Prep an Old Lure to be airbrushed

[Johnny Bass]

Hola,
I have many old crankbaits that I would like to change the color, pattern, etc..
Can I lightly sand (400-800grit) the color off. Then use rubbing alcohol & distilled water to clean off the old paint, white coat it (prime), and paint over it?  and may be clear coat it again.
Most of the lures are plastic and some are wood.

[ctom]

On the plastic that will work fine. On wood, if you take it all the way down to wood, you'll want to use a really decent sealer and apply a couple coats very lightly sanding in between and before you apply the new paint.

I make my own balsa crappie floats and use this product, thinned well, to dip the floats a couple coats prior to painting....  www.ispikeit.com/product/281/clear-3000  .... It's a solvent-based product but really gets into the wood's pores very quickly and dries super fast.

[Johnny Bass]

Awesome Tom, I was looking into the wood crankbaits a bit.  I know some places sell wooden blanks with out the bills, but I don't know too much about that yet.  I would like to look more into buying these wooden blanks, figuring out the bill and painting them.  Balsa wood is great, I think Rapala DTs are balsa.  Any thoughts in using the wooden blanks and or how you get the bills on them. 
Thank you for your knowledge, things are starting to click and getting stoked about airbrushing lures.

[ctom]

I've only re-furbished old baits and have not tackled a wooden blank. I know they need to be sealed and that is about it. No idea on how to attach the bills. Sorry I can't help in this department.

[Johnny Bass]

Cool, no worries.  Maybe I will start a new topic on that in the coming days. 
Like I said, that balsa wood is wicked.
Thanks again, only a couple more days until Friday. Yes! lol