So I tried my hand at airbrushing - pic heavy

[dirtymike]

I got pretty tired of losing rippin raps the last two years and decided to start painting some blanks.  First hurdle was all of the air brushing equipment.  I spent more time than I'm willing to admit, researching airbrushes, compressors, techniques, etc.  What finally made me pull the trigger was a friend getting started with air brushing.  The first few turned out better than I expected.  Now the search was on for a quality blank that looked and swam like a rippin rap.  I think I found it on my third set of blanks.  I finally got the chance to use them this weekend and to my surprise, they caught perch, northern, and walleye!  I'm pretty excited that they actually work but even happier that I can now paint them in patterns that you can't find in stores.  Say hello to wonderbread, clown, hot steel, etc..  If any of you guys have questions about starting up, pm me.  Disclaimer: I'm a rookie so those veterans out there, if you have some constructive criticism, please don't hold back.







and some ones for open water

[RoeBoat]

Looks like you're off to a great start.  Good looking paint jobs!

[Lavman]

Impressive! Nice work! Thanks for the look 

[VanderLaan]

Nice job.  Yours look better than my first attempts.  More importantly, the fish seem to like what you are doing. 

What are you using for sealer?  What blank did you find for the Rippin' Rap?  Also what blank is the minnow in the fourth pic?

[dirtymike]

Nice job.  Yours look better than my first attempts.  More importantly, the fish seem to like what you are doing. 

What are you using for sealer?  What blank did you find for the Rippin' Rap?  Also what blank is the minnow in the fourth pic?

So the first ones came from lure parts online (lipless and the husky jerk looking one in the 4th picture).  They're a little tail-heavy and don't swim like I want them too.  I haven't used any of the swim bait styles yet.  The second set came from ebay but they were my first experiment with moisture cure urethane.  Found out that the paint cannot be wet AT ALL when you use this stuff otherwise the paint falls off.  The last ones came from wlure.  I'm a little concerned about quality when it comes to chinese products.  After my last outing to the ice, I have faith that they can old up after a nice 4 lb pike destroyed a treble hook but the lure was still perfect.  They're only a 1/3 oz. but if you enjoy using ultra light rippin raps, these are a great second option.  The next pic is of the latest two I painted.  The gold with red head worked well for my father in law last night I guess. 

[dirtymike]

Kinda got away from your question.

Paint: createx (transparent, pearl, and flourescent)
          apple barrel but these are thinned quite a bit.

Airbrush: Badger Patriot 105 with super fine detail conversion kit installed
Compressor: cheap ebay version.  I'll get  my  pancake compressor hooked up when this one dies.
Top coat: Moisture cure urethane.  Use in a well ventilated space.  I transferred mine to a mason jar for re use.  However, you need a can of bloxygen to it doesn't harden inside the jar.  I initially used devcon 2 ton 2-part epoxy.  If you wanted it even, you only did one lure at at time.  MCU allows me to do about 10 lures.  I limit the number because I have to go back and clear out the eyelets.  I've been doing two coats of mcu but I think one would suffice.

[smitty0312]

They look very nice!!

[Fry Flier]

Very good, a talent that I have not been able to possess. Nice

[darkeyez]

NICE!
I have a friend on here that doctors up some lures we use, THEY WORK!

[dirtymike]

NICE!
I have a friend on here that doctors up some lures we use, THEY WORK!

That was my goal as well.  Bringing some lures back to life.  There were a lot of patterns that caught fish back in the day that aren't available anymore. 

[CowDawg]

Very nice work!!!

[VanderLaan]

Are you heat setting your paint?  This is essential for most paints - especially Createx.  Hit it with a hair dryer, just long enough to take the shine off of it.  If you do not set it, it will peel - especially the white color.

I am using GST concrete sealer to seal my baits.  Dip it four times, with eight hours between dips.  I use a q-tip or toothpick to clear out the eyelets.  Only down side is that you have to let the bait hang for about two weeks for a solid cure.  Cold Feet uses propionate as a sealer.  Hopefully, he will chime in with his sealing process and results.

In case you are not aware, here are some reputable blank suppliers (in addition to LPO and Jann's Netcraft).  I am hesitant to buy from the Chinese suppliers on-line, as you have no real recourse if your blanks are flawed.  I have bought baits from almost all of these guys and they have been good.  I usually buy from Predator, Get Bit and Bustin.  Unpainted has a great selection, but they are almost always out of stock.

Blank Baits
Bustin' Bass Baits
Dakota Lakes Tackle
Dinger Baits
Predator Bass Baits
Unpainted Lures
Get Bit Custom Baits

[dirtymike]

Are you heat setting your paint?  This is essential for most paints - especially Createx.  Hit it with a hair dryer, just long enough to take the shine off of it.  If you do not set it, it will peel - especially the white color.

