basstech

Back in the early 90's there was a David Fritz interview in or maybe just an article on him in Bass Master mag. He was saying there are some days when a fish won't bite a glossy finished bait. The story went he was getting skunked while fishing and finally grabbed an old crank that had been faded by the sun and the gloss was completely gone and he tied that on in "desperation" and started slaying the bass. Then he started hanging baits in his windshield to get the "sun" effect to flatten the finish. So he had glossy and flat finishes in the same colors.

I think action is the most important, but if the color scheme is "wrong" it will keep fish from hitting that bait as well. Being a beginning painter I first started re-painting proven baits that never caught me fish. One in particular is a bomber 6a that was black and tomato red (color C-lector color from the mid-'80's) I've thrown that bait in every possible condition and situation and had never caught a fish on it. Re-painted it and they tore the finish up within two weeks. I still think action is most important but color will turn a fish off a bait easier than turn it on.

Blades, after you posted your formula for the "sunny side up" I just had to try that pattern. I'm using the createx water based paints so needless to say the results don't come close to the crank you posted with that pattern, but it still was awesome. In fact, after I got the orange on I realized I had seen that pattern before. It was ten years ago in south Carolina while fishing at Santee Cooper. The guy said " I got something to show you". He pulled out a suspending rogue with the same pattern as what resulted in my baits and told me if I ever come across anyone with one of these buy it. He said it is worth every penny of $100.00. That's how much he had paid for his. Of course is was in pretty bad shape from all the use it had and fish he had caught on it. It was a really strange (but good) feeling of a deja-vu when I realized what that pattern is. So I just wanted to say Thanks for sharing everything about that with us. I hope someday I can return the favor, you do the most awesome paint jobs I've ever seen. Thanks again.

I had the exact same problem. I talked to some artist and I think I posted the same thing. It is air leakage from the threads of the cap. Use Bee's wax. It is sold at many art supply stores. It is made and sold primarily for sealing the threads in airbrushes to prevent leakage. It is kind of expensive but a one ounce jar will last a life time. It is very solid so after smearing a little on the threads I use a hot air gun to melt it and let it flow around them. It takes a very very very small amount. If you use too much it will kind of get messy and then ya got to clean the airbrush out and start all over. I wipe a little of the residue from my fingers on the needle also and this really helps keep the tip cleaner a little longer and makes the tip easier to clean also.

Well it's happened to the 6A and a Rattle trap so far, they are the ones that have gotten the most use. I do have 2 or three others that have gotten some use and caught some fish on, a mann's 15+ that I painted a craw pattern on and a rebel wee R (same craw pattern). both have caught some fish but don't seem to have gotten damaged like the 6a and the rattle trap. As for the rattle trap I did hit a rock or two with it, but not the bomber, just have hit some wood with the bomber. They all had the same cure time and was well over 24 hrs. It might have been as long as a week, but don't recall because these were the second group of 6 that I painted. The two craw pattern baits haven't caught nearly as many fish but one did get crushed by a 10 lb, channel cat. looks a little used but nothing like the bomber. That thing is literally destroyed and if I didn't know how to repaint baits would be thrown away.

I just read a post from late 2003 or early 2004 that has that answer. It said...not my experience cause I've never done it, just repeating info. here. They said 10 plastic cups to 6oz. of lacquer thinner. It did not specify the size of cup to use, just said 10. They said to add enough cups to the thinner or thinner to the cups to get a consistency of thinned paint, and to use white cups, or plastic wear, white. the colored stuff didn't work as well for a sealer. and to dip it 2 or 3 times.

