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LOZ

"practice" paint

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hey guys, well i've gotten into making some crankbaits, its goin pretty well (thanks to what ive learned on this site). now that i've got some blanks ready i need to paint them, but i've never used an airbrush before so i'd like to practice before i mess up my baits lol. i think i need quiet a bit of practice, and id rather not use up all my createx, so my question is: what would be good to practice with that can be spayed fairly well with a badger 100sg? thanks guys, i tried a search but didnt find much-i probly didnt type in the right keywords

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I'm not a painter, but for lack of a better idea, you could use water and food coloring on paper if you are just trying to get a feel for how to adjust it and check flow patterns. I don't think it will be too long and that will get old and your going to want to start shooting paint.

Nothing builds experiance other than experiance.

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If your 100 SG has a small tip, it probably will only shoot airbrush formulated paint like Createx, which contains flow enhancer and more finely ground pigments. You can try cheap hobby paint and thin it with water or Windex to the consistency of milk. It will clog more often but will give you a little practice. Honestly, Createx isn't so expensive when you consider the tiny amount you use during a typical shot. If you just limit the amount you squeeze into the brush to a 4-6 drops, you'll be surprised how much area you can cover.

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i was in the same situation not too long ago... in short, i went to town on a large piece of cardboard, spraying it with water (and eventually with black airbrush paint) in all sorts of configurations. once i got the gist of how the paint flowed i sprayed a couple "dud" baits before attempting the real thing. even with all the practice my results were far from what i wanted, but still, with more trials anything is possible. i've actually held-off painting a few baits in hopes that my skills will catch up with my imagination someday. lol:teef:

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Hey guys, if your baits are properly waterproofed before you begin spraying colors, you can just practice on the real thing until you get it right. Screw up? Just run tap water over the bait and the paint comes right off. Even if it's dry, a gentle scrub with a sponge will usually remove any paint. Hey, I've done it LOTS of times! :)

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Bob is right as always!!! You can buy cheap paint at Hobby lobby.. sometimes you get lucky and get it on clearance for .49 cents a bottle.. Its really thick.. Look at your Createx paint.. Make your cheap paint the same thickness or thiness.. I dont know paint terms.. heck I dont even know my wife's middle name.. but I know she is my wife!! Any how.. Dont be scared to screw up!! I do it daily! Vince (Fatfingers) had a tip about clearing the base first then do your detail work that way if you screw up your detail work you can wash it off like Bob says and your still have your base!!

I practice on a paper towel alot and make sure my paint is flowing. I spend more time cleaning my gun and keep my tips clean than I do paintin most days.. A HAPPY GUN is a CLEAN GUN!!

Good Luck! Post us a picture so we can see it!!

The Rookie

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thanks guys, ha i think your right, ill get tired of practicing on carboard after about 5 minutes. Bob, i was thinkin that id seal it first w/ Devcon 2 ton thinned by acetone, then apply the white base, then paint. but then id wipe off the white too if i messed up. how do you do it?

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Krylon white shouldn't wipe off.

Blades suggested to prime a 6" length piece of 1" or 1.5" PVC pipe with Krylon and test out the paints, patterns and techniques. It sure does help out when I need to test something on the go. BobP had it right about the paints, practice with what you are going to shoot. It will give you a better feel for what you are doing. I am willing to bet you won't be practicing for more than an hour, before you grab a bait to paint.

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No doubt it will not take long for you to want to paint your baits. I played with my gun about 10 minutes and off I went on the bait. Remeber if there are small mistakes on your bait that is OK it is a custom painted bait now and no two are the same. We are all out to catch fish not fishermen! One of the best paint colors Bandit ever put out was called mistake, and that has caught ALOTTTT of fish.

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LOZ, I do the same a you, waterproof then white acrylic basecoat, then color. I try to keep it simple. In my experience, the more steps there are, the more often something bites me. Right now I use either acetone/epoxy or propionate as a waterproofer. I'm thinking of switching to some kind of white waterproofer to eliminate the white color basecoat. But I don't want to use anything that will leave a strong solvent odor on the bait after it's finished, which happened with white auto primer. Stunk up the whole crankbait box! Maybe something water based with a white tint, like a sanding sealer? I like the acetone/epoxy and propionate because they level out nicely to hide any small sanding imperfections.

