How to Paint Fishing Lures With an Airbrush

fishing lure image by jimcox40 from Fotolia.com

Many fishermen prefer to paint their own lures. And while a paintbrush can do the trick fine, an airbrush can perform the job, too--and make things like blending and evenness easy. When it comes right down to it, the airbrush is a simple machine, and once a fisherman has gotten the hang of it, an airbrush can make painting fishing lures simple and fun.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Things You’ll Need:

Tape

Step 1

Spray on a base coat, using the airbrush. This is usually white, sprayed on solidly and evenly. This needn't be a light coat. In fact, if you were painting your lure with a regular brush, you'd apply three or four coats. If white isn't your color, other popular colors include light blue, silver and brown. Wait for the base coat to dry.

Step 2

Wrap a piece of tape about 1/4 of the way down the lure, so that the top 1/4 (the head) is left unwrapped.

Step 3

Spray the head of the lure with bright red paint. Allow the paint to dry.

Step 4

Remove the tape. The removal should reveal a clean line between the white base and the red head, with no blending.

Step 5

Apply other features, as desired. You may want to add "gills," dots, stripes or other marks that mimic nature. Such details are especially easy with an airbrush. The airbrush makes blending particularly easy. Simply spray a second color onto the back of the lure, then lightly spray the sides, letting up as you go. The result will be a fading effect, blending the two colors in a natural look hard to create with a traditional brush.

Tips & Warnings

When you're finished airbrushing the lure, dip it in lacquer for a professional-looking finish.

Wear goggles for this project. An accidental airbrush spray to the eyes can have nasty results.

Don't insert hooks or anything else into the lure until after the painting has been completed and is dry.

Article Written By William Jackson

William Jackson has written, reported and edited professionally for more than 10 years. His work has been published in newspapers, magazines, scholarly journals, high-level government reports, books and online. He holds a master's degree in humanities from Pennsylvania State University.

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