jt_ncbassman Posted February 20, 2015 Report Share Posted February 20, 2015 Need your help again fellas if y'all have got a minute. I celebrated last week when my balsa flats ides and 3/8" big body deep divers baits came out running better than I hoped. I've built a balsa bait that is ballasted like a DT, styled after the poes 400 (improvements made to the shape of the bait) runs like a well-modified Calvin Johnson bait, and casts like a rocket ( weight transfer from belly to tail). The problem is I can't paint these things to save my life. I've gotten frustrated and stripped them to bare devcon twice. They've all got a rough looking base of opaque white right now. These lures all go deep and move swiftly so I'm not worried about brilliant lifelike finishes, but I've put so much mechanics into these that they deserve a sharp finish. I need a Recipe and walk through for- Shad color for 3" Tapp style flatside. I fish lakes in the upper Catawba chain all the way down to Lake Wylie. Threadfin shad are prevalent, murky stained water is common. I've always had luck with Norman (lavender shad) and Pearl Ayu.... any shad recipes are greatly appreciated. Deep Diver - 16 foot range. My ideal color for this bait would be a light, faded yellow/gold sides, light brown stripes and possibly scales,with a brite blue stripe on the top. I've got a lot of createx paints and illustration base and 4011 for reducers. Single action paasche airbrush. Not the best setup but hopefully I can get it to lay down some decent colors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skeeter Posted February 20, 2015 Report Share Posted February 20, 2015 Congratulations on your baits. Glad you got them running the way that you want. The number one thing to a good paint job is preparation of the lure. You stated that They've all got a rough looking base of opaque white right now. I don't really understand what you mean by rough. All of the baits that I paint get a coat or two of polyurethane before I paint them. With balsa I find that after I coat them and sand them with fine grit sand paper they will usually come out pretty smooth. After they are sanded then I take a damp cloth and wipe off any paint dust that is left behind. Once you reach that point you can shoot your white base coat. Nothing should be rough anywhere. If it is...... touch sand the lure and shoot another coat of white. Once you have reached this point it is just a matter of picking your colors and laying them down. I would get a bait in the color that you are wanting and studying how they lay the colors down. You just have to experiment with colors until you get it like you want. Take the lure to the paint store with you and try to match it. There are no real shortcuts. Unfortunately, you have to go through the same experimentation with your paint that you did when you made the bodies themselves. You use the words light and faded. Personally, I don't know how that can be achieved to your satisfaction using a single action gun. You just can't control your air and/or paint flow with a single action gun. But, maybe you will find a way. Painting is a skill just like figuring out the right weight to use in your baits. It all takes time and patience. You have to develope a "touch" when you paint. Paints are finiky too. White pearl in one brand or type of paint may not look like white pearl in another. You just have to experiment. Good luck. Skeeter 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted February 20, 2015 Report Share Posted February 20, 2015 Like Skeeter said, the more you paint, the better you get. Try practicing on some white pvc plumbing pipe, so you can play around until you figure out a paint scheme you like. If you use a 3' piece of 3/4", you can hold it easily, and make as many samples as you want. Keep the ones you like, clear coat over them to protect them, and move on to another spot for the next test. Make notes of what you used for schemes you like. If something doesn't work, you can wipe the paint of easily and start over, without having to put your white base coat back on. I am a hamfisted painter, but I've learned a few things that might help. The only way I've found to get a "faded" effect with a single action gun is to thin my paint, and hold the gun farther away from the bait. That way I can add small amounts of paint, a bit at a time, until I get the look I want. You will waste a lot of paint with this method, so only use it for the last bit of shading. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted February 20, 2015 Report Share Posted February 20, 2015 (edited) Here's a simple shad pattern that's been working for a long time and is still a player with many of the well known lure companies. Once you get your white base coat laid down and it's nice and smooth spray the entire bait with white pearl. Then come back with some metallic silver and spray the back and down onto the "shoulders" of the bait. Once you have that done spray the back with a light coat of black making sure to let the silver show on the "shoulders". You can enhance the look by using netting to add scales if you like. It's a simple paint scheme and it probably won't win any awards, but it still catches fish. And remember to use light coats. It's a lot easier to "sneak up on" a paint job than it is to keep starting over. I would recommend this paint scheme on your deeper diving baits since the deeper a bait goes the less vibrant colors play a part and it becomes more about contrast. just my Ben Edited February 20, 2015 by RayburnGuy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musky Glenn Posted February 20, 2015 Report Share Posted February 20, 2015 (edited) Norman's Lavender Shad is a tough color to beat!!! I could never get used to a double action gun and use a single action all the time. You can regulate air and paint with the proper adjustments. I live a mile from Lake James on the upper end of the Catawba and have fished all but one lake between here and Wylie. Good luck, this area sure does put out some good fishermen, wish I was one of them. RayburnGuy's color sounded nice. I remember that "Smoky Joe" was a color that worked good a few years ago. Musky Glenn Edited February 20, 2015 by Musky Glenn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt_ncbassman Posted February 20, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2015 Thanks for the replies guys, turns out the baits just needed another properly thinned coat of white. What I meant by "rough" is "not fully covered" I guess,looks a lot better now. I guess I am trying to take a major shortcut on my