EricW

I would say ditto to the practice, practice.....I have no art skill whatsoever and about 3 years later with the airbrush I am able to make nice small dots. Practice a lot with paint viscosity and pressure. For me anyway, I can now "feel" what will be good as far as air flow and paint viscosity goes. I just finished up a polka dot spook lure and got a couple firework dots. I thought to myself, It would be cool if I could get all of the dots to do that!

I have really become a fan of applying etex with your finger wearing a rubber or latex glove. I did a few this past weekend, and I have a practically flawless bubble free finish. Best results I have had yet. To mix, I measure about 1 cc of each (they say you should mix more but this works for me) with syringes and mix in a rod builder epoxy cup. I have a home made epoxy mixer I made from a microwave motor, but I usually just rotate the cup in my hands at a moderate speed making sure to get it spread thin throughout the cup to aid in mixing. I also put a 1/4" ball bearing or two in the cup. When all done I clean those with denatured alcohol and use them over and over. Mix that way for about 4 minutes or until it is super clear again, You will see it cloud up and then become clear. I usually end up bubble free or just 1 bubble in it at that point. I then put the lure on my spinner and apply the etex to it. I then spin at 15 rpm for about 4 hours. Good luck.

I make saltwater lures and have used the etex spray. It is nice and thin, ok for hardness, but won't stand up (nothing really will) to bluefish, rocks, saltwater etc. I haven't had it peel off but you can dent it with your finger. One thing to note is that it is the most horrid smelling stuff I have ever smelled. You also have to spray it on a clear 70 degree day with low humidity. Otherwise it will be cloudy. I know a lot of the guys on here make freshwater stuff. It may hold up ok for quite a while on those, but if you get into rocks etc, it may not. I just picked up a can of U-POL clear. It also smells real bad. It is a little harder, but still not as good as epoxy or one of the auto urethanes (those are real bad for you, I've never even tried those). The spray on clears sure are easy to use though.

You could also try that clear "cd" that comes at the top of a 25 or 50 pack spindle. I would be careful of that the shiny coating on the top of a cd. I've had cds crack and that stuff gets all over and is a real mess. Is very light and is a perfect material to go right into your eyes while cutting. I've got a bunch of the clear ones, maybe I will try it.