flipper2 Posted August 15, 2015 Report Share Posted August 15, 2015 Can anyone tell me an easy way to paint the eyes on my crankbaits? I have tried for a year to master this part of the process and still fail every time. I have tried nails, drill bits and qtips etc . also, I have used nail polish, enamel paints they all fail. Help!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted August 15, 2015 Report Share Posted August 15, 2015 I struggled with painting eyes using all the ways you mentioned. I finally started using stencils and haven't looked back. All you need is a clear piece of thin plastic and a hole punch in multiple sizes. Just punch a series of various size holes in the clear plastic and shoot them with your airbrush. The clear plastic allows you to see exactly where your putting the eye so make sure to clean it after using it. It's best if you'll thin your paint a little and lower the pressure on your airbrush. The thinned paint allows you to spray with lower pressure and the lower pressure keeps the paint from being blown under the stencil and creating a big blob instead of a round eye. Ben 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobP Posted August 15, 2015 Report Share Posted August 15, 2015 (edited) I daub on eyes and found that the paint you use and the dauber are critical to getting a good eye. First, I use an acrylic paint called Delta Ceramcoat, meant for decorating pottery. It's thick and viscous. Second, I use Swisspers cotton swabs from Walmart as a tool. They have more compact and tightly woven ends than regular Q-tips. For the black iris, I use Createx black and some small paint daubers I got from lurepartsonline.com. Some guys prefer to use the heads of nails as their daubers, I guess it really doesn't matter as long as they get the job done. When I tried doing eyes with regular Createx paint, I found that it was usually too thin to make a really solid opaque eye. Edited August 15, 2015 by BobP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flipper2 Posted August 15, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 15, 2015 Bob when you apply your paint do you allow the swab to touch the bait? Also, do you use any type of drier to set it after the application? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobP Posted August 17, 2015 Report Share Posted August 17, 2015 Yes, the paint is thick enough that you can touch the bait with the swab and still get a good opaque coating. The amount of pressure you use and the amount of paint you load on the swab determines the size of the eye. I squeeze a few drops out of the bottle onto a piece of foil and work from there. I just hang mine up to dry after applying the paint. If you try to speed dry it with a hair dryer it can cause the paint to crack. I daub on the eye, wait an hour or two for it do dry, then daub on the iris. If you misplace a daub, you can dampen a cotton swab and roll (not wipe) it over the mistake a few times to remove it. I'm sure using different size nail heads to hold the paint also works just fine but it seems more "touch finesse" is required for that method. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonister Posted August 17, 2015 Report Share Posted August 17, 2015 Sharpies.... sharpies all the way! I had the same problems with stencils and eyes and pretty much most everything detail on my lures, and then someone (i think Mark) said they used sharpies so i got a couple to try. youd be surprised how well they work. You also dont have to worry about drying too much because they dry pretty fast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwfflipper Posted August 18, 2015 Report Share Posted August 18, 2015 1/4 inch hole punch does a great job in making eyes. then just paint the iris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WHL Posted August 25, 2015 Report Share Posted August 25, 2015 I use different size nail heads, works OK for me. Makes a good round circle. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ces Posted August 26, 2015 Report Share Posted August 26, 2015 (edited) Sharpies.... sharpies all the way! I had the same problems with stencils and eyes and pretty much most everything detail on my lures, and then someone (i think Mark) said they used sharpies so i got a couple to try. youd be surprised how well they work. You also dont have to worry about drying too much because they dry pretty fast.Hey jonister, Sharpies huh? Good idea. Do they hold under clearcoat and what clear do you use? OP- I find that the thickness of the paint is critical for me. I use drill bits. Edited August 26, 2015 by Ces Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobP Posted August 26, 2015 Report Share Posted August 26, 2015 Sharpies - it depends on the clearcoat you are using. If it contains any kind of solvent, the Sharpie will run. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hazmail Posted August 26, 2015 Report Share Posted August 26, 2015 (edited) Dip the shank end of a drill bit in some paint (W/ B Acrylic my choice), this way you can easily change the desired eye size. Pete Edited August 26, 2015 by hazmail Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonister Posted August 26, 2015 Report Share Posted August 26, 2015 (edited) So far the sharpies have not ran and i use solarez. They hold up very well too, and are nice to apply Edited August 26, 2015 by jonister Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joetheplumber Posted August 26, 2015 Report Share Posted August 26, 2015 (edited) Sharpie also has a new water based paint pen out now. I picked up a pack of the fine point metallic colors (silver-gold-copper) to see if they would work for signatures but I haven't tested them for painting eyes, I assume these would work okay for that as well. I have clear coated over them with etex and Alumi-UV with no issues of running or bleeding so far. I purchased mine at Michael's for about $5 Edited August 26, 2015 by joetheplumber Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TackleKraft Posted September 17, 2015 Report Share Posted September 17, 2015 How they working for sigs Joe? Microns give me fits for some reason..I blame it on being a lefty lol Sharpie also has a new water based paint pen out now. I picked up a pack of the fine point metallic colors (silver-gold-copper) to see if they would work for signatures but I haven't tested them for painting eyes, I assume these would work okay for that as well. I have clear coated over them with etex and Alumi-UV with no issues of running or bleeding so far. I purchased mine at Michael's for about $5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bbob Posted September 17, 2015 Report Share Posted September 17, 2015 I use acrylic paint mixed with a 2:1 ratio with water and dabbed on with a drill bit works for me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nedyarb Posted September 18, 2015 Report Share Posted September 18, 2015 Acrylic paint....but it needs to be thick. Not watered down like the paint you use in your airbrush. Get yhe anitas yellow from Walmart and use that. I use drill bits Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLT785 Posted September 18, 2015 Report Share Posted September 18, 2015 No matter what you use, just practice, practice, practice 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joetheplumber Posted September 18, 2015 Report Share Posted September 18, 2015 How they working for sigs Joe? Microns give me fits for some reason..I blame it on being a lefty lol For the ones that I've done, they seem to be fine. I have the extra fine tip models but they're not as fine as a regular ink pen though. Give them a try and see what you think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skicustombaits Posted September 20, 2015 Report Share Posted September 20, 2015 I use different size paint brushes, I just cut the opposite end of the brush off to the size I want. Makes a perfect circle every time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noname Posted October 4, 2015 Report Share Posted October 4, 2015 Hi!I'm using for a long time nail polish. Eyes paint using different diameter drill bits. The eyes are then perfectly round. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don-Art Posted October 5, 2015 Report Share Posted October 5, 2015 Bobs method has worked well for me. Don Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