painting process, because it seems like it would take me 2 years to lay down a respectable paint job at the rate I'm going, and I'd like these baits to get fished soon. And it has taken me about 3 years (R&D) to build this recent batch of baits that I am actually happy with. I guess the thing that drives me crazy is knowing there's about 34 things I'm probably doing wrong, and if I solve 1 of those problems a week I'll have a decent shad pattern by November (hey... that might be perfect timing) I think I've made progress this morning, gonna try to post some pics. A couple things clicked for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt_ncbassman Posted February 20, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2015 The flat bait was supposed to be a lavender or table rock shad but it seems like everything I paint turns out to be chartruese/blueback. Im really trying to sneak up on the colors but I guess it's a lot harder with a single action, the chartruese comes pouring out. I am pretty happy with the deep bait (so far), and I would like to get opinions on what shade of blue would look best on the light yellow body, or if it needs anything over the top? A brite blue back has always produced for me, but I don't want to overpower the pearl brown. Can I lay masking tape on the shoulders without removing paint? (it's heatset) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikePaintsBaits Posted February 20, 2015 Report Share Posted February 20, 2015 (edited) JT Those two baits look good. Don't forget what Skeeter said above , you can't control air flow and paint with a single action , that's why your paint is coming out the way it does. You can tape the shoulders , just don't press down so hard laying it , I use blue painters tape. keep your airbrush away from your bait , since you cannot control air flow your going to get splatter , keep your airbrush off the bait , as in distance , you will be able to see how your laying down your color. Get some art paper and practice some spraying on it , it will help. I'm far from the best painter here , just my thoughts , hope it helps. Mike Edited February 20, 2015 by MikePaintsBaits Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt_ncbassman Posted February 20, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2015 Thanks Mike, you've got some sharp patterns in your gallery. I'd sure like to see one of your lucky craft repaints on my deeper baits. Glenn, I always assumed you were up North due to that massive creature in your picture. I have heard tales of musky hanging around black bear landing, I might have even hooked one on a big blade spinnerbait. Broke me off before I could tell. Lake James is a really neat body of water, do you fish the Catawba side mostly? The Linville side has been kind of dead the last couple years seems like Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikePaintsBaits Posted February 20, 2015 Report Share Posted February 20, 2015 Thanks JT You talking about my foiled LC ? Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted February 21, 2015 Report Share Posted February 21, 2015 I've gotten away from trying to spray patterns using tape since it creates a hard line where the colors change and to me that just doesn't look natural. If you want to try the tape the blue painters tape is about as good as anything you can use, but here's a little trick to make sure it doesn't pull paint away when lifting the tape. Before you place the tape on your bait stick it to your blue jeans or shirt a few times. This does two things. It removes a small amount of the adhesive as well as pick up any lint that may be on your clothes.The more times you stick it and peel it off the less sticky it becomes thus lessening the chance of lifting the paint. One way of spraying a small amount of paint with a single stage airbrush is to turn the pressure down on your regulator to around 15 psi. This might mean that you have to thin your paint to get it to spray properly. The second part is instead of pointing the airbrush directly at the bait spray off to one side just a little bit while holding the airbrush back away from the bait. When an airbrush is spraying properly the paint comes out in a cone shape. By using the outer edge of the cone you won't be applying as much paint as if you were pointing it directly at the bait. Like Mark said this does waste some paint, but it's at least doable like this. Using an airbrush is like everything else in life from learning to walk to flying a plane. NOBODY walks onto a Boeing 747 for the first time and just starts flying it. And think just how many times we bump our noggin before we can even walk. Using an airbrush is the same thing. Granted there are some who just seem to have a given talent for certain things and we may never be as good as they are, but that doesn't mean we can't paint lures that catch fish. It just takes time and experience so don't get discouraged when you aren't turning out masterpieces in a week or two. I'm a hack painter at best, but can still build and paint baits that catch fish so believe me when I say there's still hope for you. Ben 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt_ncbassman Posted February 21, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2015 Yeah the foiled ones with the light blue backs/dark cheeks, as well as the 3 gill patterns. Those might be dangerous on a topwater. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt_ncbassman Posted February 22, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2015 Ben, I usually keep my regulator at about 40 p.s.i. because ive always had trouble atomizing paint. I dropped it down just a shade under 20 and sprayed some very thin paint and that really helped, i suppose it keeps the tip from drying as fast?. Thanks again for the replies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted February 22, 2015 Report Share Posted February 22, 2015 The best advice I can give, and this is true about pretty much anything, is to experiment. If something is not working, or your having problems doing something a certain way, then shake it up. Try things that at first may sound ridiculous to you. Sooner or later your going to run up on something that suits your style and gives you the result your looking for. good luck, Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted February 23, 2015 Report Share Posted February 23, 2015 Using a paint reducer to thin your paint, instead of just water, can help with tip drying. Use whatever reducer the paint manuf. recommends. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
