Airbrushing Baits/Lures

[ctom]

I won't mess with anything epoxy for a clear coat. The CS Seal Coat does a great job either dipped or brushed, then let dry and dry hanging with the lure head end up. Everything else has to be turned or the stuff will run and sag.

As for the shine on the paint becoming matte, if you use the hair dryer you can literally see it go matte within a few seconds.  No waiting after it goes matte. Do-It's Bait Blast does not matte down even with the hair dryer trick, but it dries as fast as Createx does so there's little waiting. Cleaning the brush is as long as you need to wait most of the time but I give it a couple seconds of time with the hair dryer anyway.

[Johnny Bass]

Cool, almost every video I have seen everyone was doing a clear coat with the devcon.  The baits came our really nice and shinny but good to know.

Can you mix a bit of hi lite powder or glitter to the CS when putting the clear coat on?

[ctom]

Sure.

[olsarge]

Personally, I prefer the 2 part epoxy.  Much shinier appearance and the CS does not like some of the paints I use.  I just ordered some of the lure coat brand from lurebuild.com .  It is cheaper than many of the others ($36 for a pint).  If you are interested I will let you know how I like I when I get it.

[Johnny Bass]

Yeah been checking out that site lurebuild. Right now, I am using it as a reference for things I may need when I take the plunge into the airbrushing. All I know, is the more info I gather the more fired up I get. This is going to a perfect winter project. lol.

[Johnny Bass]

What tape do you guys recommend for when you tape up the lure for painting?

Painters tape ?
Scotch tape ?

Or maybe, any other tape, or does it really even matter what kind lol ?

[ctom]

Painters or masking.

[Johnny Bass]

Cool, might of been a dumb question but was just checking. Thank you Tom

[Johnny Bass]

What is a good step by step processes for cleaning the airbrush when switching to a different color?

Also, how many colors do you use in the same airbrush before you clean the whole gun?

[ctom]

I use a soft artist brush dipped in water or cleaner to clean the cup and barrel under it, then I shoot either water or cleaner thru it to get paint out of the nozzle and around the needle. If need be I use a soft cloth with cleaner to wipe the end of the nozzle and the pointy needle end of the needle.

It will depend on the brand of paint I am using when it comes down to a tear down of the brush and thorough cleaning. If I do a decent job of cleaning between colors I can go for maybe 15-20 colors using createx before I pull the nozzle completely off and run a brush or two thru it. I'll also pull the needle when the nozzle is removed and give it a good cleaning with a soft cloth and cleaner. I'm one of these guys that likes to be a bit pro-active on stuff so issues don't get started. Everyone handles the cleaning differently, but if you begin to noticethat things just don't seem right, clean it.

[Johnny Bass]

You the man Tom!
  I think I know my answer but I just want to be sure.
  I will be using Createx (Airbrushing Colors). They don't need to be thinned out of the bottle?
  If so, I am safe with using distilled water and don't have to buy a reducer?  Should I thin the Createx
  Pearls (airbrushing colors)?

  I do understand when mixing paint, I am looking for a consistency of milk.

[ctom]

I always pour the paint, regardless of brand, into a small 2-ounce sample cup. If it's thin enough it goes right to the airbrush from there. If it seems a bit sluggish, I thin with, you got it, distilled water.

Pearls, in my opinion, almost always need a bit of touch up but that may just be me.

[Johnny Bass]

Groovy, I would assume we would be okay with plain water if distilled wasn't present.

[ctom]

Any clean water will work.

[Johnny Bass]

I am going to be repainting some of my crankbaits.  As for the eyes, what do you think would be the best practice, remove the eyes before I a paint and reapply them when done.  Or would it be better to just tape the eyes with some painters tape and take them off before the clear coat?