painting blade baits

I purchased the Do-It mold for blade baits. I want to paint the brass with a white undercoat so I can airbrush two and three color patterns. Would like to know if any special preparation of the brass, other than cleaning, is necessary. I use the Component Systems vinyl jig paint. Open for suggestions.

Go to a paint store and ask for metal etching solution. Dip the poured blades then rinse per instructions and dry with a paper towel. Then spray your undercoat.

I air brush many of my jigs but they are very fresh cast jigs and I omit any undercoating. I use the Createx paints and get super nice colors. I dip the heads in CS Seal Coat to finish and hang them to harden. The jigs in my avitar have been air brushed.

Do as Tom recommended,and try to keep the coats of paint as thin as possible.Heavy coats of paint hinders the action,especially when vertical jigging.I use powder paint,never had luck with the vinyl paint being durable.

I spray all my polished metal blades with adhesion promoter before painting. Even primers don’t stick well to polished metals. Bull Dog is probably the best brand but a little more pricey than others.

Thanks for the quick reply. I will give it a try. I have found that dipping my airbrushed jigs in the UV Blast finish coat gives a very durable finish.

guyjensen wrote:

Thanks for the quick reply. I will give it a try. I have found that dipping my airbrushed jigs in the UV Blast finish coat gives a very durable finish.

I never had good results with vinyl paints. Possible that I never had the patience and got sloppy results.

I started air brushing powder about 10 years ago on my blades and love the results.

Xylene makes an alternative thinner to their stuff(overpriced).Just thin to get the results you want.A little at a time.It’s nasty stuff,only do dipping indoors.Used to do jigs with it,but shelf life is short.Store bottles upside down to keep from evaporating.

Like Randy said,I went to powder paint years ago and never looked back.A little more involved to setup for airbrushing,but worth it.

Painting Blade Baits

Hey Guy here is a link to a really good write up by Randy powder paint spraying blades, must say he does an amazing job of it.

Thanks again for all the suggestions. Did my homework and will share by findings. Duplicolor makes an outstanding adhesion promoter. The spray is much more consistent than Bulldog. One thin coat prepares for spraying with the white primer, CS vinyl paint. Two thin coats 15 minutes apart are perfect. It is important to apply the white coat within 10 minutes of applying the adhesion promoter.