I hesitate to ask this question because I've seen some of the debates and have read so many of the post regarding top coats. This is not about starting anyone off on a rant. Fist of all I will say I love the finish I get with the devcon 30 minute/2ton. Don't want to use anything else. Here is the problem I've had with the baits I've used with back round info first. These are not hand made baits. They are various manufactured baits, rebel wee R's, bomber 6A's and 7A's, wiggle warts, strike king PM3's. Mann's 15+ and stretch 10+, and rattle traps. The 6a and rattle trap have gotten a lot of used cause the fish really like them. Before use I made sure they were completely thoroughly coated dried 24+ hours and checked for any bare spots, and corrected those. I did hit some old soft wood on a lay-down on cast once or twice with the bomber and it lost a chunk. It got used quite extensively over about an eight day period, and the finish and paint job was pretty much destroyed. Is there something I may not have done right in applying the top coat. I did spin it on the drying wheel and the coat was thicker than any store bought bait I've ever seen, and it was very even. Can someone give me some pointers on how to prevent this from occurring, I know it can be done cause you all who use it and sell those baits to people wouldn't use it if it didn't work. There were some very minute small air bubbles in the finish and I tried to remove those using a hair dryer but couldn't get them all out. Could they have been what compromised the integrity of the finish? Thanks in advance for any advice anyone can give.

Thanks guys for your replies. This gives me plenty to keep in mind. I will experiment with the needle adjustments and viscosity of paint and see what I can figure out. I do keep the back off just for quickness in cleaning. I spend more time cleaning than painting. just kind of anal about getting brush cleaned quickly before any thing starts to dry in it. Thanks again.

I've got a scorpion II. It came with a moisture trap, no regulator, suppose to be 38psi (and probably is) but that is not working pressure. I'm guessing working pressure is somewhere between 15 and 20 p.s.i. and is barely adequate IMO. But I'm a beginner in the truest sense so what ever it's worth. I'm not painting a ton of stuff every week. It does run constantly but is fairly quiet so it doesn't bother me, plus as a said I'm not doing this everyday.

I've got about 20 Poe's 400's and 15 300's that I had decided to refinish. I had read on a post about checking how a crank bait sits on the water, tilted on one side or another and forward to back. I decided to check all of mine...results on a different post. Any way, what I found was the Poe's are very inconsistently made. I'm going to guess you have too little weight in the one that doesn't even hit 7ft and that the weight is probably way off center. I would think though if it's not even making 7 ft. then the bait could not have been running straight and was probably riding up on it's side. Could you see how the bait was running in the water?

Hi all, some of you may remember that I am a rookie here. In the past month I've learned a lot, but there are somethings I need feedback on. It's been my experience that when I go from a #3 tip to a #1 that not only do I need to thin the paint more, I also need to increase air pressure. I've been using createx and have found the different bottles of paint are extremely inconsistent in the viscosity. I bought a Silent-Air air compressor viper II (I think),and it is rated at 38 lbs. max. From what I am guessing I'm lucky if I'm getting 20lbs. at the tip except on the initial burst of air at which time the compressor begins running and doesn't stop until I do and the pressure drops significantly. I'm finding even when I thin my paint 2 or 3 pts. water to 1 part paint...using a #1 tip. I have to really blast it to get the brush to draw paint. If I don't keep the pressure on full the whole time the paint stops drawing, also I have to keep the tip at least 6"'s or more back from the crankbait or it gets too wet and blows, or pools up, giving me a really crappy finish. I don't have near the amount of problems using the #3 but I'm still unable to do any detail work with it. Is this because primarily my compressor is too weak, is it possible there is something wrong with my needle. How can I tell if I need to replace the needle. I've been very meticulous in the handling of the needles and tips and extremely cautious in making sure I don't drop, jam, or place the needle tip down. Also am very meticulous in cleaning the air brush immediately after using it. Can someone give me a clue? Pleasssssse?

I have cranks from probably every Pradco brand and also bandit, Normans, every "major" manufacturer you can think of and some from Megabass, Yozuri, Lucky craft. It takes a variety of baits for a variety of conditions. Strike King/Bandits(Bandits are a cheap imitation that I don't feel run as well,IMO), Bomber, Rebel, Norman and so many more, all have there place, as do wooden cranks. If you're talking about a lake you consistently fish...just find out what the preferred crankbait is for this time of year and buy a couple of those. If you don't know what the "hot" color is and can't find out...buy them in patterns of the local forage, as in, "match the hatch". Also, I've bought Lucky Crap and personally think they are way overrated. I know at this time of year, here around where I live, I'm taking Bomber 6a's and 7a's + C.C. Big O's predominately every time I go fishing. Always buy Two cranks of the same model and color, never just one.

At work, we bought that same exact compressor from the same company. We're on our second one in three months. All we use it for is to blow out lint and dust in heat sinks in laptops. They tend to clog up on several models causing shutdown. It's not used anymore than I use the little one I bought for my airbrush...but it sure crapped out a lot quicker.

