Custom Baits - Forum

Jigs, Spinnerbaits and Sinkers => Painting and Finishing Lures => Topic started by: ctom on 01/16/22 09:39 UTC

Title: Testament to tough
Post by: ctom on 01/16/22 09:39 UTC
Here is a picture of a tiny blade bait that I did up for a buddy who ice fishes a lot and has been hammering crappies on it. He said that this one bait has taken probably in the neighborhood of 60 fish before a pike decided to wreck the hook, so he brought this one back to get a new hook put on. The paint on this is the Bait Blast Blue that was thinned out and applied directly over the chrome finish of the blade without any pre-treatment other than a quick wipe with an alcohol swab.

(https://i.imgur.com/CHH5xcN.jpg).

The only scuffing I can find on this dude is right at the very leading edge, ahead of the eye and a wee bit around the second hole back where the snap rubs. The bait was painted, the eyes attached with a small drop of super glue, but no top or seal coat was applied. That many fish and a ruined hook later and the finish is like new yet. This goes a long way to proving the toughness and durability of the Bait Blast paints. By comparison, I did a few of these some time ago using Createx and those all have shown excessive paint wear in spite of having been sealed with CS Seal Coat and were used during open water to fish dock pilings vertically.... pretty light duty fishing really for the amount of wear on the paint. This Bait Blast stuff is a tough finish.

Incidentally, the bait shown here is barely an inch long and is 5/64 ounce. That's a size 14 hook hanging on it and a size 0 split ring. I personally fish them on 3 pound Nanofil line unless I am using a slip float and then 4 pound XL Trilene. They are a super bait jigged vertically either under the ice or from a boat or dock along side of pilings, sunken structure like trees or even hung under a slip float drifting over a school of fish....little twitches give it a nice action under a float.
Title: Re: Testament to tough
Post by: Muskygary on 01/16/22 10:22 UTC
Where did you find those blades?
Title: Re: Testament to tough
Post by: ctom on 01/16/22 12:23 UTC
Here's a link for you Gary. The link is direct to the size you are seeing in this thread. Its a Chinese site, but I have never had an issue with them. They send small orders by mail, so they don't get hung up in shipping containers. I generally get orders within three weeks. Snoop thru all of the pages as they have some amazing deals on ready to finish plastic bodies.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32908921964.html?spm=a2g0o.search0302.0.0.576d36b7uXs7hT&algo_pvid=b31651ef-2b63-4568-bb6a-b6d653706c87&algo_exp_id=b31651ef-2b63-4568-bb6a-b6d653706c87-14
Title: Re: Testament to tough
Post by: anyfish on 01/16/22 14:39 UTC
Is that the primary blue or the pearl blue?  Looks great by the way.
Title: Re: Testament to tough
Post by: Muskygary on 01/16/22 14:58 UTC
Thanks Tom.
Title: Re: Testament to tough
Post by: ctom on 01/16/22 15:39 UTC
Is that the primary blue or the pearl blue?  Looks great by the way.

The primary blue. I applied it thin and it looks transparent. Not much paint on the blade at all. Two quick passes if memory serves me correctly.
Title: Re: Testament to tough
Post by: anyfish on 01/16/22 17:31 UTC
Thanks Tom!
Title: Re: Testament to tough
Post by: alwrenn on 01/18/22 05:19 UTC
Tom,

How many ounces are there in each bottle of paint?  Seems that either I keep overlooking it or the powers that be left that detail off the store site.
Title: Re: Testament to tough
Post by: ctom on 01/18/22 08:03 UTC
4-ounces alwrenn. Thus far the snap caps do a great job of sealing up after use so the paint stays fresh. I knocked the box that I keep all of my air brush paints in and a couple of these from Do-It tipped over and went un-noticed for about a month. No leaks and the paint shook right up as always good to go.
Title: Re: Testament to tough
Post by: alwrenn on 01/18/22 08:15 UTC
Good to know........guess I'll put a few bottles to the test especially since yours look so sweet!
Title: Re: Testament to tough
Post by: ctom on 01/18/22 08:33 UTC
Each color of paint seems to have its own level of viscosity. I like spraying paint very thin but have sprayed most of the new Do-It stuff right from the bottle with good coverage and success. They all thin and clean up with water nicely, but for thinning I use the reducer Do-It sells alongside the paints and they seem to flow a bit nicer. Everybody has their own little twists and turns with this air brushing stuff and these paints make it easy to get from point A to point B, plus I find that I can adjust colors using createx if I want to without any issues.

One thing I will offer is to get the gun's clean-up done post haste, especially the paint cup and needle/nozzles. This paint skins over very quickly without the need for heat and can be a real tough nut to remove or clean off if allowed to set for more than a handful of minutes. I keep an ice-cream pail of warm soapy water right there at the bench and when I finish a color I immediately either dump the excess paint back in the bottle or in a waste basket, then swish the gun thru the water to get the bulk of the paint out of the system, then go right to work with a brush. When the outside of the gun and the inside of the cup are clean, I use cleaner to run thru the gun until the spray s clear on a paper towel. Then I'm ready to move on.
Title: Re: Testament to tough
Post by: olsarge on 04/02/22 15:42 UTC
I recently ordered two of their colors to test out.  I got the pearl white and the clear.  I did thin out the pearl a little bit but not much and it flowed smoothly and covered nicely.  I liked it well enough to order 4 more bottles that should be here next week.  That irredescent purple smoke intrigues me.  If it is like I have it pictured in my mind it should make some dandy bluegill stripes.  At any rate good product and a nice price point.  Difficult to argue with.