jrhopkins

did this before on frogs. mix a little 5 minute epoxy with a DAB of paint for color , use a toothpick to apply a small drop to the lure, alternately hold lure upside down and right side up again. this will allow the droplet to raise to whatever size you need. with the 5 minute epoxy it will get rigid quickly but not completely cured. try it on a scrap piece and you'll get the idea.

devcon 2t

I just use a Sharpie fine point marker.

all my baits are brush painted. I use deerfoot stipling brushes, they have a chisel tip making fine detailing easier.

good luck! I haven't found anything that works.

Note: the afore mentioned pearl white I use is actually called metallic pearl white.

just using regular acrylic paints. using a brush with VERY little paint on the brush, lightly brush leaving just the hint of color. that is called dry brushing. I will usually brush on a piece of white paper to wipe a lot of the paint from the brush until it is leaving just a hint of color before applying the color to the bait. repeated brush strokes will allow you to build the color. when I do the back and belly of a bait I use rattle cans a lot and just mist the paint on. make a hanger from a paper clip and hang the bait from the line tie. then hold the bait at arms length and LIGHTLY spray. just short bursts so you can see the coverage. takes some practice but not difficult. now consider that a clear coat will make the details, in this case the scale pattern, stand out. in the picture I posted the scale pattern was to me too stark. I should have used a pearl white over it prior to doing the rest of the paint detailing. the pearl white lightly brushed on will soften the dark lines of the scale pattern without totally covering it. remember that with brushes, easy does it. you can add paint, harder to take it off !

I don't understand the question. you looked at the pictures I posted?

watch this. I tape it down rather than use adhesive

cheapest tissue I have found was Walmart in the party supplies. comes in different colors in the package as well as white but still only a few dollars if I remember. I like 3M adhesive best. cut the tissue to the approximate size you need. hold it with some tweezers and spray the back of the print lightly ( tweezers helps keep it off your fingers.) wipe down the spray nozzle to help keep it clear. this was applied over a white primer coat. then I painted it as usual. see image below ink jet printer. just tape the tissue paper onto a piece of printer paper. look at the tissue paper, one side will be kind of shiny, print on the opposite side. just paint over the scales. I use brushes and rattle cans for my paint jobs. don't think air brush painting would be any different. tissue paper with the the scales printed on it.

cheapest tissue I have found was Walmart in the party supplies. comes in different colors in the package as well as white but still only a few dollars if I remember. I like 3M adhesive best. cut the tissue to the approximate size you need. hold it with some tweezers and spray the back of the print lightly ( tweezers helps keep it off your fingers.) wipe down the spray nozzle to help keep it clear. this was applied over a white primer coat. then I painted it as usual. see image below

tissue paper is cheap! that's the biggest advantage. decal paper needs to be sprayed with a fixing spray or it will smear.

print the pattern on white tissue paper and glue it to the bait. i've a few like that.

practice, practice, practice! first attempt at a largemouth followed by the latest bait made last fall.

aluminum tape polished with Mothers aluminum polish I use paint brushes and rattle cans for my baits. probably would make no difference with an airbrush setup. haven't had any issues with epoxy clearcoat either. the polished aluminum does make the bait shine more although the 'mirror' chrome effect is lost somewhat due to the clearcoat.