Intro To Airbrushing

[MichiganFishing1997]

What are all the materials I need to begin airbrushing my own hard body baits? Be specific please.  I dont have a ton of money to spend, but i would like to try my hand at it. Thanks.

[Snakehead Whisperer]

Pretty simple really. Get the following...

 

-Air compressor w/moisture trap. (get the best you can afford. usually cheaper=louder. Do not omit the moisture trap, as water from the tank will shoot through the airbrush at the worst possible times. You'll need to be able to regulate the air too, usually between 10-30psi for this type of painting.)

-An airbrush with .3 or .5mm needle. I highly recommend a gravity fed type (you will be sorry if you don't heed this.) Seriously, get an Iwata. You can thank me later The revolution series is a great value, and can handle both needle sizes if you get the parts.

-Something to mount the lures on while painting. I prefer to use 1/8" metal rod with gator clips attached. A vise is handy to put them in when doing detail work/scale masking.

-If you know how to make your own colors, get a set of opaque primary colors plus black, white and metallic/pearl colors of your liking. If you don't know how to make colors, get a color wheel and learn how to mix your own colors (or get pre-mixed colors if you want to be lazy... not recommended.) I also like to have a few transparent/translucent colors to do subtle fades, etc.

-Devcon 2 Ton epoxy for top coat (do not get the 5 minute kind, or any "quick drying" epoxy.) Pro tip.... get a rotisserie motor for even drying.

-Cheap throw away brushes for applying the epoxy. (You'll only be able to use them once, so get cheap ones.)

-Blue painters tape (for masking bills, etc.)

-A good primer that is made for whatever material you'll be painting.

-Scale masking can be bought from a number of sources. If you want to get a good quality finish then use bridal veil (available at any fabric store in various sizes) or buy the stuff made especially for lure making. I recommend the bridal veil. You can get a years supply for around $5.

-To make stencils use a good quality razor knife. I use "Olfa" brand with the black break away blades. They are the sharpest blades you can get. Usually I make custom stencils for each bait, so I cut the stencils from card stock or whatever I have laying around. Use overhead projector transparency sheets if you want something that will last longer. 

 

That should get you on the right track. Hook us up with some photos once you start painting. There are numerous other things you will soon acquire if you really get into this, but the list I gave you will get you started.

[MichiganFishing1997]

Thanks a ton! Now i just have to decide if i want to get into this or get a new fly rod...

[MichiganFishing1997]

Unfortunately by the sounds of it.. it might be a little too expensive for me to get into. 

[Christian M]

Snakehead- Awesome rundown! this is one that I just pasted from another member asking the same question, I figured some reinforcement wouldn't hurt

 

My first piece of advice would be if you are serious about getting into airbrushing, find a local Art shop /supply store and take some classes before you drop all this money on something you may not even like doing

    Getting into airbrushing lures is a great art from. However, like fishing, airbrushing its not cheap, and if you are serious about it, its not just a hobby.

    I know there are guys on YouTube showing $20 airbrushes in action, claiming they work. That simply isn't true. If you really want to put out some quality work, you're going to have to spend money.

    More Importantly, its not an easy thing to do. You will need to develop your skills. That includes understanding how every part of the airbrush works & how to make adjustments. You will have to develop your skills as far as brush strokes and technique. Also, like snakehead mentioned, you will need in depth knowledge of the color spectrum. How to properly thin paints. How they react when layered. There are Opaque, Transparent, Iridescent, Pearlized, Metallic, Flourescent...

   There are 2 types of airbrushes you will have to decide between, the first is siphon fed, and the second is gravity fed. Most siphon fed airbrushes cost less and are good at painting larger areas, but lack the capability to paint fine lines and details. The gravity fed airbrush, on the other hand, is good for painting both larger areas and very fine details (take Snakeheads advice & go w/gravity fed) You can buy different size needles, caps, and tips for both types, and I suggest you do buy spares because parts can be delicate and you don't want to break or bend a needle while in the middle of a lure..

    When shopping for your starter airbrush, there are 3 major companies that you'll want to take a look at. Badger, Paasche, and Iwata. Badger, in general, is seen as the "cheaper" option, but if you get into their higher end brushes, they put out some decent equipment. Paasche is next, but not inferior to Iwata. I know professional artists that will only use Paasche, and others that will only use Iwata, it comes down to what you prefer, and what you can afford. I own a high end Paasche, you can check out a few of my lures on this site & decide for yourself.

