Trouble with paint

[Coley]

Here's my problem.

I am using water based acrylic over an enamel based primer or

undercoat. My baits are really smooth and slick before paint is

applied.

This morning the paint drew up rather than laid out smooth. Its

hard to explain what it did. There would be more paint in the center

of the sprayed surface, than there would be on the edges. Such as

scales, the center would be thick and edges would have no paint

what so ever. It was like a drop of water on oil.

Never had this happen before. It happened on 2 baits this morning.

I tried different air pressure and different paint thinning.

Do I need to sand baits to get a dull surface for paint to stick properly?

Like maybe, with a 400-600 grit paper??

Thanks,

Coley

[Hughesy]

Coley,

Yes, you should sand first with at least 400. It sounds like to me you have 2 non compatible paints. Even though they shouldn't react to each other, sometimes they still do. Some enamels do contain oil and it could be trying to push its way to the top of the water base. I would try to use the same type of paint on each application.

[dtrs5kprs]

If you are dead set on using the enamel undercoat you might be able to apply a layer of clearcoat before shooting your acrylic. I have good results shooting Createx onto a base FC clearcoat on wood baits.

[OBAYB]

Had the same problem with one set of lures. I used enamel base with acrylic paint and epoxy coating. The customer called and said he had caught two speckeled trout, then he caught a flounder ( they have sharp teeth). He said the paint on the lure started coming off in sheets. He brought it back and I refinished it in all acrylic with the epoxy coating. No more problems.