The first one

[beer980]

Well I finally finished my first paint job and I have plenty of room to grow. I was just trying to work out the kinks with my airbrush and tools. I painted two with a white basecoat and this one with a black basecoat. Getting the netting to stay where you want it to is an interesting exercise. First attempt was using a needlepoint hoop. I did not find this to be very good as the netting moved around and was hard to cover much of the bait. I started over and just clipped it in place around the bait with those paper binder clips along the top, this worked out better.

I was not thrilled with the epoxy coat but being hard headed I had to try it my way first. I found a Devcon 5 minute epoxy on the hook next to the recommended 30 minute 2 ton epoxy. I figured I could get one lure sealed in less then 5 minutes of work time and I almost did. It started to get a little thick and tricky to hold without getting it everywhere. I did miss a small spot on top that I will fix on my next one when I seal it.

I ordered a basic 12 color starter set of Createx paints that were on special. Overall I am somewhat satisfied with the general paint job. I was able to mix some colors for a different look then just the stock starter set of paints. I have 6 opaque & 6 translucent colors to work with plus 2 pearls I bought separately. My brush is from Master Airbrush model G46. Double action with 3 different size cups and it does have the micro air adjustment on the airbrush.

Next I will paint the two with a white basecost to improve my painting skills. I also need to build my drying wheel for the 30 minute epoxy.

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[Mike Cork]

Way better than I could do! Thank you for the indepth post! Keep them coming, this is the kind of stuff we can all learn from!!

[fishinfranklin]

Looks good,, iam like Mike way better than i could ever do,, i love reading the post in this section and seeing all the baits you guys make and paint, wish i could get my brother into painting baits he is the artist of the family and paints airplanes daliy for a living,, myself i cant even draw a stick man lol

[javelin225ho]

that epoxy is self leveling, you dont need a drying wheel if you do two things:

paint the epoxy on thin and dont try to get 3 baits done with one cup of epoxy. 

if you find yourself halfway through and the clearcoat is starting to gum up on ya, heat it up.  i have a space heater i use for this application.  also, if you put it on a bait over the heater, it will be as if you thinned it out. 

i dont use the 30 minute stuff.  i just use the 2-ton, i think it has a handling time of a couple hours.  if you need to fish with it that night, i say try it, but if you dont, let it hang overnight.  if you need a way to hang up the baits, take some old line and an old treble hook, snip off the barb and tie it up.  it works great.

[beer980]

Thanks for the tip. I used some old braid line and strung it across my makeshift painting booth. Then I sliped it through the eyelet before I put on the epoxy. So it just hung from the mouth.

[islandbass]

That's pretty good for a first time. I guess it's true that the 5 min is just too fast. I use the 30 min. myself.

i dont use the 30 minute stuff.  i just use the 2-ton, i think it has a handling time of a couple hours.  if you need to fish with it that night, i say try it, but if you dont, let it hang overnight.  if you need a way to hang up the baits, take some old line and an old treble hook, snip off the barb and tie it up.  it works great.

I do something similar. However, I use a paper clip. Fold out the inner section of the paper clip and you will have an "S" shaped hook.  One goes through the lure's wire or screw eye loop and the other to where ever you want to hang it.

When I dry my lures after the devcon setting, I will use up to two paper clips:

end 1 of clip 1 to the top or bottom loop of the lure. (eg, the line tie or the tail end where the rear treble gets attached)
end 2 of clip 1 to a length of string
sting goes to end 1 of clip 2
end 2 of clip 2 gets to hang where ever.

I will twist the string with my fingers in one direction until the line is pretty coiled and let it loose.  You will get rotation about the y-axis. I will also allow the line to swing like a pendulum while it is spinning.  

This is how I rotate my lures without a lure wheel.

[beer980]

That is an interesting idea on getting the lure to spin on it's own. Does it spin for awhile when you twist it up like that?

[islandbass]

It does for a few seconds and then you retwist them. THis is what I devised when I first started making lures because I didn't have or want to make a drying wheel.  You need to do it for about 10 -12 minutes, if that much.

All I know is that it works and it is a low-tech approach, the way that I addressed the issue of having to "spin" or "turn" your lures when doing it by hand seemed tedious.

Let me know if it works for you.  The only thing you need to do is ensure that the epoxy is balanced 1-1 and well mixed. If not, it won't matter how well you spin them.