I need more orange....

[Skipper]

Rapala discontinued this color more than a few years ago....



The HJ-14 Husky Jerk and RNR-08 Rattlin' Rapala in this color have been by far and away my best summer pike producers through the years. They have replaced them with more crawdad looking and less orange stuff that has been much less effective. They are getting too expensive on ebay so I need to find a permanent solution.

Where can I get a crash course on lure painting? I need to know the basics like what kind of paint and how to apply it properly. I want good factory quality, not garage krylon can hack job so I want to learn right. Any guidance is greatly appreciated!

[OTIS]

I'm not a crank bait craftsman, but I'd start with Jann's Netcraft http://www.jannsnetcraft.com/, or Mud Hole http://www.mudhole.com/ for starters.  Good luck!

[landlockedsalmon]

Try Dick Nite spoons for paints,LLS

[Coldfeet]

First thing is to take this lure to a hobby shop to match paints. From the picture quality I see it is a sort of Orange red combo. Chances are you will have to mix two colors to get something close or exact match. DO NOT USE THIS LURE!!! You do not want to loose the master for any reason guard it with your life. Secondly you need a supply of husky Jerks to start off with and Prime these with a white base coat. Remove all hardware and mask off the diving bill. Prime with white and when complete and dry say overnight then you can topcoat with your Orange color.  When the Orange dries fog in the black back and stencil paint the lines make a stencil from clear stencil material found at art and craft store these will last forever if you keep clean and take care of it. Paint the eyes with color of choice and black use a nail head like a ring shank flooring nail for the big section and a number 8 finish nail dipped in black for the pupil.  Once the painting is done and dry you got a couple choices for a clear topcoat. Either Devcon 2 ton epoxy can be used or concrete epoxy clear which is hard to find or come by along with expensive. Either choice you must turn the lure constantly to eliminate sags till it cures. Or the third which I use on my stick lures which is Propionate. Dip the lure head first then tail first and do this say 5 to 6 times for a nice finish. Allow it to dry between coats and if Irregularities show up lightly sand them off for a glass like finish. Make yourself a Hanging brackets to hang the lures as they dry and cure do not over handle them as you will find out over handling them will no doubt add mistakes to the finish. Get hemostats to handle the lure do not use fingers. You really should look into a airbrush for a project like this. Nothing fancy but something other than shaker cans OR brushes for quality work.

[Coldfeet]

By the way Paints I use are Createx acrylic paints which are not effected by Propionate topcoat. I spray all my paints with airbrush no mater what I am doing I use less paint this way and it has never let me down. One major factor to all this is your clear coat top coat MUST be compatible to base colors or it will certainly lift or craze which will force to to start over. So for instance do not think of using a enamel paint and topcoat with Lacquer clear as for certain it will lift but yet you can use lacquer paint and topcoat with enamel clear. You must understand paint basics. And again even this two color lure should be airbrushed for quality your looking for.

[bailey63]

http://dutchforklures.com/custom-painted-blades .check out this website think it suits your needs. They'll paint anything any way.

[Skipper]

So... Coldfeet...  Where can I get a quality airbrush?

Thanks for the help! That is exactly what I was looking for!

[OTIS]

Ya, what Coldfeet said!  He's the man, he makes an AWESOME crank bait!

[Coldfeet]

Otis... thanks for the complement it really means a lot.


As for the airbrush try this place....

http://www.tcpglobal.com/airbrushdepot/


Look through all their airbrushes.  I got mine from them and the really best thing is what they sell they have parts for. This will come in handy.  Get a brush with a 5mm tip for heavy viscosity paints and a 3mm for thin paints. 5mm is used by far more than the 3 mm. A reminder the smaller the tip in mm. the more the aggravations. As far as how fine these brushes will paint a line I can get my 5mm. to paint hair lines so with that you see it is just in the way you handle it.  Practice makes for a better job do not think you will just rip off a bunch of lures it will take a little time to get used to  handling the airbrush but in a few days you will master many of the basics to paint what you want here. Stick with a internal mix brush gravity feed and by all means keep it clean! Iwata, Pasch or Masters all have quality airbrushes for a reasonable price. I used all of the above and as I said they all treated me well over the years.  When you clean these brushes do yourself a huge favor and see if you can get a Lunch tray to work on or even a cookie tray as long as it has short sides to keep those tiny parts in the tray and not on the floor. When you see them you will understand where I am coming from here.  Anything else you need to know just ask I will always try to help out if I can.

[bailey63]

That dutchforks is like 2.50 a lure to paint anyway and i believe uv also i am sending some out this winter to have redone in patterns i like myself.

[Skipper]

Thanks man! I have some ability for such things, so I hope to be a lure painting machine in no time!

I think I could use the airbrush on rods too, that's what really peaked my interest!