First airbrush attempt on a lipless crank

Well, Keith, I first want to assure you I'm with you all the way with red. My experience has been with Ratl Traps as far as lipless goes. Those have always been great certain times of the year here, especially in the fall and pre-spawn. So far I know the Xcalibur Rayburn red catches stripers like crazy. I'll be giving it a basshole workout tomorrow, bass biting or not. I asked and was told many times the bite is off, but I'm going anyway. That's a nice job on that Renegade, a paint job probably no bass in any lake has seen on a Renegade! It ought to be hot. Keep sticking up for the red lipless. Eventually you'll get some converts.

Jim

Thanks Jim. I think I convinced a few folks so far. I think some more are beginning to turn the light on so to speak.

Nice paint job on that trap! Keep up with that and you will have a new company.

KeithsCatch said:

Well, since I love RED lipless crankbaits so much and seem to talk about them all the time I thought I would take a cheap Renegade lipless that I had laying around and give it the Rayburn red pattern that XCalibur produces on their baits.

Here it is:

Another shot:

The stripes are not that good as I used a paint brush and as you can see didn't pay allot of attention to it. So it is not production quality at all. But for a first attempt at airbrushing a lure I am pretty pleased. I will do some more and will get pretty good at it sooner or later.

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Keith thats a great job. It took me forever to learn to airbrush. I think the stripes look great. You need to find a clear top coat to protect it.

You need to find a clear top coat to protect it.

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I was going to say the same thing. That is a great paint job.

Stick with it and good luck in the future. :thumbup01:

Thanks guys. I haven't put a top coat on it yet. But I will. I have 2 ton epoxy by Devcon. That will hold it nice and good.

Does anyone know if I can dilute that epoxy enough to spray it on with my airbrush? I usually paint it on but sometimes I have noticed that it flakes off later on. Like maybe I applied it to heavy the first coat.

Thanks.

yep you sure can dilute it enough to spray it. You want to dilute it to the consistency of milk with the proper thinner.

Great thanks Jared. What thinner do you recommend?

KeithsCatch said:

Great thanks Jared. What thinner do you recommend?

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thats the only thing I am unsure of... I will check with some friends though

I caution against spraying it on it will cause problems with your airbrush.

Dan, have you tried that before? Is it too difficult to clean? That would stink if I ruined my brand new airbrush haha. I was just thinking about an easier way to apply it then using a brush.

This is going to sound a little crazy Keith but bare with me.....try useing a make-up brush that women use to put on blush. It is super soft and will allow you to put on a coat evenly. Then stick the brush in some thinner.


I just thought about this while at work because I had to touch up an table and this is how I applied the clear coat. You have to work with what you got. It didn't clump up and you really can't tell that the corner was ever damaged.

I'm not sure about the epoxy paint damaging teh airbrush. I would think it would follow the same rules as other types of paints being used with an airbrush... thin it properly and clean it thoroughly and properly and the airbrush should remain as good as new.

I have sent the question of how to thin and airbrush epoxy paint to a few of my buddies who, if anyone knows the answer, these guys will.

Bobby, I will try that thanks. If the airbrush idea is shot down I will give that a shot. I usually get those .50 cent brushes at Wal-mart in the paint department because I know once I am done with the epoxy they are ruined.

Let me know Jared I sure don't want to permanently ruin my airbrush with epoxy so I won't use it till I hear.

this is one of my buddies wrote me back:

Is he absolutely stuck on epoxy? Why not a 2-part catylized urethane clear? Urethanes cure rock hard, don't yellow, and polish up real nice.

You can use epoxy through an airbrush, just as long as it's reduced enough to flow through it. It won't damage the airbrush unless you don't thoroughly clean it afterwards and it hardens in the tip and around the needle.

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Jared, everyone who makes lures that I spoke with uses epoxy. However, I am not stuck on it at all. If there is something that won't yellow and won't just come off like epoxy is doing to me then you bet I am interested. Where can I get some of this 2-part catylized urethane clear?

In the mean time what product do I use to thin the epoxy? Just mineral spirits or paint thinner?

Thanks.

KeithsCatch said:

Jared, everyone who makes lures that I spoke with uses epoxy. However, I am not stuck on it at all. If there is something that won't yellow and won't just come off like epoxy is doing to me then you bet I am interested. Where can I get some of this 2-part catylized urethane clear?

In the mean time what product do I use to thin the epoxy? Just mineral spirits or paint thinner?

Thanks.

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I am waitin on those exact answers for you I must admit I am curious too. Soon as I hear back from them I will let ya know. :thumbup01:

Harbor Freight has cheap air brush sets for around $10. If it messes up, chunk it, if not then you have it for another day. I would be afraid of messing up my good brush though.

You are right. I found this on their site. http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=47791 great find Britt. Their compressors are pretty cheap also. I may just get one of those $10 airbrushes and use it just for the final finish. At that price it ain't gonna kill me to lose a few of them.

Thanks.