foiled over some crankbaits using a/c tape (i work on a/c equip and have tons of it) and was looking through the databases here and it seems everyone clears over the foil before painting. i have moved away from using d2t to an automotive clear and was wondering how that has worked for others on foiled lures before paint as well as if anyone has tried a rattle can automotive clear or auto air transparent base as a midcoat/base for the paint to stick to the foil. im planning to use a mixture of auto air, createx, and wicked paints (seperate layers - not mixed together) for the looks im going for. im wanting to keep the midcoat over the foil as thin as possible to keep from clouding/dulling the shine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Bass Man Posted December 20, 2011 Report Share Posted December 20, 2011 I have painted over foil with createx and auto air, both worked fine. I haven't cleared over a foil bait with automotive, so I am not sure on that. I used etex on the foil baits I have painted and it worked great also. Patrick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobP Posted December 20, 2011 Report Share Posted December 20, 2011 I think many guys use an intermediate clearcoat over raw foil mostly to hide the foil margins, which is probably a good idea if you're using the thick a/c tape. I've never used the intermediate clear, even before I switched to thinner craft foil from a/c tape. I've just painted directly on the foil. Does it adhere as well as painting onto an intermediate clearcoat? Maybe not but the final topcoat holds the paint on just fine and doing away with the intermediate clearcoat means one less step. I've never had a foil finish delaminate, so it seems to work OK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crzyjunyer Posted December 20, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 20, 2011 i tried it tonite and it seemed to work pretty well with out clearing first - actually it was kind of nice sinc i could use a q-tip to clean up if i had over spray - i definitly love the way transparent colors look over the foil - has an incredible shine to it much better than the auto air 4100 fine aluminum base i got in today and tried out as well - it has a nice color to it as well but nowhere near the shine of the foil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mags Posted December 20, 2011 Report Share Posted December 20, 2011 I have tried both and I always clear over the foil with epoxy, paint my colors, then clear with auto clear. Without the epoxy the foil is pretty vulnerable to being nicked. I guess you could spray multiple coats of auto clear and get the same protection, but I have never done that. On my non-foiled baits I just use the auto clear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saltshaker Posted December 20, 2011 Report Share Posted December 20, 2011 I'm wonderin' how you hide the foil edges without epoxyin' over it before painting. I haven't had any luck hiding them with paint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crzyjunyer Posted December 20, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 20, 2011 salt I'm wonderin' how you hide the foil edges without epoxyin' over it before painting. I haven't had any luck hiding them with paint. what ive been doing so far is just keep slowly working the edges with my thumbs (my burnishing tool) and lightly stretching and thinning it down as much as possible to minimize my edges and i try not to cover up the top and bottom of them either, only the sides. so far it seems to be turning out ok but i havent clear coated any yet either Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crankpaint Posted December 21, 2011 Report Share Posted December 21, 2011 i cut my foil edge after i glue it so i can cut it at an angle so its really thin on the edges shows almost no seam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobP Posted December 21, 2011 Report Share Posted December 21, 2011 I use Venture Brite-Bak tape and it's thin enough to burnish the edges so they almost disappear. The Brite-Bak also takes a sharper-defined scale embossing than a/c tape, which I like. It's designed for stained glass artists and costs around $10 per roll. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crzyjunyer Posted December 21, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 21, 2011 I use Venture Brite-Bak tape and it's thin enough to burnish the edges so they almost disappear. The Brite-Bak also takes a sharper-defined scale embossing than a/c tape, which I like. It's designed for stained glass artists and costs around $10 per roll. what is the mil thickness on the brite-bak tape? from what ive seen online when i looked at it all i saw was 2mil thick which is the same as the a/c tape i use (nashua 322) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saltshaker Posted December 21, 2011 Report Share Posted December 21, 2011 The lightest-weight foil I've found is chip bags and candy wrappers from my wife's vending business. It's a different texture from all the other foils I've seen. You can't even roll this stuff up in a ball. I've played around with it a bit, but, haven't actually tried foiling a bait with it. I would love to find some way to foil a bait so there was no need for epoxy. That is usually where I screw up. Maybe I'll try crankpaint's technique. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReelAppealLures Posted December 21, 2011 Report Share Posted December 21, 2011 (edited) what is the mil thickness on the brite-bak tape? from what ive seen online when i looked at it all i saw was 2mil thick which is the same as the a/c tape i use (nashua 322) I went out and bought Brite-Bak tape after seeing how many people use it on here, but like you say it is no thinner than a/c tape, and it is more expensive and in smaller sized rolls. I epoxy over my foil before paint, but I no longer try and hide the foil edges, I use them for the overall design. I sent the lure out for testing on a local charter boat, the fish don't mind the foil edges! Edited December 21, 2011 by ReelAppealLures 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pizza Posted December 21, 2011 Report Share Posted December 21, 2011 First burnish tape as flat as possible - the hvac aluminum tape seems to be flexible and rolling an exacto knife gets the tape junctions/edges pretty flat. Then i use a layer of thinned etex(i use epoxy thinner, most seem to use denatured alcohol). Then light sand (mostly around tape edges). The way i foil i have 2 tape edges, one on top and one on bottom. Then i typically paint with rattle can(no airbrush yet). If the foil edges are a little rough i may put another layer of thinned etex before painting I usually end up doing 3, sometimes 4 thinned etex coats total. Also it doesnt hurt to clean around foil edges with some type of solvent after burnishing foil flat since adhesive sometimes gets pushed out during burnishing. Also rattle cans seem to work fine directly on foil, but i typically paint over epoxy. Also you can put difnt layers of paint (or glitter) over difnt epoxy layers for a slightly different effect(more 3d). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
