Does anyone have custom painted reels?

[ABU is overpriced]

Reading some old posts on other forums, there used to be many that coated their reels with automotive paint, or even cerakote, but i barely seem to find anybody who does it nowadays. I am thinking of cerakoting an alphas 105 cuz i really like these OG tanks, and was wondering if any of you have done it, and if its worth doing.

[MediumMouthBass]

This is a great post!

Ive been wanting to paint my reels for some time now, since i used to do custom paint jobs for stuff in my other hobbies when i was younger.

 

But havent got around to doing it yet. Cerakote seems like the best option, but my inner creativity would rather use a sprayer to get some really cool custom colors.

 

Shouldnt be much work involved, aside from tearing down the reel and prepping it.

[ABU is overpriced]

46 minutes ago, MediumMouthBass said:

This is a great post!

Ive been wanting to paint my reels for some time now, since i used to do custom paint jobs for stuff in my other hobbies when i was younger.

 

But havent got around to doing it yet. Cerakote seems like the best option, but my inner creativity would rather use a sprayer to get some really cool custom colors.

 

Shouldnt be much work involved, aside from tearing down the reel and prepping it.

For cerakote parts needs to be media blasted from my understanding.

[MiceNReets]

28 minutes ago, ABU is overpriced said:

For cerakote parts needs to be media blasted from my understanding.

 

they look social media blasted to me! 
 

 

[ABU is overpriced]

11 minutes ago, MiceNReets said:

 

they look social media blasted to me! 
 

 

lol they sure have been, but its only on there that you will find some examples.

[Lead Head]

I'm currently in the process of accumulating everything I need to do this. Cerakote is pretty involved if done correctly. It requires a lengthy cleaning/prep process, blasting with specific media and grit, and oven curing. 

 

It's way tougher than any paint and is applied so thin that it won't have the tolerance problems of auto paint and clear. I'm still a good way off from a first attempt but it's going to happen. 

 

 

[Bigbox99]

Sagisi customs used to do a lot of creosote reels.  My favorite was his TD ITO themed Steez CT.

[newapti5]

When done properly, lacquer is another great option:

 

 

[FrnkNsteen]

There is someone on here that posted a while ago about restoring some old Daiwa TDZ reels. I believe he used ceracote on his.

 

Can't remember the name, but I remember they looked really nice.

[ABU is overpriced]

4 hours ago, Bigbox99 said:

Sagisi customs used to do a lot of creosote reels.  My favorite was his TD ITO themed Steez CT.

Yea, saw his work. Pretty much the best i've seen around. Was the guy posting on here? Only saw him on TT.

[new2BC4bass]

Nope, but I have a Limited Edition OG Tatula (Type R? Don't remember).  Beautiful red.  Only been out of the box to look at.  Getting reels painted is a rabbit hole I don't want to go down.

 

[ABU is overpriced]

10 minutes ago, new2BC4bass said:

Nope, but I have a Limited Edition OG Tatula (Type R? Don't remember).  Beautiful red.  Only been out of the box to look at.  Getting reels painted is a rabbit hole I don't want to go down.

 

Its the ulmimate endgame, tho. Custom spools, handles, bearings, etc is nice, but its not "far" enough😎

[Eric 26]

4 hours ago, FrnkNsteen said:

There is someone on here that posted a while ago about restoring some old Daiwa TDZ reels. I believe he used ceracote on his.

 

Can't remember the name, but I remember they looked really nice.

It was driving me nuts as I remembered them also😬

[FrnkNsteen]

1 hour ago, Eric 26 said:

It was driving me nuts as I remembered them also😬

Yep,... That's it. Good  find!

[Bigbox99]

6 hours ago, ABU is overpriced said:

Yea, saw his work. Pretty much the best i've seen around. Was the guy posting on here? Only saw him on TT.

There was also rugbyfisherman on TT that would paint reels and then sell them on the forum.  He was famous (with me at least) for his camo paint jobs.  It started with a red and silver camo Megabass IS63 and then I bought his urban camo Megabass IS73 the instant I saw it for sale.  I followed his photobucket or insta or whatever people were using in 2018 after he disappeared from TT and I saw he had done a blue/white artic camo TD-Z.  Canadian guy called MK customs on IG or something like that.  I wish to this day I saved pics of that red/silver camo IS63.  

[woolleyfooley]

12 hours ago, Bigbox99 said:

Sagisi customs used to do a lot of creosote reels.  My favorite was his TD ITO themed Steez CT.

Oh now that’s gorgeous.

[ABU is overpriced]

1 hour ago, Bigbox99 said:

There was also rugbyfisherman on TT that would paint reels and then sell them on the forum.  He was famous (with me at least) for his camo paint jobs.  It started with a red and silver camo Megabass IS63 and then I bought his urban camo Megabass IS73 the instant I saw it for sale.  I followed his photobucket or insta or whatever people were using in 2018 after he disappeared from TT and I saw he had done a blue/white artic camo TD-Z.  Canadian guy called MK customs on IG or something like that.  I wish to this day I saved pics of that red/silver camo IS63.  

