OUTDOORSMAN Posted July 22, 2005 Report Share Posted July 22, 2005 I'm thinking of trying to paint my own crankbaits. I will be buying ones that all you have to do is paint and assemble. But I have no idea what all I will need. If I paint with a water base paint what type of paint booth will I need ? or do I even need one. How do I apply a top clear coat ? with a brush or spray ? What type of air brush will be a good starter brush. I already make my own lead weighted lures so I have some idea about lure making. Thank you, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nim_evets Posted July 22, 2005 Report Share Posted July 22, 2005 Hi there - I too am just getting started. I had some old lures that needed repainting, so I said what the heck. I didn't want to invest much money. I picked up an el cheapo airbrush at Harbor Freight for $10. Single action, but actually paints pretty well. Cant do fine lines without stencils, but it puts on nice base coats, fades and speckles (when desired) well. I use a CO2 tank (I'm a homebrewer too) as my air source. Walmart for paints (44 cents/tube of acrylic) and Devcon 2Ton epoxy ($2). I dilute my paints with water, airbrush them on the lure, stick on some eyes and apply Devcon with a plastic fork. My first few have come out ok by my standards. I'll post some pictures soon... I didn't want to invest much money at first, but I am off and runnning for less than $20. My airbrush may not last a long time or be remotely close to the best, but it works... Having an air source may be the biggest investment. Also, I just paint outside or in my garage, I put some newspaper behind the area I'm painting in. Now, I just need to improve a little. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OUTDOORSMAN Posted July 22, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 22, 2005 I'm wanting to get started to make lures for my bass tournaments. So I need reliable equipment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nim_evets Posted July 22, 2005 Report Share Posted July 22, 2005 What I've got has been reliable so far and doesn't show any signs of not working - it's not like I go to the garage and pray that I can rely on it to work. In a local tournament here in Columbus last weekend , I had the high total with 13 lb on 5 fish on a custom painted crank made with $20 equipment. Next highest total was 7 lb. Everyone else was fishing spinnerbaits. Hope someone else can chime in for you. Good luck in the tournaments... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckarren Posted July 22, 2005 Report Share Posted July 22, 2005 I think nim_evets is trying to say you can use almost anything you want. It is how much you want to spend. I started with paint cans!!! I have three baits I still use the cans on. Because they are my best sellers and I cant get the same results from the airbrush. After all is said up to date I have over $1500 in tools for lure making and it grows almost everyday. I also started with the cheep Harbor Freight airbrush at first. Now I have 2 Passche VL airbrushes and 1 touch-up spray gun for primer and sealer. Unless if you are loaded and rolling in it, I think everyone needs to start somewhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
