MonteSS Posted January 20, 2017 Report Share Posted January 20, 2017 Just got my order from Predator and am impressed by the quality of the looks of the blanks. I was expecting some poor seams but they all look good. So what do you do to prepare these for paint? Should I sand the seams just a little? Wet or dry? Scuff the body with a Scotchbrite? Was do you clean them with. I see most just spray a color basecoat and no primer. Expecting my first gun Friday. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpalinsk Posted January 20, 2017 Report Share Posted January 20, 2017 I clean mine with denatured alcohol, let them dry, swipe them lightly with a tack cloth and then spray with an adhesion promoter that I get from Coast Airbrush called Safe T. David 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lurenerd Posted January 20, 2017 Report Share Posted January 20, 2017 Wash with Dawn dishwashing soap and a clean wash cloth. Use warm water, wipe them, then rinse them. If any of them have rust in them you probably should set them aside as "test rats". After that its probably a good idea to seal them with a clear sealer before painting. There are a bunch of good sealers available, AC1315 does a good job of sealing and clearing plastic lure blanks. Hope this helps answer your question. Which airbrush are you getting? Just curious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted January 20, 2017 Report Share Posted January 20, 2017 If you dip them quickly in clean acetone, it actually removes a very thin layer of plastic and exposes a virgin surface that you can paint over without a primer. That really helps with transparent ghost paint jobs. And it clears the blanks, too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MonteSS Posted January 20, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 20, 2017 Iwata HP-CS Eclipse ty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super Ron Posted January 20, 2017 Report Share Posted January 20, 2017 I use a tooth brush to scrub the blanks with water, Dawn, and a couple squirts of an ammonia free window cleaner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Prager Posted January 21, 2017 Report Share Posted January 21, 2017 I go over the seams with scotch brite, wipe of the dust with a soft brush and paint. If the blank comes with a taped lip, I remove it and tape it myself. Last thing I want is to paint a bait only to find out the lip is damaged Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baz O Posted March 15, 2017 Report Share Posted March 15, 2017 Hi All. Since this is my first ever post on TU, hope you guys have a little patience with me. I have just purchased some blanks and after test painting, I found that the top seam is not as smooth as expected, also the left side of the lure has some "chipping". I didn't prep this blank as I thought it would not be necessary. I found these "defects" after painting. Is this the expected result from not prepping a blank before painting? Any feedback will be appreciated. Thanks, Baz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZ Fisher Posted March 15, 2017 Report Share Posted March 15, 2017 Sorry ,this is usually a result of inexpensive, defective blanks. That molding imperfection is the reason they are cheap. My guess is W/lure, Alibaba or Shelts was the supplier. If they're from Shelts, you can email him and complain and he will send you some more to try to make it up to you, if you want more bad baits. Dinger and Predator have some of the best blanks for sale. There are many threads on here about this subject, use the search function, along with a "Sticky" at the top of the Hardbaits page called "Crankbait body links." Practice on the cheap ones, fish don't care, the when your ready buy some from Brian(Dinger) or from Jim(Predator). This is a question as to what is acceptable to you, some guys want cheap, some want quality, up to you to decide. Welcome to TU! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baz O Posted March 17, 2017 Report Share Posted March 17, 2017 Thanks AZ Fisher. If only these baits can be remedied by sanding or dipping in acetone, it will greatly assist me in my newbie airbrushing project. Anyway, I didn't get them from Shelts, Alibaba or anywhere of that sort so I was kind of disappointed with the quality when I got them. But yes, it was sold cheap and I would get some quality ones from the suppliers you mentioned when I up my airbrushing skill. There are really awesome painted hard baits in the gallery and I am humbled by their work. I hope to get to that level someday, but as of now, I better get to my colour mixing practice. Thanks for the reply AZ Fisher. Baz O Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted March 17, 2017 Report Share Posted March 17, 2017 Hi Baz O and welcome to TU. A little sanding will smooth out the back of the bait in the picture and the fish aren't going to care about the small imperfections on the sides of the bait. Those blemishes will bother the fisherman much more than they will bother the fish. As long as they run true they should catch fish. If your goal is to eventually sell custom painted baits then you can buy better quality blanks once you develop your painting skills. If your looking for something cheap to practice on I would suggest getting a couple different sizes of PVC pipe. It's rounded so you can see how to apply paint to contours so the colors blend into one another. PVC is cheap and readily available and if your using water based paints it can be washed off and used repeatedly. good luck, Ben 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baz O Posted March 17, 2017 Report Share Posted March 17, 2017 Hi Ben, Thanks for the welcome and tip on using PVC pipe. Baz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
