Painting A Baitcaster

[BassAboveThe49th]

hey guys,

 

Was wondering if anyone here has painted baitcasters before? ive been airbrushing for about 2 years now and i want to do something besides a hardbait and decided i wanted to paint a reel. Is there any info anyone could send my way to make my first time trying this easier? what kind of paint should i use and clear coat at the end? so far i only have createx and bsi 30 epoxy. is there any special process when tearing the reel apart that i should use? any info really bout anything related to painting reels would be greatly appreciated! 

 

Thanks,

 

Connor

[RayburnGuy]

There are a number of people who have posted pictures of reels they have painted in the gallery. I'm pretty sure if you messaged them they would be willing to give you any insight they may have.

 

The one thing I can offer you is about your choice of top coats. BS, or any epoxy for that matter, is going to be too thick. Your going to need something similar to an automotive clear coat that goes on in thinner layers. An epoxy can cause already close reel tolerances to stick or not even fit together.

 

You might also want to consider using a paint other than Createx for this application. Createx isn't going to really bond with the metal. Paints that are used to paint cars, or other types of metal surfaces, will be a better choice. Just be sure to read up on the safety precautions for using these types of paints before going to work.

 

good luck,

 

Ben

[BassAboveThe49th]

There are a number of people who have posted pictures of reels they have painted in the gallery. I'm pretty sure if you messaged them they would be willing to give you any insight they may have.

 

The one thing I can offer you is about your choice of top coats. BS, or any epoxy for that matter, is going to be too thick. Your going to need something similar to an automotive clear coat that goes on in thinner layers. An epoxy can cause already close reel tolerances to stick or not even fit together.

 

You might also want to consider using a paint other than Createx for this application. Createx isn't going to really bond with the metal. Paints that are used to paint cars, or other types of metal surfaces, will be a better choice. Just be sure to read up on the safety precautions for using these types of paints before going to work.

 

good luck,

 

Ben

the reel im looking to paint is one of the new curado i's, im only looking to try to paint the plastic side plates of the reel. i will look into automotive clear coat and paint.

 

thank you sir greatly appreciated

[Braided Line]

Have you looked at u-tube  for an audio/video on the subject ? 

[BassAboveThe49th]

Have you looked at u-tube  for an audio/video on the subject ?

thats the plan for today

[MstormC]

you are going to want a base layer paint that will "bite" into the plastic.  Bulldog makes a primer for plastic that I've used when painting plastic duck decoys and works great.

 

As Ray stated, your top coat may be a little trickier.  I would think an automotive clear, put down in multiple layers may be your best bet.  I've used the rattle can clears before but have had mixed results......some good, some not so good.  You may want to stop by a local body shop and see if they would put a clear coat on for you.

 

Hope that helps and let us know what you find.  I've often thought of doing a couple of my older reels but other "projects" always seem to take precedence. 

[RayburnGuy]

I wasn't even thinking of the reel parts being plastic. Guess I'm still stuck in days gone by when most everything was made of metal. If the reel your wanting to paint has plastic parts then MstormC is sending you in the right direction. I would think an adhesion promoter would be useful even if the parts were made of carbon fiber or some other "new age" material.

 

Ben

[Musky Glenn]

If it was my own reel, I would probably go with a spray bomb can that doesn't require a top coat. You can spray some into a plastic cap and then air brush it if so desired. Musky Glenn

[BobP]

A couple of things. No finish you put on a reel will be as durable as the factory finish that came on it, in my experience. Remember that reel parts fit together with tight tolerances. Your finish has to be thin enough that the parts will fit back together. Lastly, surface prep is everything when painting metal or plastic.

I've painted exactly one reel, just for laughs. Used auto solvent based paint, primer and clearcoat from aerosol cans. It chipped and scratched easier and quicker than the original finish. After that little exercise, I decided that a beat up reel's imperfections are honorable combat wounds that don't require plastic surgery. I'm more about function than finish anyway.

[BassAboveThe49th]

hopefully you guys can see this, i decided (cause im on a budget) that id prep the surfaces to paint then just went over with some createx. after that i went to Napa and bought some acrylic enamel and gave each piece (minus the missing one which still needs to be painted) 4 coats of spray enamel. i realize that it probably wont last which is why in the winter i plan on repainting but for now im happy so far with the outcome of trying to spray my first reel. im gonna head to a local paint shop sometime this week to get some better quality enamel. i was worried about the thickness of the enamel but it isn't a problem everything fit back together just fine. 1 more piece to go! 

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