mark poulson

I only paint baits for myself and my friends, so this is not a production model. Strictly hobby stuff. I really like how I can paint and finish a bait the same day, using Createx and nail polish I prime the baits the day before. Since the heads of spinnerbaits and chatterbaits are so small, I can brush the Createx on with an artists brush, heat set/dry the paint, top coat the finished bait with clear nail polish (heat set with a hair dryer, too, to speed curing), and fish it the next day.

The ones I've seen have been made with round pizza cutting blades. That was many years ago, and I haven't seen one since. I don't even know if those wheels are available anymore, but it's probably worth doing a Google search if you really want to make one.

I used to, but I seem to have lost mine, according to my kids.

I use BBs. I suppose, since paint like Createx is water based, you should try and use something that won't rust. And something that doesn't have sharp corners, which can damage the plastic paint bottle.

Their spray should work, too.

Check out TW's collection of wake baits. There are lots of jointed baits there.

Maybe you can get samples from them to see if you like it before you buy the mold.

I use water based acrylic paints that are sometimes used for T shirt painting, like Createx. You can find them in hobby supply stores, like Michael's, or online at air brush suppliers. Here's one, but there are lots of others: http://www.coastairbrush.com/categories.asp?cat=11 When heated above a certain temperature, their molecules cross link, and become waterproof. Unfortunately that temperature (I don't know what it is, but I think it's like the highest setting on a clothes iron) are too high for me to be able to reach with ruining my baits. I use those paints, use a hair dryer to thoroughly dry multiple thin coats (which avoids trapping moisture under a thick coat that will expand later and ruin the bait's topcoat protection), and then protect my paint with a truly waterproof top coating. If you do a search here for top coat/topcoat you should find lots to read, but the basic topcoats are waterproof epoxies, UV cured polyester resins, acrylic clear coats, moisture cured urethanes, and clear fingernail polish. I hope this helps.

If you do vent to the outside, be careful where the vented fumes go. Don't blow toward and people or pets.

Be sure you get the glass beads that have not already been used for blasting: https://www.ebay.com/itm/8-LBS-Glass-Bead-Medium-Grit-MIL-SPEC-8-70-100-grit-Sand-Blasting-Abrasive-/111672165459?hash=item1a002e0453:g:VocAAOxydgZTKU6c

I use the rattle cans that Ace Hdwe sells. I'm sure it available wherever Rustoleum is sold. Google it. Just be sure you have good ventilation. Whatever it is that etches the metal has some nasty fumes, but they go away pretty quickly. I prefer to spray outside. If I have to spray inside, I spray with the garage door open, and turn on a fan blowing past and out as soon as I'm done spraying. A paint mask with a solvent filter is a good idea.

Great job! I'm jealous (again).

Good for you! Looks like you didn't forget much!

Ted, I caught 15 bass today on one bluegill spinnerbait that I had used the etching primer/createx paint/clear nail polish paint scheme on. Biggest was 4 lbs. I was throwing into the isolated tules, and fishing it back through them, all day, and it still looks great. Thanks again.

Cadman turned me on to Rustoleum Self Etching Primer for my spinnerbait heads. Now I just prime them, and paint with Createx, and then, like BBK, I put a coat of clear nail polish over them, and they hold up to dragging through tules and hydrilla. Thanks again Ted.

Be sure you keep your finger over the cap when you backflush, or it will shoot across the shop. Don't ask me how I know.

Correction. I use 24 gauge wire for my jig/spinnerbait skirt wraps, and 28 gauge for my spinnerbait R bend reinforcement.

I googled "how to backflush an airbrush" and found this: I keep a tupperware container of water next to my painting station, and backflush with that water between colors, and after each session. I made a wire bracket that hangs and holds my airbrush with the tip in the water, so I don't get tip dry if I have to pause in my painting.

Thanks.

I've always been a little confused about how you put your trailer onto these jigs. Do you rotate it as you thread it on, so it actually screws itself onto the spring, or do you just force it over the spring, and let the extra friction of the coils do the holding?

I uses some plastic doll eyes with movable pupils on a swimbait, to see if they would rattle. They didn't, as far as I could tell, but I caught fish on it, anyway.

Did you Google teddy bear eyes, and/or doll's eyes?

Here's a link to the powder/paint: https://glonation.com/glow-in-the-dark-products/triple-glow-powders I mix the older glo green/white powder into my soft plastics, and they last all day. I also mix that power into clear nail polish, and it glows for an entire fishing trip. Every time I pull a lure out of the water, it is recharged by the sun. The latest yellow triple glo is supposed to glow for 8 hours, so it should last through a night tourney, too.