Createx Help

[Mtneer1434]

Hey guys. New to the board here. From West Virginia and just got into making musky lures. Mostly gliders and cranks made from several different types of wood. Have a handful of nice designs made up and ready to paint. Never airbrushed a day in my life. I'm definitely going to use Createx but wondering if someone could fill me in a little bit to help get me started. What are the differences between the transparent and opaque paints? I see a lot of colors in transparent but not as many colors in the other forms of paint. Is it okay to thin with windex? Should I lay down a solid white base, then a solid base of my primary color and then go from there or what? I plan on coating with Envirotex when I'm done. Any more info would be much appreciated!

 

Thanks!

 

Tyler

[mark poulson]

Welcome to TU, and good luck.

First of all, a really good source for info is the hard bait gallery.  If you see a bait you like, you can usually PM the maker, and they will tell you how they did it+-.  There are some secrets, but usually not in how they painted.

Also use the search box at the top right to find threads on your topic.

I am no artist, and only airbrush because I have to, so don't take this as gospel.  It's only what I've learned by doing.

From my understanding, the difference between transparent and opaque is the amount of pigment.  I know I can make an opaque color transparent by thinning it.

I would not thin with Windex.  It is supposed to have nasty ingredients that can attack the innards of your air brush.

Either just use water (only a little, or you're paint will not form a strong skin/film strength), or, better yet, use Createx 4011 thinner.  It's made to thin their paint without losing film strength.

I usually use Wicked White as a base coat, because it can go on thicker and still dry (it has some solvent in it) and then work up from the belly with progressively darker colors.

Some paints do better with a black undercoat.  I'm thinking of metallic silver, but you have to experiment.

Be sure to dry each coat thoroughly before you apply another, or you'll trap moisture in your paint, and your baits will always be soft, and may bubble as the trapped moisture gets warm and vaporizes.  I use a hair dryer for my baits.

Do yourself a favor, and get a 12"X12" piece of white gloss formica and a piece of white PVC pipe to test you paints and painting skills on.  Both will clean up easily with soap and water, and that will give you somewhere to experiment before you move to painting your bait.

I hope this helps.

[SW Lures]

Welcome to TU Mtneer.

We all have different ways of painting. Each way that is used is mostly a great way to paint. Don't let Mark fool you, he has been painting for a long time.

This is my suggestion....remember it's my opinion. If you are painting plastic blanks, I suggest to lightly ruff it up just a little (400 grit). I use auto air sealer (black and white). I'm not trying to throw you a curve here, but I use Wicked paints. There is a reason why, but Createx is a good paint.

For painting it depends on what scheme I'm painting. I agree with Mark, for someone new start at the belly and work your way up. DON'T go heavy on the paint, go thin with more layers. Heat set between layers with a cheap hair dryer or go higher with a heat gun. I do bucktail jigs etc. That's why I have a heat gun, I can do everything with one tool. The eyes should go on last after painting.

This is what I can give you. There we'll be others that are extremely good at this and will give more advice. I would like you to remember, read and take in all you can. Take what you think will work for you.

Here's the best one that I can give you, at the top of this page there is a search box on the right. It has a lot of archived information. Some threads has some age to them but has great info.

Good luck to ya,

Dale

[Mtneer1434]

Thanks guys! I saw the search bar up there but haven't had time to browse through old posts yet. Maybe I'll get a second this evening. Got my paints in yesterday so I'm good to go now. One more question. Any suggestions for making stencils? I've seen how guys make the ones by taking a heatgun to plastic sheets while suctioning the stencil sheet down. What about simply cutting one out onto a thin plastic sheet? Only thing I can think of is to take my time and go at it with an Xacto knife. 

[mark poulson]

I can't help you with stencil making.  I suck at it.

Predator Baits sells some stencils for the baits he sells.

 

http://www.predatorbassbaits.com/id69.html

 

I'm sure others do, too, but Jim is the only one whose stencils I've used, because I like his baits.

[SW Lures]

I am cutting out some at this time with a helper. I bought a stencil burner. This tool is worth its weight in gold for this. I'm getting some lessons on how to do them much easier.

My helper (a young artist) told me about the burner. It burns instead of putting pressure with a knife, you just basically draw over the area you are cutting out. If you use the knife pull it to you. You will have more control.

I thought that my cutting stencils days were over until I got the burner. NOW my suggestion is to get the blank stencil from the one who sells the bait then cut the design that you want. If you are still interested in making them you are well on your way to forming the stencils, because you have read about it.

Like anything else, doing it will make you better. I hate to throw out names of suppliers on TU because I enjoy chatting with them all and don't want hard feelings.

Hope this helps, enjoy this fun hobby.

Dale

[Chuck Young]

Welcome to http://www.tackleunderground.com/community/topic/31562-vacuform-machine-for-clam-shell-style-stencils/?hl=stencils

http://www.tackleunderground.com/community/topic/31513-high-volume-cheap-lure-turner-lure-holders/?hl=%2Blure+%2Bturner

Edited July 7, 2016 by Chuck Young

[mark poulson]

Tyler,

One thing that will be key for your enjoying air brush painting, and being successful, is to learn how to clean your air brush quickly and thoroughly.

A lot of the air brush supply sites have videos on both painting and cleaning.

Air Brush Restorer is worth it's weight in gold, and you can keep it in a wide mouth jar and reuse it forever! (Thank you Ben!!!)

I get mine here:

 

http://www.coastairbrush.com/products.asp?cat=59

 

Scroll down until you see it on the left hand side.

 

 

I keep a tupperware full of clean water at the back of my paint station, so I can backflush for ten seconds between colors with my finger over the nozzle.  That forces the cleaning water back through the air brush.   I also back off the nozzle assembly a little, and back flush that, too.  It gets the paint out of the tiny atomization holes in the air brush.

That makes cleaning really easy.  I change the water for each painting session.  Clean water is really important for each session, so you're not backflushing  old paint through the air brush.

Every six months or so I disassemble my Iwata, and soak all the parts in the air brush restorer overnight.  Even though I  think I am thorough when I'm doing my regular cleaning ritual, I'm always amazed at how much crap the restorer gets out.

If you already know all this, sorry for the repetition.

Edited July 7, 2016 by mark poulson

[Chuck Young]

I have an airbrush that takes in from underneath from jars or from a cup you put on. There are better airbrushes with just a cup. But I keep a 4 oz jar full of water. When I change colors, I tilt the brush to the side, hold the straw to the brush, then remove it until all the water goes through the brush. I do this repeatedly until the water comes out clear. At the end of the session I do this again then finish with the restorer Mark recommends. I spray a little in the cap as I apply it to the brush. It keeps the end from clogging. Before painting, I run water through it again. On the rare occasion I run laquer through it, I clean extra well with laquer thinner then water.

[SW Lures]

This probably seems to be a daunting task to take up as a hobby. You will get frustrated at times, I'm sure we all do this no matter how long that we have been painting. So you are not alone on that one.

Some where a along the way you will find the top of the hill. Things will get easier....I not saying you won't still get headaches from a scheme that you shooting for, but you will start adding things up and how to do what you are looking for.

The best advice that I can give is to take care of your equipment and it will last for some time. On a lighter note, you will find that what you have like a brush is not enough. Then the race is on to get all the toys you can as the sayin goes. "If you have the most toys, you win". Have patience on that you will know when you need more equipment(S). LOL

Have a great day,

Dale