# air brush beginner



## copperdon (Jun 3, 2011)

I've been thinking for quite sometime now about getting a basic airbrush rig; my main purpose would be for small poppers that I could throw with a 4 or 5 wt. I love the look of a multi color, blended paint job that I can't get using solid colors painted by hand with a brush.

I've experimented with the canned air type of set up; it seems to be more of a PITA than anything else- air flow is inconsistent, and it bothers me that the fitting that fits over the paint reservoir only fits on a particular bottle and not on the actual little bottle of tester's paint, which means that every time I want to change color, I have to clean the paint reservoir and refill.

Any thoughts on what would be a good set up that wouldn't cost me an arm and a leg?

I've done some research and the prices vary so much, I was hoping someone here might shed some light on the best path for me to take.

Thoughts?


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## TheCream (Mar 19, 2009)

My personal opinion is that if it's for small panfish-sized poppers, it's probably easier and far cheaper to brush on a base coat and add some dark spots (stippling) like I do on mine. I can have a panfish popper body painted and sealed in a very short period of time because the paint jobs are very simple. By far and away my #1 panfish color the last 2 years has been a yellow popper body with black dots on the back. 










If it's larger bodied poppers/sliders for bass, I can see using an airbrush, but I think it's unnecessary for panfish bodies.


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## copperdon (Jun 3, 2011)

That's a great looking popper 

My main reason for going with a larger popper body is indeed for bass - both smallies and LM.

I like the idea of airbrushing because I can do color blends - for example, with a frog, I could do a darker green on top and a lighter shade underneath, and so far I haven't been able to get the results I've been looking for with hand-painted coats.

But for panfish, yes, I can see where you are going, and I've also found that yellows and chartruse greens - both with and without spots, work great for red ears.

You've certainly got the panfish popper pattern down, Cream. That's a great looking bait.


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## TheCream (Mar 19, 2009)

You can do shading by hand, I have been playing around with it, but I would tell you an airbrush would have to be a lot faster and yield as good if not better results. I am doing them by hand because I'm stubborn and want to do everything by hand.


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## copperdon (Jun 3, 2011)

I would have to say that those are the best looking hand-painted poppers I've ever seen.

I'm nowhere _near_ the artist that you are.

Those are incredible.


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## ironman172 (Apr 12, 2009)

copperdon said:


> I would have to say that those are the best looking hand-painted poppers I've ever seen.
> 
> I'm nowhere _near_ the artist that you are.
> 
> Those are incredible.


I can only agree!!!! Very nice, I wish I could do 1/10th as good....that would be enough for me....thanks for sharing!!


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## mcoppel (May 21, 2011)

for basic blends you will need just a basic action airbrush and a decent tank. Last time I was at harbor freight they had some basic rigs for under 20.00 and they usually have small pancake compressors for cheap also. This is enough for lures and model applications. Blending is not hard on an airbrush but will take practice. 

The better airbrushes are designed for a random amount of things. If you want to do more then blending then you may want to look more into what you can get for the money.

If you want to possible do splatter paint work for example there are tips you can get to make this fast and easy. If your doing extreme details and line work then you are going to look at others.

Hope that helps some.


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## TheCream (Mar 19, 2009)

Thanks, guys. I am working on finishing up a couple of bluegill paint scheme poppers similar to the above, then two shad color patterns, then I'm done with the topwaters for a while.


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## copperdon (Jun 3, 2011)

mcoppel said:


> for basic blends you will need just a basic action airbrush and a decent tank. Last time I was at harbor freight they had some basic rigs for under 20.00 and they usually have small pancake compressors for cheap also. This is enough for lures and model applications. Blending is not hard on an airbrush but will take practice.
> 
> The better airbrushes are designed for a random amount of things. If you want to do more then blending then you may want to look more into what you can get for the money.
> 
> ...


Thanks, M...It does indeed help!

I do think that I really need a real compressor as opposed to the canned air; the canned stuff seems to really drift quite a bit in pressure - too much one second, not enough another - and I realize that there are likely many different attachments available on a real rig that would give me a variety of painting options. 

Right now, I'm limited by one spray/nozzle size so I have to take what I get... it was, however, a good $12 spent in that it was enough to cheaply introduce me to the craft and to make me realize that I really do enjoy doing it.

I figure it's like anything else in that the more I do it the better I'll get - I know the very first fly I ever tied was an elk hair caddis the size of a small dog and it unwound itself on my very first cast... LOL but eventually, I got the hang of it.

Of course, if I could hand paint poppers like Cream does, I wouldn't need an airbrush rig.


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## copperdon (Jun 3, 2011)

mcoppel said:


> for basic blends you will need just a basic action airbrush and a decent tank. Last time I was at harbor freight they had some basic rigs for under 20.00 and they usually have small pancake compressors for cheap also. This is enough for lures and model applications. Blending is not hard on an airbrush but will take practice.
> 
> The better airbrushes are designed for a random amount of things. If you want to do more then blending then you may want to look more into what you can get for the money.
> 
> ...


I went to Harbor Freight yesterday and got a basic 5 bottle air brush rig for 12 bucks, and picked up a 3 gallon/100 psi compressor for $39. 

It's soooo much easier than using the canned air rig.