    The next purchase you'll need to make is a compressor. You can go out and buy a kit compressor, a small, handheld compressor, which I strongly advise against. The major problems with these are that they constantly need to be running because they don't have an air reserve tank (extremely annoying), and they sputter while you're painting. I would recommend going out to your local Home Depot and buying a construction style compressor. There are several different styles and sizes, the most popular being a pancake style, but make sure that the one you purchase has a psi gauge and control. This will allow you to place the compressor somewhere away from your work station, this way you can paint in peace, and have a smooth air stream running to your airbrush. After you choose a compressor, you'll need to buy a moisture trap. This is an ABSOLUTE MUST. Without a moisture trap you'll have water spitting out of your compressor through your airbrush.

 

Snakehead, I know I repeated most of what you said, but I'm sure we both have the same good intentions as far as advice.

    For other info, go to www.tackleunderground.com, they have everything and anything you'll ever want to know on tackle making. Good Luck!!

[Snakehead Whisperer]

@Christian M

No prob. I had to learn all of this the hard way. If I had been able to read both of our posts when I got started, it would have saved me a lot of grief. 

 

@MichiganFishing1997

I hope you go for it and start painting hard baits. The feeling of catching fish on your own creation is unreal. You're right though about the money factor. I started out by carving a piece of scrap wood into a popper and that led to an obsession. I now have a substantial investment in my lure building shop, but it's a labor of love... so I don't regret it. These baits in the photos are made from scratch.

[Christian M]

Hey Snakehead, I wish I had read those two post before I began as well. The color wasn't an issue for me because I've been painting since I was a kid and when I got to art school I had to take a color theory class where we had to paint our own acrylic color chart. If I recall correctly it was 256 squares (every color in the spectrum) and we were graded on color accuracy and craftsmanship. Every .5" square had to be taped off. The lines had to be clean. no freehand  

  I remmeber my first airbrush was a Paasche VL Siphon fed, when I tried to use it for the first time, I called the little art shop and said "something is wrone with my airbrush, everytime I go to spray it just spatters, and I cant get a decent line out of it" lol. When I think about him hearing me say that I just have to laugh at myself!! Those are some sweet lures BTW. Right now I order blanks and paint them, I try to get as many shapes and styles as possible. I dont wanna corner myself into being a one trick pony so I do shallow, deep, topwater, big, small and anything else that looks interesting. I want to buy an Iwata, but for now my Talon really is a sweet brush.

[Snakehead Whisperer]

Hey Snakehead, I wish I had read those two post before I began as well. I remmeber my first airbrush was a Paasche VL Siphon fed, when I tried to use it for the first time, I called the little art shop and said "something is wrone with my airbrush, everytime I go to spray it just spatters, and I cant get a decent line out of it" lol. When I think about him hearing me say that I just have to laugh at myself!! Those are some sweet lures BTW. Right now I order blanks and paint them, I try to get as many shapes and styles as possible. I dont wanna corner myself into being a one trick pony so I do shallow, deep, topwater, big, small and anything else that looks interesting. I want to buy an Iwata, but for now my Talon really is a sweet brush.

Thanks man.

 

I know some serious artists who use Paasche stuff (but most that I know of use the Iwatas.)

 

I first decided to make my own lures because I wasn't able to find very many lure manufacturers that built non-standard stuff (for instance, it's really difficult to find silent/rattle-less crankbaits generally speaking.) It's been an uphill climb and I've had more than my fair share of lures that blow out when I test them on the water. Deep divers are especially difficult to make. I used hand tools for everything up until last year. 

 

Judging by the crankbaits I've seen that you painted I can tell you have a good eye and a steady hand. There's not much else needed to build them from scratch (well, a lot of patience helps.) If you're half as good with tools as you are with the airbrush I'm sure you could create some top-shelf baits. Just a thought. 

 

Keep up the good work.

[Snakehead Whisperer]

Hey Snakehead, I wish I had read those two post before I began as well. The color wasn't an issue for me because I've been painting since I was a kid and when I got to art school I had to take a color theory class where we had to paint our own acrylic color chart. If I recall correctly it was 256 squares (every color in the spectrum) and we were graded on color accuracy and craftsmanship. Every .5" square had to be taped off. The lines had to be clean. no freehand

 Sounds painful. I worked at a Benjamin Moore paint store when I was a teenager and learned how to eye match colors from an old timer. I think that people tend to over complicate this and are oblivious to the fact that color is a science and results will never vary (e.g. yellow and blue make green, period.) I was taught with a simple color wheel.

 

Off whites were always the most challenging colors to match with the type of paints we were mixing.