jt_ncbassman

Ben, I usually keep my regulator at about 40 p.s.i. because ive always had trouble atomizing paint. I dropped it down just a shade under 20 and sprayed some very thin paint and that really helped, i suppose it keeps the tip from drying as fast?. Thanks again for the replies.

Yeah the foiled ones with the light blue backs/dark cheeks, as well as the 3 gill patterns. Those might be dangerous on a topwater.

Thanks Mike, you've got some sharp patterns in your gallery. I'd sure like to see one of your lucky craft repaints on my deeper baits. Glenn, I always assumed you were up North due to that massive creature in your picture. I have heard tales of musky hanging around black bear landing, I might have even hooked one on a big blade spinnerbait. Broke me off before I could tell. Lake James is a really neat body of water, do you fish the Catawba side mostly? The Linville side has been kind of dead the last couple years seems like

The flat bait was supposed to be a lavender or table rock shad but it seems like everything I paint turns out to be chartruese/blueback. Im really trying to sneak up on the colors but I guess it's a lot harder with a single action, the chartruese comes pouring out. I am pretty happy with the deep bait (so far), and I would like to get opinions on what shade of blue would look best on the light yellow body, or if it needs anything over the top? A brite blue back has always produced for me, but I don't want to overpower the pearl brown. Can I lay masking tape on the shoulders without removing paint? (it's heatset)

Thanks for the replies guys, turns out the baits just needed another properly thinned coat of white. What I meant by "rough" is "not fully covered" I guess,looks a lot better now. I guess I am trying to take a major shortcut on my painting process, because it seems like it would take me 2 years to lay down a respectable paint job at the rate I'm going, and I'd like these baits to get fished soon. And it has taken me about 3 years (R&D) to build this recent batch of baits that I am actually happy with. I guess the thing that drives me crazy is knowing there's about 34 things I'm probably doing wrong, and if I solve 1 of those problems a week I'll have a decent shad pattern by November (hey... that might be perfect timing) I think I've made progress this morning, gonna try to post some pics. A couple things clicked for me.

Need your help again fellas if y'all have got a minute. I celebrated last week when my balsa flats ides and 3/8" big body deep divers baits came out running better than I hoped. I've built a balsa bait that is ballasted like a DT, styled after the poes 400 (improvements made to the shape of the bait) runs like a well-modified Calvin Johnson bait, and casts like a rocket ( weight transfer from belly to tail). The problem is I can't paint these things to save my life. I've gotten frustrated and stripped them to bare devcon twice. They've all got a rough looking base of opaque white right now. These lures all go deep and move swiftly so I'm not worried about brilliant lifelike finishes, but I've put so much mechanics into these that they deserve a sharp finish. I need a Recipe and walk through for- Shad color for 3" Tapp style flatside. I fish lakes in the upper Catawba chain all the way down to Lake Wylie. Threadfin shad are prevalent, murky stained water is common. I've always had luck with Norman (lavender shad) and Pearl Ayu.... any shad recipes are greatly appreciated. Deep Diver - 16 foot range. My ideal color for this bait would be a light, faded yellow/gold sides, light brown stripes and possibly scales,with a brite blue stripe on the top. I've got a lot of createx paints and illustration base and 4011 for reducers. Single action paasche airbrush. Not the best setup but hopefully I can get it to lay down some decent colors.

Thanks guys. I'll check these places. Still haven't found any the right size that aren't plastic.

Having a hard time finding beads to use as spacers for my topwater/prop baits. I am using twisted wire, and the wire is .065 before being twisted, so Im assuming I need a bead with a diameter of .130. Just hoping that some of you guys might be resourceful about locating beads. I don't have a shop in my area that carries small stainless steel beads. Thanks for any advice.

Okay I am a super-newbie here compared to these guys, but I have found in the last two years 80% of fish I have caught on my handmade cranks came off a pattern that is simply transparent yellow over white base, for the back I mix a tiny little dab of black into my yellow pot which makes a dark-ish green. This color consistently catches Red Drum in clear, sound tidal waters. Largemouth in muddy Catawba river lakes, and smallmouth and spots out on the crystal clear flats. I have had a BALL throwing my flatside cranks around the state. I swear sometimes people get irritated when Im picking quality fish left and right and I'm fishing the same spawning flat or grass flat with ten other boats around. The difference is, I'm throwing a large profile, well constructed flatside that is painted with the right blend of Yellow and Black, which turns out looking so much more natural than any "sexy shad" that the big companies paint. It is a certain tint or "hue" that makes fish respond to it. I guess what I have found to be most important in my short time painting, is to spend more time getting the tint of your colors right, and learning how to fade the top of the bait into the sides, rather than worrying about getting your scales and stencils painted perfectly. Learning how to paint can truly give you an advantage no matter where you fish. And these guys here on the forum will gladly help you along the road just like they helped me. Good Luck.

This is a good read. I haven't been able to get out on the lake as much as I used to, (probably because I build lures every free hour I have) and there's only so much you can learn about a new design pulling it through the bathtub. Skeeter - Do you have a public gallery or catalogue of your lure models? I try to make all my designs (outlines) free-handed and original, but I have to admit, my flatsides started behaving better after I took a look at how you taper and sweep the tails of your baits. I didn't realize how much of a negative effect that hook interference was creating on my steeper angled baits. Its funny how just a 5 degree angle change can make a bait run 100% better.