The tips on the bottles are adjustable, allowing for the spray to be a solid, even pattern, or spatter patterns, and everything in between. I can also adjust the nozzle on the airbrush itslef, which allows a wide coverage or more line type spray.

Having a compressor where I can adjust the output psi to the airbrush itself is also great.

I've got a total of around $55 bucks invested (not including paint) this includes one minor purchase at a local hardware store - $1.50 - to adapt the output nozzle of the compressor to the airbrush hose.

I'm not any good at it yet, other than just shooting a solid color coat...LOL ... but I'm having a lot of fun practicing the blending and the lines. 

Thanks again for the Harbor Freight suggestion!


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## copperdon (Jun 3, 2011)

For those who might be looking at doing some airbrushing, here are some observations I've made. Keep in mind that I am by *NO* means a pro at this. I'm very much a rookie, but there are a few things I've noticed that I think might help someone.

I've had a chance to work with two popper body types, both Wapsi brand.

I'm using acrylic paint/ primer.

I'm shooting at an air pressure around 40 - 50 psi for layering and blending work.

I've come to the conclusion that I prefer the foam popper bodies as opposed to the hard plastic ones. Here's why:

PLASTIC

The plastic ones do require some prep before being painted.

Because the hard plastic bodies are so smooth, the primer won't really adhere well unless you sand it first, and if you're first base coat isn't solid, then all other coats will be weak. Drying time on the plastic bodies is considerably longer than on the foam bodies.

I've been sanding with a 220 paper and /or emory stick to rough up the surface. In fact, even the groove where the hook shank sits needs sanded on the inside, because even super glue won't bite to the shank. Super glue has no trouble sticking to my fingers, of course, but it doesn't want to bite to that inner groove, unless it's roughed a bit.

And, because the plastic bodies have no flexibility, you can't pinch the body to bring the edges of the groove together to seal it. That groove needs to be filled unless you want a gap on the bottom of the popper. I've been cutting off thin sections of foam to fill this groove.

I tried wrapping the shank with thread first, and it works - very slowly- but I think it still needs sanded on the inside of the groove if you really want the glue to bite.

There are also spiral mold/tool marks evident on the plastic poppers that needs sanded off as well (unless you want to make those marks part of your pattern).

After sanding, I've been wiping them down with some mill spirits to get all the dust off.

_Upside:_ Requires less paint, and if you mess up the paint job and you want to start over, a little paint thinner on a rag removes almost all previous layers of paint or clear coat.
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FOAM

A few wraps of thread and a drop of glue on the shank is all it takes to lock the popper down to the shank... three minutes tops. 

The foam poppers take glue so well and are very flexible, so you can pinch the groove around the hook shank for a few seconds and it seals nicely, leaving no gap or evidence that there was a gap.

Because they are porous, they take that first tack coat of primer nicely and it allows a great base coat to work from. The first coat of primer dries within a minute or so, ready to shoot another coat of primer or color within a few minutes. Truthfully, you don't even really need a coat of primer on these, because the surface is so porous, you could probably shoot color without a primer coat.

The foam bodies do require a few more coats of paint to get that nice finish, but in the end, I think I like the end result better, and they require no prep. 

_Downside:_ if you mess up, it's nearly impossible to remove previous coats of paint or clear coat to begin again. Because the foam bodies are so porous, the paint digs in deep.

Hope this helps someone.


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## TheCream (Mar 19, 2009)

Here's my little tip for working with the Wapsi hard foam bodies. Yes, you need to fill the notch in the bottom where the hook goes in, but you can do it much faster than a thread base, sanding, and glue. I do this effectively in as little as 30-45 seconds and am ready to paint a primer coat immediately. I use a UV-cure product to fill the gap. It's simple, get the hook in place, fill the gap with Loon UV Knot Sense, wipe off any excess with your finger, and hit it with a UV light for about 10 seconds. Done. Will you always get a perfect, "can't tell there was a notch there" finish, no. Do the fish care, no, and neither do I.  Once the popper body is painted, coat it with a clear curing epoxy and that body is not coming off that hook. I think if you only had the UV cure adhesive in the gap with no outer coating of epoxy, it might get ripped off, but in my humble opinion there has to be an outer coating of an epoxy or other similar product to protect the paint job. When you have the UV cure product in the gap keeping the hook in place and the outer shell of good epoxy, that sucker is about as bomb proof as you can make it. And as much time as I spend on the paint jobs with mine, I want that work protected as best I can.

The only soft foam bodies I have used were Rainy's. You are right, they do slurp up the first coat or two of paint! The Rainy's bodies are listed as "soft" but in my opinion are not that soft. You can't grab them between your fingers and squeeze them at all, but they do not have the rock-hard foam finish like the Wapsi bodies. I like them both, use them both, and also use basswood, balsa, and synthetic wine corks. All have their advantages and their weaknesses as a body material...but in my opinion they are all more reliable and durable than deer hair.


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## copperdon (Jun 3, 2011)

Great suggestions, Cream.

I hadn't thought of the UV epoxy. I've heard guys raving about it, and have even seen in demonstrated at a fishing expo in January, and I have to say I was impressed.

Looks like it's time for me to spend more money on a hobby that was supposed to save me money.


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