air brush paints

[luckycrank]

I broke down and bought a qaulity air brush a about a year ago.after a good freind gave me a silent portable air compressor with a built in regulator fron 5-100 psi .i am ready to dive in feet first. I am thinking of buying a few poppers and crankbait bodies to start with , what types of paints should I use.are water base paints ok? how do I go about getting the right vicosity when thining them ?

ect I am green as they come on this matter thanks

[solbes]

I use Createx Airbrush paint, which is water based. This comes in transparent colors, opaques, flourescents, pearls, and iridescents. I generally thin that list from least to most, with pearls and iridescents both needing a fair amount of thinning. Transparents should shoot great right out of the bottle. The pearls and iridescents can be a little tricky if you have a smaller tip, say .3 mm or smaller. You can still shoot them, but you can't get by with any clumping.

If you can get the viscosity similar to some of the thinner milk varieties, you should be able to shoot it fairly well. Too thin and it will bead up and run over your paint bodies. Too thick and it can clog or cause tip dry. Getting your viscosity and air pressure correct are two of the most important things to learn.

I really like some of the effects from the oil based paints, and they may be a little more forgiving through your gun. I do't like the solvent cleanup, and I don't have the equipment to keep it safe spraying in my basement.

I'm far from being proficient, but I have come a long ways in 18 months of casual painting. You just have to get some practice to start seeing some results. Very addictive, good luck.

[luckycrank]

I am in the same boat as you with the basement, fumes are what I am concerned most with at this time. where do you buy your paints ? I have a 3mm and 2 mm tip

have only.

[mainbutter]

I'm an airbrush noob but I too enjoy the entire line of Createx water based paints.

Don't forget that 99% of painting lures is for your own enjoyment. A nice perch pattern isn't much more than a copper/gold base, green on top, orange on bottom, black stripes down the sides and down the back. It doesn't have to be detailed AT ALL to be attractive to fish. Heck, a black body with vertical orange bars is killer for musky or pike crankbaits.

[solbes]

Artsupply.com is where I've bought them. They sometimes have a free shipping deal going on. I think they are about $2.80 a bottle. I've also bought them one or two at a time from Michaels in store. I usually use the 40% off coupon which brings it down to a similar price. But they're 1 at a time, so that will take you awhile!

Note, I just checked my email. Looks like "weekend" coupon code will get you 14% off at ArtSupply this weekend. Of course you need to spend $70 to get it, which is a lot of different paint colors

I would suggest buying some white and black opaque. Black shoots great with just a little water thinning, white can be a little more tricky. Next buy 3 or 4 transparent colors since they shoot so easy. Maybe a fluoresscent or two. Try the white + transparents first. Move on to the fluoro after you get comfortable shooting that. Finally move onto the pearls after you get comfy with thinning that.

[bassnbucks]

I use Createx as well, I like to add Pledge future floor shine to all of my paint bottles. It helps flow and dries harder. I add only a little bit to tranparents, and about 2 or 2 1/2 times to some pearls and iridescents as they are a bit harder to shoot from my brush. I have an Iwata BR revolution with a .3mm tip. If you thin with the pledge make sure you clean your airbrush good after every session with acetone. Make sure to heat set your lures with a blow dryer or heat gun before clear coating.

Have fun its very addicting...

[Borch]

I use a lot of different water based paint for my cranks. Auto air is my favorite and requires little to no thinning but I use a lot of different paints. Other cheaper paints work well but then to require more thinning to spray. I use windex or washer fluid to thin my paints. I get a lot less beading with this mixture as it reduces surface tension.

When done just cover with a good waterproof clear coat. I've been using devcon 2 ton 30 min epoxy which works well but can yellow with prolonged sun exposure. You'll need to turn baits with this for at least 15 minutes to get a good even coat. If you have some bubble use a hair dry to work them out.

Good luck and enjoy.