I am using GST concrete sealer to seal my baits.  Dip it four times, with eight hours between dips.  I use a q-tip or toothpick to clear out the eyelets.  Only down side is that you have to let the bait hang for about two weeks for a solid cure.  Cold Feet uses propionate as a sealer.  Hopefully, he will chime in with his sealing process and results.

I do heat set after every layer.  Like you said, I take the shine off with a heat gun.  I've learned to let the baits sit for 2+ days before I'll dip into the MCU.  It seems like the custom crankbait game is held in a bass fishermans arena.  Unfortunately, I target walleyes almost exclusively.  If I catch anything else, it's by accident.  My next batch of blanks will be from some of the sites you've listed.  Thanks for the help!

[VanderLaan]

I target walleyes almost exclusively.

Check out Predator Bass Baits.  They have wiggle warts molded on the pre-Rapala baits, DT6, 10 and 16, stumpy (shad cranks), suspending jerk baits and shad-raps.

You might also want to check out the Rod/Tackle Building forum at Bass Boat Central (just add the .com).  Lots of guys with mega-talent post their work there.  There is also a sticky with some paint tutorials/recipes.

[Whopper Stopper]

You are very good at this!

I sure hope you share more as you go

                WS

[esox_xtm]

Very nice work! And a great thread for component sources as well. I'm just starting to airbrush metal with powder paint but have no capability to do what you're doing. Hmmmm you got me thinking now.

[flyfish413]

Oh man that gold one with the red head! Great looking baits. Perfect the durability and you'll have some real winners.

[MrE1979]

If that is your first attempt at air brushing ummmmmm AMAZING job 👍👍👍 Can't wait to see your work as you get better. 

[Susky]

Those are some great looking lures.  You have got talent sir.  Would love to see some pictures of them in action.

[dirtymike]

I'm about a month in to this airbrushing adventure. I never knew I had this ability either. My grandma and mother are artists but I've never picked up a paint brush (minus big brushes) and I draw like I'm having a seizure. I do have some videos from the fish phone this weekend. I'll try to post them tomorrow. The lures held up great. I just can't believe what that pike did to an eagle claw treble. Hopefully by next year I'll get some of these on the shelves.

[Bullet21XD]

For being a rookie, I'd say those lures look damn good!! And to top it off, you know they work.

You got far more talent than I do.

[VanderLaan]

Very nice work! And a great thread for component sources as well. I'm just starting to airbrush metal with powder paint but have no capability to do what you're doing. Hmmmm you got me thinking now.

If you decide to take the plunge, you can get a Iwata Neo airbrush from Hobby Lobby for about $50 (Google their 40% off one item coupon).  You need to have dual-action and that is about the cheapest worthwhile brush available.  You can get all the rest of your airbrush supplies from Harbor Freight (Google their 20% off coupon).  Be careful, it is a slippery slope.  You will start looking at combs as stencils for bluegills and perch.  Loofas, plastic mats, onion sacks, etc., all become scale patterns.  You will also likely start saving all of your Cabela's and BPS catalogs as reference material.  It really is a sickness...   

[dirtymike]

If you decide to take the plunge, you can get a Iwata Neo airbrush from Hobby Lobby for about $50 (Google their 40% off one item coupon).  You need to have dual-action and that is about the cheapest worthwhile brush available.  You can get all the rest of your airbrush supplies from Harbor Freight (Google their 20% off coupon).  Be careful, it is a slippery slope.  You will start looking at combs as stencils for bluegills and perch.  Loofas, plastic mats, onion sacks, etc., all become scale patterns.  You will also likely start saving all of your Cabela's and BPS catalogs as reference material.  It really is a sickness...   

Listen to VanderLaan on this one.  I used the cheap airbrush that came with the combo for maybe two weeks before I upgraded to a badger patriot.  Unfortunately, I had to get the super fine detail conversion kit in order to get "fine" lines with the new brush.  It makes life a lot easier with a good airbrush.  dakotalakestackle has some awesome videos on youtube to create your own stencils, painting techniques, patterns, etc.  He's been a huge help and responds to emails pretty quickly.  I've used a loofa on some lures but found that the packaging on those little nectarines is the best.  The loofa will melt when heat is applied.  I started off with 20 blanks to see if I liked it.  I now have close to 100 completed lures.  A friend of a friend owns crank canvas.  Makes for a nice display of your custom lures. 

[dirtymike]

So here's the grainy video of the clown lure getting smoke by a pike.  first 5 seconds are all the action. 

View My Video

[JiggingIowa]

That fire tiger with the white shine and wire pattern is awesome

[mr tip up]

those are some good looking baits came out real good