Just a couple days ago I was worried that I might be shaking the paint bottles too hard. I found some good straining media so I'll give that a try. I'm getting good results with my pearls and opaques now. Taking better care of the tip of the airbrush, and turning up the pressure to 40 have helped significantly. My little compressor will only push 40 for a second. It drops down to 25 when I spray continuously. Can't wait to get an Iwata! haha.

Yeah, the 30 minute slow cure is more suited for finishing baits. It ends up being a little smoother and tougher.

Don't have a scroll saw, but I find myself using my dremel motosaw for almost everything now. The last time I used my band saw was because I ran out of sawzall blades, and I needed to cut a 2" pipe of black iron pipe. If you're not cutting cast or black iron, you might want to look at the Motosaw. They just put out a little "whine" noise, not enough vibration to travel through floor joists.

I know how you feel. I feel the same way about balsa crankbaits. I have a few people that are totally shocked after using my baits, and all I can think about is what makes them better, and how to make more of them.

That's wild. I think I'll start looking for an Iwata. Do you thin your paints with a certain brand, or homebrew? I have tried to find a failsafe thinner but it seems like there is no such thing. I spend so much time working on making a better crankbait, I really didn't want to dive into the world of glycerin and furniture polish but at this point I will do whatever is necessary to get the paint to spray right.

Boy, am I learning. I was thinking it was something I was doing wrong with the paint, but now I understand it's a little more complex than just thinning it to a certain consistency. I had a little more success last night with pearl blue and copper, they layed pretty cleanly (I got blue pearl all over my Samsung, turned this thread blue). I turned my little hobby store compressor up to run about 35 and that seemed to help almost every issue I was having trouble with. I am not having as many problems, but the more of these posts I read, the more I understand what it takes to be consistently decent at this stuff. I'm picking up every penny that gets thrown in here. The personal experience posts are extremely helpful. By the way, I am shooting all createx and the pearls I was having trouble with were blue and copper, especially when I mixed those 2 together. I'm not sure what size tip I'm using, the kit that I bought included three different size siphon cups, one canister of compressed air, but only one tip. I can tell you that a 20 gauge piece of brass wire will almost fit. Another question - I usually set the allen set screw in the same place every time, and that's about right in the middle (on the first ring) Should I be moving the "barrel" up or down depending on what paint I'm shooting?

Bob Smith industries. I get it from the local hobby shops. I use the 20 minute version for sealing baits and topcoats. I think it's the best low viscosity, slow curing epoxy out there next to Etex.

I feel like all I do here is ask questions. Maybe one day I can answer somebody's questions but for now I'm stuck and hopefully somebody can diagnose this problem. I am painting some of my flat crankbaits for a friend and a member on TU. I really want to make these paintjobs look neat and clean. My problem is, the only paint I can get to "atomize" and lay cleanly are my transparent yellows/browns/etc. When it's time to start spraying pearls for accents and black for stripes and dots, it's terribly "chunky" and splotchy. I try to thin it to the same consistency of the transparent paints that spray so well, but when I thin the pearls that much, the only thing that shows up on the bait looks like water with some pearl dust mixed in. It seems like my only option for pearls and black is either chunky or watery. My airbrush is just the standard Paasche siphon, bought it from Janns Netcraft for about 50$. I am thinning all my paints with 4011 reducer and running my compressor at about 25. Is this setup capable of handling what I'm trying to do? Or do I need to invest in a better airbrush and a different reducer/ thinner? I am just trying to get through this batch of baits until I can get my hands on some better equipment.

I have also switched to bsi recently... i just feel like its a better topcoat. But when I used 2ton it was just 1 carefully brushed on coat with a few drops of day. I still use 2ton on my personal baits that I know won't be abused.

Well, you guys have got me straightened out now. I was really overlooking and overthinking things.

Thanks for the responses. I stayed up till 1:00 AM trying to make a mold for ballasts. Turns out..... I can't drill a hole as straight as I thought I could lol. I pretty much ruined one of my old spinnerbait do-it molds. If I cant drill a decent hole before tonight I will go ahead and order some of that wire. I appreciate the link Mark.... I would have never found that stuff. I guess the only thing "tedious" about that stuff is straightening it out. Now, I just need some stiffer, .30 brass wire and I will be set.

That was another question I had, is the soft temper stainless from MC easy to work with. The only issue I have with SSt wire is diving lips. Installing a lip with a brass tow is a lot easier, plus its easier to tune without stressing the lip or where the wire is anchored in the body. Thanks for the responses.

I have browsed through the forums for what people use for ballast and where to get it, however, it seems like it used to be alot easier to acquire. For instance, alot of guys use the "pencil lead" or lead cylindrical bars from places like Mcmastercarr but I don't think they have it anymore. I had been using the BPS Finesse weights but it seems like those weights are poor quality/not pure lead due to the weight variation. Just wondering what yall are using these days, and if somebody can point me towards a good source for lead sticks. Also, I was hoping somebody could give me some details about the brass wire that Mcmaster Carr has in stock. They only have one grade, and I want to make sure its not too soft before I order a batch. P.S. I've got some killer flat cranks that I could trade for good brass wire or good sticks of lead.

I fiured there would be a few Carolina coasters here. I feel like the pamlico sound is something like a "mecca " for serious fisherman. The trip was great. Some trout and flounder, but the real treat was a 25 inch redfish. All caught on my flat sides. They really liked it when I dug it down in the vegetation and ripped it out. I wish I could have covered more water but I was fishing from a kayak and the wind started picking up pretty bad. The baits held up pretty well. The circuit board lips got a little sandblasted from digging in the sound and surf. But the d2t topcoats were never penetrated.