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On 10/5/2019 at 7:37 AM, Bill Reed said:

Getting a cheaper airbrush has crossed my mind. From what I have read about the paint on different sites is to use good airbrush paints. At the moment I have not bought anything yet but have come close. Lol. I’m trying to do as much research as I can and pick the brains of those that have been painting for some time. I know I will make mistakes but I respect the advice of those that have done this for a while and hear them tell of the mistakes they have made. 

Thanks Wayne for your reply. 

Absolutely do not start out with a cheap brush. Here is why, a cheap brush will have poor performance and will be prone to clogging. I have seen this cause many people to quit out of frustration before they even had a chance to learn anything. a decent brush will be less frustrating for a beginner to deal with, allowing him or her to concentrate on learning the craft. A decent brush will have decent resale value so if you decide this isn't for you, you'll be able to recoup much of the cost. Same goes for paint, cheap Walmart craft paint is made with coarsley ground pigments that lead to a lot of clogging issues, even if thinned. Paint actually formulated for use in an air brush will be much less aggravating.

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I use a 6 gallon compressor instead of an air brush compressor. I use a good regulator (with a water trap) that allows me to regulate 0-30 psi (I set up two so I can work two airbrushes , although I rarely have). The attached photo is my regulator setup. The compressor is in a separate closet in my garage so I don't have to listen to it when I'm painting. It is plumbed to my painting area through the  green hose. This has worked well for me.

regulators head on.jpg

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23 hours ago, Steeliechrome said:

Im new and just starting to get into airbrushing ive definitely looked into the createx paints which i started gathering slowly. Looking for suggestions on what clears/finishes/ cleaners/reducers to use. As well as if i want to do metallic colors  do i need to do a white base coat as well?

Your base coat color will depend on what you're going for.  Most times I use white, but sometimes black.

 

As for clears & finishes, that will depend on what kind of bait you're making.

 

Cleaners and reducers, get the ones that match the paint you're using.  They're going to be different for different types of paint (water based, etc).

Edited by exx1976
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On 12/28/2020 at 10:17 AM, Steeliechrome said:

Im new and just starting to get into airbrushing ive definitely looked into the createx paints which i started gathering slowly. Looking for suggestions on what clears/finishes/ cleaners/reducers to use. As well as if i want to do metallic colors  do i need to do a white base coat as well?

I would stick to the reducers by the paint manuf.

As for clear coats, use the search feature on this site.  The options are vast.

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I have used Createx and wicked paint for a long time .They are an excellent choice. Use Createx / Wicked 4012 reducer to thin paint. Use Createx Transparent base to make paints more transparent - or as a base coat over foils and such.  Use water between colors. Use Airbrush restorer then water as final cleanup. Those three products are absolutely necessary. 

As for clear coats, I have used several.

Devcon 2 ton 30 min epoxy is available in small or med quantities. It can be thinned with Denatured alcohol to increase the cure time. It should be rotated - a lure turner is recommended. It cures hard and chips easily.

Envirotex (table top epoxy) Takes 12 hours between coats and 24 hours to cure completely. Cure time can be extended and it can be thinned with Denatured Alcohol. It is clearer than Devcon, more flexible, and does not chip as easily. Lure turner is necessary.

Art Resin: I have not used this. But from my understanding it is the clearest, brings out the best color. and takes longer to cure than E-Tex. Many swear by this product. I will let others elaborate. Lure turner is necessary.

Dick Nite's concrete sealer - I have not used. I heard it is very durable. Lures can be dipped and hung. Others can elaborate.

Moisture cured urethane - Lures can be hung. 3Three coats are required. it is hard, yet durable. If you are not careful - or sometimes even if you are careful - the whole supply can cure on you. This is not very economical. 

I hope this gets you started.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Moisture cured urethane  - Lures can be dipped and hung. But it takes 3 coats to give a good finish. And if you do not store it properly - sometimes even if you do - the whole jar can harden on you.

