bdomina Posted January 25, 2009 Report Share Posted January 25, 2009 too many choices and a limited budget. need help. what color / style of paints would you recomend. I want to start with some natural shad patterns . ghost shad , gizzard, chartreuse sexy shad. do you mostly buy opaques, pearls, transparent ? like i said I have too many options. any advice would be appreciated. thanks, Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WannabeeFishing Posted January 25, 2009 Report Share Posted January 25, 2009 (edited) I'm a newbie at this, but here's what I've learned so far. I've seen some good results on the site with guys simply using rattle-can paints. Some really great colors are available. Get a decent airbush if you don't have one. I started with a middle of the road unit from Harbor Freight Tools. Did OK but I had some issues with it clogging. I upgraded to a Paasche H model kit I found on sale for about $60 at Hobby Lobby. It's just a single action unit but works great. It came with a starter set of bottles, a gravity feed bowl, three tips and a hose. Hobby Lobby carries a good supply of spare bottles, tips, etc. An airbrush compressor will set you back probably more than the airbrush. Watch for sales at hobby stores and places like Harbor Freight Tools. I've see some guys that use canned air. That's good to start, but if you are going to do a lot, a compressor will probably be cheaper in the long run. I had also wondered about getting a air storage tank and filling it from a big compressor or at a gas station. Whatever you use, pick up a moisture filter to keep from contaminating your paint job. I personally use craft paints because they are pretty cheap ($1/bottle). But they have to be thinned - 1 part water and 3 parts paint seems to work in my gun. The paint company's website will probably have a suggested ratio published. A lot of guys use the airbrush paints. These cost more, but seem to give them great results. I keep a spare bottle with a 50/50 mix of window cleaner to flush out the airbrush between colors and after a paint session. Look through the site's gallery for some color suggestions. Some are pretty elegant, but start with basic color schemes. I like to do a white base coat. I use gray and black for shad colors and yellow (chartruse), green and orange for the bluegill colors. I think most of us start with Devcon Two Ton epoxy to coat the final paint job. Don't brush it on too heavy or it will run. One coat seems to be fine. Two coats will run really bad (don't ask me how I know:flame:). Check out the site's how to section to build a lure turner. Start with some old lures that can use refinishing. You can also get some inexpensive blanks from the suppliers mentioned on the site. Also, watch the bargain bins at tackle counters closeouts. A lot of quality lures are produced in hideous colors and get tossed in the bins to get rid of them. Tape off the diving bill with painters masking tape and be sure to lightly sand the old finish to give your paint something to grip to. Don't get frustrated if the first ones come out a little off. Chances they will catch fish anyway. Enjoy, Gary Edited January 25, 2009 by WannabeeFishing 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
millwood Posted January 25, 2009 Report Share Posted January 25, 2009 I must admit.....that was one of the most informative all around posts that I have read in a while. Nice work Wannabefishing. A lot of great advice in that post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamie Posted January 25, 2009 Report Share Posted January 25, 2009 There is alot of great stuff there but if you go with an airbrush practise on paper or a piece of card board to learn control first. Go to youtube there are some great tuts on starting up with an airbrush. there is nothing more frustrating than to spend the time making a lure then only to try to paint for the first time on the lure and get poor results. practice abit first on scrap material then baits it will be better for you in the long run. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WannabeeFishing Posted January 25, 2009 Report Share Posted January 25, 2009 There is alot of great stuff there but if you go with an airbrush practise on paper or a piece of card board to learn control first. Go to youtube there are some great tuts on starting up with an airbrush. there is nothing more frustrating than to spend the time making a lure then only to try to paint for the first time on the lure and get poor results. practice abit first on scrap material then baits it will be better for you in the long run. That's good advise. I have to admit, I went to the lures too quickly. I had a few lying around that I found hung in trees, etc. So I didn't have any money invested in them, but could have done a better job had I practiced more. There are some good tutorials on sites like Airbrush Magazine,airbrush lessons,articles,tutorials on line. You'll be blown away by the work displayed on that site. Gary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
