Baitmaker

A couple new cedar squarebills. These are 2 1/4"

Making your own 3-D eyes is pretty simple and they look great. This video shows how to make them with a printer, but aluminum foil works very well also. Just paint a black pupil, and let dry before adding the epoxy.

The term for that splatter technique is "stippling" if you want to search it on YouTube or whatever. There are several ways to achieve that look, one being the way that Ringonu went about it. (also the way I do it) It takes a bit of practice to get it perfected. Turn the PSI way down and pull back to load the tip with paint. Then press the trigger down to make it spit. If you hold the airbrush still it makes round spots. Movement can leave little comet trails. After playing around with it you can tell how much PSI and distance to your project you need for the look you are after.

And the addiction has begun. Wow! That is one sweet looking paint job regardless of how long you've been doing it. Talk about starting off on a good note! I see many killer looking baits in your future. One way to make a great looking set of 3-D eyes is by wrapping the head of a nail in foil, then painting a pupil in the center and putting a drop or two of epoxy on top. Trim the edges and they pop right off after they harden.

You may want to take a look at the angle of how the bait sits in water and take a mental note of the water line before painting or modifying. Then compare when you are done. They are designed and weighted to have a specific action, but that doesn't always mean that slight changes is a bad thing. (Usually isn't good) It is common for guys to drill holes and add lead to some wood musky baits that they use here at my local lakes. All done by a lot of trial and error and learning what works and what doesn't.

Very nice! Please keep posting. Down the road sometime you should consider building your own baits from scratch. Talk about addicting!

Awesome! You are killing it! Looks like the addiction has found another victim. Keep posting pics of your progress.

Outside of just wanting to make your own, older Jitterbugs are a dime a dozen if you look around long enough. Every dusty tackle box you'll find seems to have a few in it. Check out the "Ending Soonest" listings on E-Bay on a regular basis and you can get them cheap from people who don't set a minimum reserve price. Even some of the rare colors don't seem to fetch very much money. Just realized how old this thread was. DUH! My bad

That looks great! Nice job!

Very cool stencils! I have a feeling you will surprise yourself with your paint jobs. PVC tubing is good for lure paint practice because it's smooth and white plus has a curved surface. Wipe clean with alcohol and use them over and over. Here is a pretty good video that may help you get started. I hope you and your daughter find it to be an enjoyable hobby. Looking forward to seeing what you end up with.

Paint, not so much. Epoxy top coat may have an effect. Especially multiple coats on a smaller suspending bait. It adds a little bit of weight.

X 2 with all the above. Aside from the excellent info that junyer357 posted, I would also recommend watching YouTube videos on the subject of lure painting. There are hours worth of tutorials there that will help answer questions and get you started. The Iwata Eclipse hp-cs airbrush is also the one that I use, as well as the Createx, Wicked, and Auto Air water based paints and a small pancake compressor that I picked up cheap from Harbor Freight several years ago. I like to paint indoors, and the compressor is very quiet. The reducer that I use is Auto Air 4011. You will find that some paints will need more or less to flow properly, especially at low PSI. Here is one such video that you may find helpful. The artists name is Mikko, aka SolarBaits from Finland. His work is amazing. Here he demonstrates how to paint gills and fins using stencils. Even for a beginner, it's not as hard as it may look to get great results. Above all, have fun!

This fly is just too cool! Well done!!! UV resin is something that I have been looking forward to experimenting with.

Great answers given here. After trying several different top coats over the years, I am back to where I started which is Envirotex Lite epoxy. It requires a drying wheel or method of movement while curing to avoid pools and sags. The plus side is that once dry, it stays clear and rock hard for years. I use hypo syringes to take the guess work out of getting a true 50/50 blend and mix it for 5 minutes before applying.

You may find that colors will not show up well unless you first lay down a white base coat. Black is especially tough to cover. My advice would be to test out your paint on a white surface and then a black one to get a better understanding of the finished appearance.

Thank you Crypt!

Some new stuff. A blue tiger and a couple of new gold foiled ones. These are 6 and 4 inch cedar baits (minus the lips) I'm making some larger 6-7" lures for walleye on Lake Erie before the ice hits.

Check out the channel on YouTube called Solar Baits. His name is Mikko and his baits are top notch and then some. He shows how he goes about building a swim bait as well as other types of lures. Also tips on painting, foiling, making 3-D scales, etc.

Thanks man! Much appreciated.

These are mid divers that typically run 7-8 ft. They are belly weighted floating baits that might reach 10 ft or so when trolled on small diameter line.

Thank You!

Have you asked your question to Shimano? Their service dept is excellent to deal with. I'm sure they would help you out with that.

Lately I've been on a foil kick making these new perch and some other baits. These are 3 1/2" and again done in cedar.