Using the cheap craft paint in an airbrush

[NateFollmer]

I know I have seen all you painters say you can use that cheap craft paint in airbrushes, but what are you using to thin it out? I have seen on the net everything from windex to water, some say use alcohol, others said not too...

Also, is it really much more cost effective to use this craft paint vs. buying airbrush paint? The stuff at Michaels was like 4.50 for a tiny bottle where I could get the same sized craft paint for 3 for 2 dollars. I guess what I'm asking there is, will the airbrush paint take less coats making the cost not all that bad?

Sorry if this sounds noobish, but it is I searched and didn't find anything on the subject.

[jbh3]

I've used the acrylic craft paints from Wally, Micheals, etc. It is water based paint and I use water for thinner. For me, it covers as well as Createx. The stores around here have a lot better color selection in the generic craft paints. I say go for it!! Good luck!

[Fishwhittler]

I use water to thin the Folk-Art paints.  I usually thin to the consistency of milk or a bit thicker.  You'll need to experiment to find what works best with your airbrush.

I prefer Createx white paint to Folk-Art white because the Createx does a much better job of covering.  That's the only paint I've had coverage issues with; all the other Folk-Art paints I've used cover other colors just fine.

Hope this helps.

Ben

[NateFollmer]

Thanks guys, that helps alot. I hope this airbrush works ha my pap have it to me and I bet it's 30 years old. I have no problem buying one but you can't beat free!

[.dsaavedra.]

craft paint sucks in an airbrush (from my experiences). it will work but the coverage isn't great and eventually you will get tired of thinning it out every time you want to paint

[BobP]

If your airbrush will shoot it (i.e., if it has a tip that's >3.5mm) craft paint works but there are downsides.  The particle size is larger than airbrush paint so the dry paint surface will be rougher.  You always have to thin it, with a/b paint you can usually just squirt it in and shoot it.  It's gonna clog your a/b more often regardless of thinning it.  When it does, the a/b will often shoot water and run all over the bait while the paint particles stay clogged in the tip.  The big problem is that you are layering paint over paint as you paint a bait.  If you or the a/b screws up on the last color, you have to rinse off all the paint and start from scratch.  That is very frustrating and I decided years ago that anything that minimizes screw ups was worth it.  If you eventually get an a/b with a smaller tip (say, a .2mm or .3mm) to help you shoot detail and do finer shading, the hobby paint is then useless and you'll have to throw it all away.  Bottom line - it's worth it to buy a/b paint.  Get it in 4 oz or larger bottles and the price is quite reasonable, plus it last a long long time.  JMHO 

[BIG M]

You may save a little cash with craft paint but you will spend that on headach meds.   Invest in quality airbrush ready paint and have a lot more fun with the new hobby.  I've got 1oz bottles of paint that have lasted for a couple of yrs, so it's really not that expensive.   

[NateFollmer]

Cool thanks guys. What about using spray paint as a base (say my bait will be mostly white)? Or should I just go all airbrush? I know, I'm a cheap sob, but I got kids and they are a cash black hole ha 8-)

[jbh3]

You can certainly go the rattle can route for basic patterns. Details such as eyes and gill flares can be added by various methods - including a finish nail and/or a Sharpie. They will catch fish. That said, I'm really envious of the folks here that produce these works of air brush art that happen to be fishing lures.

[NateFollmer]

Nice! I was thinking of just getting the spray paint for the big areas, then do the airbrushing for some things and use some tiny brushes for other things. I'll post some images once I get this stuff done. I'm actually going to model the crank bodies via a 3d modeling program then have them cut on a CNC (I know it's cheating, but I can't curve to save my life). I have some neat body designs in my head

[Fishwhittler]

Cool thanks guys. What about using spray paint as a base (say my bait will be mostly white)? Or should I just go all airbrush? I know, I'm a cheap sob, but I got kids and they are a cash black hole ha 8-)

I've used Krylon primer under acrylic paint with no problems at all. You may run into trouble if you use a solvent-base topcoat over Krylon (or any aerosol paint), but if you use an epoxy topcoat you should be okay.

[NateFollmer]

Yeah, I was going to use the epoxy. I used to make little CO2 dragsters in middle school (think the boy scouts pine wood derby, only with co2 tanks in them) and the epoxy just gives a nice clean finish. Looks like the Devcon 2-ton 30 minute is the way to go?

[Vodkaman]

The CNC idea may not work out as well as you might think. You will only be able to CNC two halves, also the machining time will be longer than you would imagine and the finish will still need cleaning up.

You could consider making RTV molds of your bodies and pouring a resin like alumilite. This would save you the carving chore and give you consistent bodies to work with.

I hope I am wrong about the CNC thing and if you need any help with the CAD bodies, just PM me, I have done a few.

Dave

[Fishwhittler]

I've heard a lot about Devcon yellowing from guys that have used it a lot, so I would suggest using something else.  I've used Flex Coat Ultra V with good results, and I know Big M uses it on all his baits.  Some of the more commonly used topcoats are:

Devcon 2 Ton (epoxy)

Flex Coat Ultra V High Build (epoxy)

Envirotex Lite (epoxy)

Dick Nites Fishermun's Lure-Coat (commonly known as Dick Nites or DN; this is a moisture-cure urethane)

The only one of these topcoats I've used is Flex Coat, but there are a lot of guys on here that can help you with any questions you have about the other topcoats.

Ben

[NateFollmer]

Hey Vodkaman I remember you from TU. My username is nfollmer over there. I ditched my soft plastics ideas for now, it's just going to cost too much to get started Hopefully someday I can start making my designs or someone will pick them up... but I digress....

I don't mind having to clean up the CNC marks after it's cut. Trust me, if you saw my curving skills, you'd see why I'm doing it that way I might look into the plastic resin also, but I just want to cut a few halves to see if this is something I want to keep doing or not. Also, I like having the wood in halves because then I could add weights or rattles in different areas to experiment with placement and all that fun stuff

[Vodkaman]

I understand what you mean about the carving aspect. I can do it, but not a big fan. This is why I built the duplicator, as the resin was too heavy for what I wanted.

The dup m/c is not brilliant, but a couple of minutes on the flap wheel and it's done. I can cut 100 bodies in a long day, then don't need to bother for a while.

Dave

[NateFollmer]

Yeah that's a neat machine! We will see how far I get into this before I worry about mass production ha ha I highly doubt I'll ever need to make anywhere near 100

I just noticed I have been spelling curving instead of carving... Thanks for looking out for me guys (no one said a word ) seriously though, thanks for all the help everyone!

[BobP]

Buy a "highly pigmented" water based airbrush paint like Polytranspar's Superhide White for color basecoating.  It's cheaper than aerosol primers and you won't have to put up with the permanent stink that solvent based primers often give to a lure.  Just one in the tackle box and all your lures will smell like crap. 

[NateFollmer]

Thanks for the tip. I'll look into that stuff once I get some bodies cut.