[FishinFreaks]

I've seen pics in the past of guys' reels that they have painted. They look awesome. I'd like to give it a try on a couple of my reels that have some minor, cosmetic boat rash. I've got an airbrush on the way. What kind of paint to use? Clear coat, as well, I'm assuming - what kind? What about prep? Masking?

This is my first post here. I'm sure I'll have many to come.

[feldermannLures]

Welcome! Sorry i cant help but i am very interested in this topic also...hopefully someone can help.

Aaron

[Spike-A-Pike]

You may want to see if you can get damnpeoples into this discussion. I've seen his work in the gallery he has posted with different baits he makes. He is one of an elite group of painters who always makes it look good and worth the price of admission.

[CrazyFish]

More than anything........what kind of paint has been used? I would assume a paint that does not require a clear coat after application. Is it thinned before application for use with an air brush? I'm interested as well.

[thedude]

i just spray painted this one w/ some automotive spray paint.


nothing special, more of an experiment than anything.

[LooksLikeSinbad]

thedude - I color-corrected your image so we could see the paint job better. It looks great, I might try this myself. Did you sand it down first?

[thedude]

yes, i just roughed off some of the existing paint on the aluminum and scuffed the plastic parts lightly w/ 400grit. wiped it down good with rubbing alcohol/papertowel to clean it up and hit it with multiple light coats from the rattle can.

[bhorlings]

Did you paint the rod too? If so, what steps did you take for that?

[thedude]

yes, i painted a small section of the rods where i put the logo and manufacturers label.. basically just masked off the top and bottom of the band and then covered the rest of the blank w/ newspaper and just did several light coats so it wouldn't run on me. I put my decals on and then applied a coat of crystal clear enamel (rustoleum), added thread wraps to cleanup the edges of the painted area and then added a coat of finish.

i used the clear coat because i've had issues w/ flex-coat not laying down properly over the type of decal paper i use... the clear coat seems to help.

the one on the left has no finish on it yet.

[bhorlings]

Sweet. Do you just use the Testor's waterslide paper for the labels?