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go to howtoairbrush.com ........they have a lot of good tips and tutorials ......... they recommend water with food coloring or India Ink. They say DO NOT buy the cheap airbrush paints or other paints and try to run them thru the airbrushes because airbrush pigment is ground finer than regular paint or cheap airbrush paint so thinning still doesn't work well ........... I don't know because I'm still a TOTAL novice ........ just repeating what the website said ...got all the equipment ....... just haven't painted yet

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rhahn,

Jump into the water! What's the worst thing that can happen? You won't paint a Mona Lisa. Flash!!!! None of us painted Mona Lise either! Really, the worst thing that can happen is that you'll load up your airbrush with paint and have to clean it.

No one will die. But you'll always wonder what might have been if you don't try.

Go for it. Everyone started with their first bait. Give it a shot. You may be the next Fat Fingers. Don't be ascared! :o)

go to howtoairbrush.com ........they have a lot of good tips and tutorials ......... they recommend water with food coloring or India Ink. They say DO NOT buy the cheap airbrush paints or other paints and try to run them thru the airbrushes because airbrush pigment is ground finer than regular paint or cheap airbrush paint so thinning still doesn't work well ........... I don't know because I'm still a TOTAL novice ........ just repeating what the website said ...got all the equipment ....... just haven't painted yet
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LOZ,

I had the same situation when I started using an airbrush... What helped me was to dig into the bottom of some old tackle boxes and pull out old-broken-worn out cranks that I knew I would never use... some supportive friends gave me a few dozen of their own also....... Stripped them down and started from scratch...... Not only did it give me a feel for the brush..... but also the canvas...... It helped a lot.......

I also cover my paint station table with butcher paper.... so before I take a stroke, everything gets tested against white paper.... Every couple of weeks it gets trashed and new paper applied......

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rhahn,

Jump into the water! What's the worst thing that can happen? You won't paint a Mona Lisa. Flash!!!! None of us painted Mona Lise either! Really, the worst thing that can happen is that you'll load up your airbrush with paint and have to clean it.

No one will die. But you'll always wonder what might have been if you don't try.

Go for it. Everyone started with their first bait. Give it a shot. You may be the next Fat Fingers. Don't be ascared! :o)

Mark ...... buddy ......fellow tacklemaker ......... please ...... give me a chance .......... the airbrushes just arrived on Tuesday ........ haven't had a chance to do anything yet .......... definitely not afraid and can't wait to play with them ......... I've been checking out instructional websites while I have been waiting ..........

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rhahn427,

What, they came Tuesday and you haven't post an photos yet???? :o)

Sorry, I didn't mean to sound pushy or preachy.

To me, your post sounded like you were kind of hesitant about trying, and I was just trying to give you a little encouragement.

I must have read it wrong.

Good luck, and I look forward to seeing some of your stuff in the not too distant future.

Mark

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Rhahn427, I read it the same as Mark, so I am glad that intrepidation was not an issue.

I myself have been happily putting off the paint side of things for a long time. Busying myself with design testing, exploring materials and, of late, messing with molding techniques. I even wandered over into the soft plastics arena for a play. Anything but paint.

However, the day is looming when I run out of things to test and I will actually have to finish something. One of the main reasons for going to the TU meet, is to get together with KcDano, an acknowledged master of the airbrush and try and get some first hand knowledge and enthusiasm going.

Good luck with your new purchase and blow me away with your pics.

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I use Krylon White Fusion for my "primer" coat and it bonds well to wood, sanding sealer and Envirotex or Devcon 2. I've been using the Krylon for the last several hundred baits with no adhesion problems at all. It is a nice, clean, smooth finish when it dries and it dries within 15 to 30 minutes at the most. I often spray a bait with Krylon and begin slingin' paint at it immediately after it dries.

If you use enamels, as I do most of the time, you have to use a bit of caution, but only a little. If you have a paint that you've cut with a bit too much reducer, the reducer will eat the Krylon if it isn't very well dried, which takes about an hour at the most.

Usually though, I'll prime a bunch of baits at one time with Krylon and just let them sit over night or even a couple of days and then the stuff is really hard and will take a real beating without chipping or reacting to even heavy reducers in the paints I mix.

I would avoid the deck sealers at all costs though, because some of them have wax in them and almost all paint types won't play very nice with wax of any kind.

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