Thanks Skeeter, I thought that was the case but have never gotten down into the "inner workings" of a crankbait. It either worked and I caught fish with it or I didn't use it again...explains why I got thirty different Poe's that I haven't tried to even thrown for ten years. Also explains why I have about $3000.00 in retail crankbait tackle. I don't know about where your from Skeeter...but around here, when I have fished in bass clubs or in some kind of tournament situation, people either don't know that there are custom crankbait makers or if they did they sure weren't going to share that information with the people they were competing against. That is partially why I decided to take this upon myself to learn as much as I can and understand deeper about what,how, when, and why some cranks work and others don't. I have some that catch fish in spring only. others seem to have a bigger range. Anyway again...thanks for the information on the Poe's stuff. I have read a lot of it but being unfamiliar with what I'm doing it's nice to be able to clarify and make sure I'm on the right track.

Thanks Bob...whatever the thick under coat is...it ain't' plastic...maybe plaster(LOL). I've taken 3 down to the wood so far...tested the rest of the baits buoyancy and about half seem to be pretty well centered, most of the others lean to the left. one 400 leans right and my rc-1 well, it flops over onto it's right side....was surprised to see that. Quite honestly, I've never caught anything on any Poe's except for two small fish on an RC-1 or maybe it was an RC-3. That's my primary reason for refurbishing them, not to mention...finish cracked all over on half of them before I had ever used them, and the paint jobs are GAWD AWFUL. All these baits are between 10 and 15 yrs. old.

I don't ever use snaps at all. I would think if you want to tune it accurately you would rig it however you would when you actually fish with it. Wiggle warts started coming with snaps at some point...that is how I've acquired them and tried using the snaps with those and rogues. I had difficulty getting lures tuned period. It would run to the right. I would tune it and it would run straight ...then next cast it may be running left. Personally(IMO),anything other than tying directly to the spit ring or the bait it's self is going to give you ambiguous results.

I've completed refurbishing eleven plastic baits so far...made some sort of mistake on nearly everyone of them...but have learned a lot in the process. I decided to move on to wood baits....primarily my Poe's cedar crank-baits. I've got about thirty to refurbish and started with a 300 series. once I got the paint and the 1/8Th inch thick primer coat off..I found the weight was not properly centered. Thought maybe that was done on purpose to make the bait sit straight. Well guess what...it doesn't. leans to the side that you would expect it to. My question is, is there an easy/simple/efficient way to correct this with out removing the belly weight? or should I drill out a little bit of lead at a time until it's centered? Would also like to know if anyone knows whether or not Poe's was relying on the primer to seal the wood or if they actually did it by dipping in the lacquer or what ever it is you all use to seal the wood before priming? This bait seems to have absorbed a lot of water for the minute or two it sat in my sink.

It's not gluing really, technically you could say that it was but it isn't. 3M super 77 spray is a spray on adhesive artist use to stick a template of some sort (usually tracing paper) to some other medium that is actually going to take the design...like cut and roll signs. It just make the surface tacky enough to stay put. For doing it on material for scale effect as soon as the stuff comes out stop spraying....real quick little burst and ya got to let it dry or it will leave some stuff on the bait...a pain to get off(hehe...guess how I know that). it works great no slippage and gives a real clean pattern you can stretch the material and vary the size of the scale effect with a little also. You can buy the stuff at wal-mart or any art supply store, and you don't have to re-apply to the material either. Try it guys...it definitely beats trying to clip that stuff and saves a lot of time. It's also a lot easier to take the scale effect material off cleanly after spraying as not to mess up the paint job.

Aye, matey. Make 'em walk der plank!!!

Thanks Mcgarret, actually I did try the mini clips on the first set I repainted....fabric was too stiff and the clips to weak. I saw a reply to a post and someone said to use the 3m adhesive. Spray lightly ( I think it was skeeter) I know what that stuff is and tried that today on some new/different material I found at Wal-mart and it was much much better. LOL>>>then I over sprayed and generally did a crappy job putting silver pearl on the back over the pattern and screwed the baits up(just a little)...but no biggie...I don't think fish are real big art critics. Needles to say though my scale effect came out much cleaner and clearer. Next time I'll spray a little lighter too. Sure learned a lot in just the first eleven lures I'm refurbishing though, and quickly too I think, THANKS to the people at this site.