Think i saw his stuff, but not a big fan of camo paterns on reels. And the evo2s197 is Sagasi. He posted the same pics of his tdz's on TT.

[MonsterZero]

On 1/28/2025 at 11:10 PM, Lead Head said:

I'm currently in the process of accumulating everything I need to do this. Cerakote is pretty involved if done correctly. It requires a lengthy cleaning/prep process, blasting with specific media and grit, and oven curing. 

 

It's way tougher than any paint and is applied so thin that it won't have the tolerance problems of auto paint and clear. I'm still a good way off from a first attempt but it's going to happen. 

 

 

I look forward to seeing the results. This is a sick idea.

[Lead Head]

I'm currently stuck trying to decide between C and E series. 

C is no bake, takes 7 days to fully cure, is UV stable, and is the least durable. 

 

E needs a 300 degree bake (plastic gets 150-180 for more time), is less UV stable, but is possibly the most durable paint/coating option available.  

 

The reels I paint will be used a lot. I'm trying to figure out if I'm better off with less durable, or less UV stable. 

[ABU is overpriced]

2 hours ago, Lead Head said:

I'm currently stuck trying to decide between C and E series. 

C is no bake, takes 7 days to fully cure, is UV stable, and is the least durable. 

 

E needs a 300 degree bake (plastic gets 150-180 for more time), is less UV stable, but is possibly the most durable paint/coating option available.  

 

The reels I paint will be used a lot. I'm trying to figure out if I'm better off with less durable, or less UV stable. 

UV stability doesn't matter unless you leave your reels bake under the sun all day. The C series is weak, so if your goal is to have a very scratch resistant paint job, C series ain't that much better than standard paint from Shimano. E series is indeed the best against scratches, but there's barely any color choice. I'd say the H series is the best option for a reel, and this is what i think of using.

[Lead Head]

Lol, I'm the opposite of most people. E series has all the color choices I need... black and gray.

 

Everything I paint will be some combination of black and gray (MAYBE some silver). I'm one of those boring old farts that only wants dark neutral colors. I actually bought black line guides from the alphas ct for my sv105 reels because I couldn't stand the red. 

 

If I didn't have several magnesium reels that desperately need to be sealed up I wouldn't be so set on getting into cerakote. You talked me out of C, and since I only need black, gray, and maybe titanium, I might as well go E over H. I think I can rig up a oven that will hit 300 with a heat gun and temperature controller. If my redneck oven idea works, I'll have everything but the actual cerakote on hand. I'm hoping to have everything that needs to be sealed done in the next few weeks, then I can decide if I'm doing a good enough job cosmetically to justify doing the rest of my reels. 

 

Edit to add:

My reels get direct sunlight 10-15 hours a week about 10 1/2 months of the year, sitting on the boat while I'm fishing. 

[GRiver]

Ok now…., everyone on this thread. You have stepped over the rabbit hole and fell in the deep end of the pool. Not sure if there is any lifeguard rings to save ya at this point.  Just try and swim to the edge, there will be guys in white jackets to try and pull ya out, don’t resist them. They are there to help, they have some people that want to talk to ya.

Just kidding everybody, now you anglers have taken it to the next level, for sure.

Please post pictures and “How to’s”

 

[woolleyfooley]

Anyone know what make/model reel this is?

 

 

[ABU is overpriced]

1 hour ago, woolleyfooley said:

Anyone know what make/model reel this is?

 

 

How could you not recognize the best "large" baitcaster ever made? Its a Z2020 of course.

Have been begging on forums for 10 years for this thing to come out in 100 size☹
https://www.tiktok.com/@kamarulnizlee/video/7114967209738341659

[ABU is overpriced]

13 hours ago, Lead Head said:

Lol, I'm the opposite of most people. E series has all the color choices I need... black and gray.

 

Everything I paint will be some combination of black and gray (MAYBE some silver). I'm one of those boring old farts that only wants dark neutral colors. I actually bought black line guides from the alphas ct for my sv105 reels because I couldn't stand the red. 

 

If I didn't have several magnesium reels that desperately need to be sealed up I wouldn't be so set on getting into cerakote. You talked me out of C, and since I only need black, gray, and maybe titanium, I might as well go E over H. I think I can rig up a oven that will hit 300 with a heat gun and temperature controller. If my redneck oven idea works, I'll have everything but the actual cerakote on hand. I'm hoping to have everything that needs to be sealed done in the next few weeks, then I can decide if I'm doing a good enough job cosmetically to justify doing the rest of my reels. 

 

Edit to add:

My reels get direct sunlight 10-15 hours a week about 10 1/2 months of the year, sitting on the boat while I'm fishing. 

You sure about those grays and blacks?😎