 

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My favorite metallic colors are: Wicked gold, Wicked silver, and Craftsmart metallic Titanium (if you can find it). But if you want true metallic shine, get some fingernail art foil in metallic silver and holographic silver. There are tutorials on this forum on how to do this.

Metallic paints can be applied over a black or white base. The effects are quite different. A quick pass fine mist can also be sprayed over a completed paint job. It acts almost like glitter.

Have fun

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 If those are your first baits man you are well on your way! They look great. In my day job I am a network engineer so I can appreciate the fact that you used the two sides from an old computer case for your painting booth. That's awesome man:) You have for sure found yourself in the land of bait makers here. Everyone here is extremely helpful and listening to their advice will only make you better at this amazing hobby. 

 There have been so many good tips provided here and I'd like to give you a couple as well. Just a couple of tips to make things easier for you I guess. I used to have HP printers almost exclusively. Every time I would buy ink it would come with a free pack of 4 x 6 photo paper. After years of buying ink I had so much of that stuff it was ridiculous. Once I began making baits I needed a way to mark a center line after cutting a blank I had drawn out. I remember using a stack of CDs to do this at first but they had a little ridge at the center which made them uneven and therefore pretty much useless. Then I noticed I had a stack of unused HP 4x6 photo paper laying around. To make a long story short, you can mark the center point on a bait when it is still in "block" form and then lay a pen or pencil or marker or whatever on a stack of photo paper (or really any paper will work) and then just add or remove paper as needed until your pen or pencil meets the mark. When it does just push the bait around the pen or pencil until you have an even line all the way around the bait. This will give you an exact center line with which to drill your hook hangers, line ties, etc. Getting things exactly center becomes much harder once you have cut the rough outline of you bait and then sanded it to shape so for me at least this method has been a great help.

Second tip: When airbrushing, you can use a transparent base, I use Createx Transparent Base, between coats of paint to help mitigate errors in airbrushing. For example, for me airbrushing is still the most error prone part of the entire process. You spend a good amount of time designing, cutting, sanding, etc., then, once you have all of that perfect you begin the airbrushing process. The airbrushing process is tedious and has many steps depending on what it is you are trying to do. What I have found helpful is to use Createx Transparent Base between steps to protect the layer I just painted from overspray or other errors I make during the next step in the process. So, for example, lets say I've got my base coat down and I have my scales painted and I want to begin painting gill plates. I'll use the transparent base over the entire bait before moving on to the gill plates. Doing this means I have a protective layer over the base and the scales. This way when I begin painting the gill plates if I make a mistake I can easily correct it using a Q-Tip and a bit of water to wipe it away without worrying about wiping away the base coat or scales. 

 I am no expert but this has saved a ton of time for me and has proved a go to method when airbrushing detail. 

Anyway I hope this helps. Great to have you here and welcome to this unbelievably amazing hobby!

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@Big Epp linke @Brick Steel said above I also use a 6 gallon compressor. Works great and has a built in regulator with water trap. I usually just turn it on and let it fill up, which takes about a minute and a half I guess, then I turn it off and use it until empty. Depending on the paint scheme it can sometimes get me through an entire bait before I need to turn it on to fill up again. 

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Good morning all!  I got my airbrush and compressor set up.  I went with a 6 gal. pancake compressor and installed a filter and regulator to the outside of my booth.  Next I'm going to install some ventilation... I've got some 4" drier vent and a 4" vent fan con its way, and I'm going to set it up so the end of the vent can be moved from station to station to provide ventilation where needed (sanding station, painting station, epoxy drying station).

In the meantime, I have really been enjoying airbrushing!  It's really unlike using a brush or rattle can, and is a lot of fun.  I know I have a long way to go, but here are the first couple baits I painted.  I was surprised at how easy it was to do the scale pattern with mesh (lemon bag, but I've already got 3 or 4 different types of bags/patterns).

Group 1B.JPG

Group 1.JPG

Scales.JPG

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