Thank you all for your assistance. I got to looking at the one posted...most were way more than I need, but got the general idea. I already had a turning motor from custom rod building so I put a little more thought and shoved my self-doubt aside and actually built a wheel that can be used in it. It's nothing fancy but it works and took me more time to get the things I needed than to actually put together. I top coated my first five refurbs today. But one I have to sand down and re-coat. stuff set up really fast....I sure the heck didn't get a half hour and I actually had a smidge less hardener than resin. Anyway ...thanks again.

Oh Yeah, I forgot about that...that was a very common problem. I think that's was the primary reason we had to replace so many...probably half of what we sold. It's been a long time...I still got a BB1n that does the same thing...kept wondering why I don't use it every time I see it. :grin:

I have no Idea who started this site. I have no idea who does this for a living, other than Blades and Baits, and Cullin 8's(and just found that out reading about the "better clear coat" post. I do no Skeeter is a moderator here and the only one I've seen. I also know that I've been wanting to customize the baits I have. Didn't really even know until last Friday that a person could actually make a top quality crankbait by hand. Over the last ten years I've been "dreaming" about being able or finding a way to custom paint cranks and thought that was something that could only be done by Pradco companies or other "big" manufacturing companies, until I came here. You all have opened up a whole new world to me. I'm just starting off by refurbishing my pre-manufactured crankbaits I have. I just want to thank you all that have contributed to this side to make it possible for me to even begin. I don't want you all to get the impression that I'm coming here to soak off your knowledge because I'm not willing to do the work myself, and if I ask a question about something please keep in mind I really have no Idea what I'm doing. BTW...for any people new lure Painting...I've been going all over town to find netting material for scale effect. I bought the fine bridal tule but it is very stiff and the material seems to thin to allow the back coat to show through well. I admittedly did over spray it as well but I did find some netting material that will be about the same size but more thickness in the material between the holes to show the background color well ( I think, haven't actually used it yet) but it was some camo netting at wal-mart. It was also very soft and supple so should lay on the bait real well with some of the 3M 77 adhesive spray. Thank you all.

Several things. I use exclusively a 5.1 reel speed ratio except for buzzbaiting then it's 6.1. Been cranking for 30 years. With the deep diving cranks I prefer the 5.1 over the slower 3.8-4.3 simply because the only way to really get a good hook in the fish is pressure and when they start running at ya...you're not going to get it. It won't matter what kind of a hook set you use when you're hooking 20 ft. out and 15 ft. down and deeper, you're not going to get the barb in the fish. You've got to crank down on them fast. I can slow down the rate at which I turn the handle to get optimum action out of the crank bait...reel gear ratio isn't as important because you can feel how the bait is working. Even with deep cranks (even using the same bait) sometimes the fish like it fast other times slow...and other times erratic. I just know I do a lot better strike to landing ratio with the 5.1 because I have more control over what happens after the fish hits, and I don't get any fewer strikes using that ratio than I did with the low gear ratio reels. Also about the pinion gear skeeter. I used to do reel repair from 89' to 94' for a little place here in Mo. It's never a good thing to just replace a pinion gear without replacing the drive gear. Through use, they wear together and mesh a certain way. When you just replace one or the other than chances are the older of the to gears is going to wear down too much and start causing other problems not to mention the reel won't reel as smoothly. Wen wouldn't replace just a pinion gear because the pinion and drive gear wear in together. I don't recall exactly but I think they even came as a set and that set cost like $40.00, then again maybe that's just how we ordered them. You did well to get rid of the Lew's BB1n/BB1ng anyway cause they had the durability of soggy Kleenex after Zebco bought Browning anyway. Though they were great reels in the 70's and 80's.

I don't think they were as mass produced back then...Used to buy them at a discount store called TG&Y. Was a local discount store back in the mid-70's. Any way they were $3.50 to $5.00 bucks back then. which was probably a lot more money than the $5.00 to $6.50 they cost now days. And they were different...sure wish I still had some of my Old Balsa B's.