LucasJ Posted January 13, 2019 Report Share Posted January 13, 2019 (edited) I want to start painting my own spinner blades. I have no clue where to start...would I airbrush or powder coat. What would be the process? Do I need to do anything to prep the blade before painting? Starting out with brass French blades. Thanks for the help! Edited January 13, 2019 by LucasJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cadman Posted January 13, 2019 Report Share Posted January 13, 2019 Lucas, Welcome to TU. If you go with an air brush, you will have to use a white base. Now you can either go with water base or lacquer paint. Water base is the easiest however durability is weak, and you will have to clear coat the blades with epoxy to keep the paint from coming off. If you go with lacquer, then a clear coat is not necessary, however you need very good ventilation, as lacquer paint really has a strong odor and not good for your lungs. I powder paint all of my blades. It is the easiest and the most durable. If you want extra durability, you can clear coat the powder painted blade. Powder painting and clearcoat will add some weight to the blades, however I have never found any adverse effect to this. If you powder paint, you will need powder paint, fluid bed if you are doing both sides, a toaster oven and a cooling rack. I can help you with a fluid bed tutorial. This is the simplified version. If you search this forum, you will see many powder painted blades that I have done. If you want some pics PM me your e-mail address. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucasJ Posted January 13, 2019 Author Report Share Posted January 13, 2019 Great info. Thank you! One more question....say I powder coat and want to add some dots or stripes? How would I go about that? Paint pen? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cadman Posted January 13, 2019 Report Share Posted January 13, 2019 54 minutes ago, LucasJ said: Great info. Thank you! One more question....say I powder coat and want to add some dots or stripes? How would I go about that? Paint pen? There are several ways you can add dots or stripes. Paint pen is one of them. You can also use colored electrical tape, and cut out the profile you want and stick it on the blade. You can use colored permanent markers, or stick on colored tape, pinstriping tape, or anything that will stick. If you are worried about it coming off, epoxy the finished surface with Devcon 2 Ton (D2T). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kasilofchrisn Posted January 13, 2019 Report Share Posted January 13, 2019 Check out TJ's tackle website. He has some video tutorials on powder painting blades and spoons that will help you get it figured out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucasJ Posted January 13, 2019 Author Report Share Posted January 13, 2019 29 minutes ago, Kasilofchrisn said: Check out TJ's tackle website. He has some video tutorials on powder painting blades and spoons that will help you get it figured out. Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucasJ Posted January 15, 2019 Author Report Share Posted January 15, 2019 On 1/12/2019 at 8:01 PM, cadman said: Lucas, Welcome to TU. If you go with an air brush, you will have to use a white base. Now you can either go with water base or lacquer paint. Water base is the easiest however durability is weak, and you will have to clear coat the blades with epoxy to keep the paint from coming off. If you go with lacquer, then a clear coat is not necessary, however you need very good ventilation, as lacquer paint really has a strong odor and not good for your lungs. I powder paint all of my blades. It is the easiest and the most durable. If you want extra durability, you can clear coat the powder painted blade. Powder painting and clearcoat will add some weight to the blades, however I have never found any adverse effect to this. If you powder paint, you will need powder paint, fluid bed if you are doing both sides, a toaster oven and a cooling rack. I can help you with a fluid bed tutorial. This is the simplified version. If you search this forum, you will see many powder painted blades that I have done. If you want some pics PM me your e-mail address. Ok, I’ve got what I need to make the fluid bed. So if I have this right, I heat the blade with a heat gun, dip into chosen paint/paints, apply dots, stripes or whatever with a template, allow to dry and cure in the oven at 375 degrees for 20 mins? Am I missing anything? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cadman Posted January 15, 2019 Report Share Posted January 15, 2019 3 minutes ago, LucasJ said: Ok, I’ve got what I need to make the fluid bed. So if I have this right, I heat the blade with a heat gun, dip into chosen paint/paints, apply dots, stripes or whatever with a template, allow to dry and cure in the oven at 375 degrees for 20 mins? Am I missing anything? Sounds about right if you are going to apply everything with powder paint. Clearcoat would be last step if you want extra protection. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucasJ Posted January 15, 2019 Author Report Share Posted January 15, 2019 Sounds good. I really appreciate your help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucasJ Posted January 15, 2019 Author Report Share Posted January 15, 2019 Nice work on those blades too btw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cadman Posted January 15, 2019 Report Share Posted January 15, 2019 2 hours ago, LucasJ said: Nice work on those blades too btw. I was pretty happy with how the blades came out. You can see what can be done with powder paint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edgecrusher Posted January 15, 2019 Report Share Posted January 15, 2019 I’ve used a sharpie type pen on my spinnerbaits heads in the past, works fine, I did apply a clear coat of powder coat over the top to stop it coming off Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty tanner Posted April 26, 2021 Report Share Posted April 26, 2021 If I don't use powder paint how would I go about just strait painting them would I prime them by roughing them up then apply an acrylic then an appoxie finish or just a clear coat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cadman Posted April 26, 2021 Report Share Posted April 26, 2021 19 hours ago, Rusty tanner said: If I don't use powder paint how would I go about just strait painting them would I prime them by roughing them up then apply an acrylic then an appoxie finish or just a clear coat Welcome to TU. If you are going to paint them, I would very lightly scuff them up and then wipe the blades off with alcohol. Depends on what color you are painting, If you are using an opaque, then you probably don't need a primer. But on light colors I would use a white base. I would also use lacquer paints if it were me. Then you don't have to use epoxy unless you want a more durable finish. JMO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted April 28, 2021 Report Share Posted April 28, 2021 I use finger nail polish to color blades. I wipe them down with clean acetone, let it flash off, and then coat with the polish. Most of the time I just add flash with Sally Hansen's "In The Spotlight" polish, which has mylar bits in a clear. For dirty water, and low light, I add some white glow powder to a bottle of clear, and coat the concave side. Once it's dried, I coat both sides with the "In The Spotlight" polish. I figure the whole point of a lure is to get noticed so the more flash, the merrier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C.C.Pikie Posted July 17, 2023 Report Share Posted July 17, 2023 I'm interested in painting spinner blades, particularly French or Colorado. My question is, what blades take paint best, since all seem to be brass or nickel plated? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
