air brush question

[Rustimus]

I'm really having a heck of a time learning this air brush painting. I have 4 different air brushes (2) Iwa. (1) badger (1)speedaire. I can get the solid painting down pretty good but the detail (striping, gills, etc.) is giving me a fit. I cant seem to get the lines thin enough. Tried lowering air pressure but still seem to spray way too wide. Maybe I should stick to buying baits-lol

[spare tire]

I don't think to many people freehand the gills with an airbrush, Thin even stripes are also near impossible. Most people I believe are using templates for masking. Many different materials are used for templates or masks. You should be able to get fairly small lines by spraying, but the types of lines you're talking about, I need a lot more practice myself. Just my own thoughts, mabey some of these great artists on this site can freehand a nice gill, but I can't.

[BobP]

I say get some frisket material and a sharp xacto knife! I also use an Iwata and like it. Sometimes I can even shoot thin lines if the paint is thin enough and the pressure low enough. But I can NEVER freehand exactly the same lines on both sides of the bait. So I cut stencils and use them for bars, gills, kill spots, craw legs, etc. One tip. Even the low tack brands of frisket material usually have enough adhesive to lift fresh acrylic paint or leave an adhesive residue when peeled off. So I cut stencils but don't remove the backing, then shoot the paint toward the backing paper. The paper absorbs the spray except in the intended areas, and the stencil remains intact to be used multiple times.

[Rustimus]

thanks guys--where can I buy frisket paper?

[JP MYERS]

You can get frisket any any art supply store & most good hobby stores carry it.. I use clear overhead projector film, you can get that at Office Max or similar stores, or just about any office supply store for that matter, maybe even W-Mart..I think its actually called transparency film.. I have a Paasche & a Badger airbrush but never use them.. All my painting is done with the Aztek A7778 metal case airbrush, not their cheap plastic version.. Having used Paasche & Badger Crescendo, the Aztek is way easier to use & that makes developing your skills early on that much easier..But to each his own where airbrushes are concerned, everyone has their own opinion & rightfully so... But gill markings & eyes can be done with templates made yourself with the good ole exacto knife.. And scales can be done beautifully with scale mesh, from jannsnetcraft.com & I think Staminainc.com has it too,,wedding vail works for some folks but I dont use it as Im allergic to anything with the word wedding in it..Also netting at the grocery store works for larger patterns like the kind onions & potatoes are packaged in..I freehand the vertical & lateral lines, if you put scales over them a little shakey hand wont be noticable once the scales go on.. I use a fly tie holder to hold my lures so I have both hands free to hold the airbrush then you can spray lines straight & precise..To anyone who paints the same body often,you might want to try this trick out.. For doing repetitive patterns like coachdog or tiger stripes, etc., I take clay & form that over a lure body(half cast the side) I use alot..Then use an exacto or paper clip to etch in the pattern you'll be using often.. Put it in the oven to dry or as in my case I take it down the street to a womans pottery class, she has a kiln & she fires that baby up so my pattern lasts forever.. Just lay it on the lure body,its already conformed to your lure shape,spray thru it, flip the lure over & do it again, & presto, works perfect everytime..You can use the same system for eyes, pupils, gills, just about any marking you do repetitively..Heck, once I needed a pattern of many small dots for a Rainbow trout type design.. I took a sheet of plastic transparency paper out in the backyard,tacked to a big cherry tree, shot it with a 410 shotgun, & instant nice random dot pattern..But kids, dont try this at home, Im a trained professional..haha

Good luck~

John

[SeminoleFan]

Heck, once I needed a pattern of many small dots for a Rainbow trout type design.. I took a sheet of plastic transparency paper out in the backyard,tacked to a big cherry tree, shot it with a 410 shotgun, & instant nice random dot pattern..But kids, dont try this at home, Im a trained professional..haha

Good luck~

John

Priceless!

[JP MYERS]

Hahahaha.. yeah my posts are long winded for sure, but got to throw in a good joke or story to break up the monotony of my endless ramblings somehow!.. Thanks Seminole!..

John~