Here are some painting tips I came across. I thought it might be of use to the lure makers on the site.

PAINT
I like to use vinyl paints for my wooden and metal baits. It's a great all around paint and easy to use with an airbrush or a plain old paintbrush. The consistency makes it a strong paint that rarely chips and is more difficult to scratch. I always apply a few white base coats and finish it off with an epoxy clear coat. The brands I use are "Pro-Tec" and "Pro-Flake".
One of the biggest challenges I had with airbrushing was paint "lift off" from taping over a painted section to avoid airbrushing it. It took me a little while to figure out the secret...using low tack drafting tape. The drafting tape is not as sticky as masking tape and barely touches the painted finish it is covering. So when you remove the tape, it does not pull off the paint it was protecting.

When I'm painting any kind of strips I make stencil from tin-plate, fix it about 1cm (0.5") above the lure and then spray paint. I get the soft edge strips, not like when using masking tape.
On the raw wood, you can first coat it with your 2-part epoxy. It makes a great sealer. Once you have it coated; you can use any kind of paint. Lacquers work the best but watch out for the fumes.
If I am going to paint the lure, I don't seal the wood at all. I almost always use a base coat of artist's acrylic paint (in the tube, not in the bottle because acrylic paint is water based and will raise the grain of the wood. The paint straight from the tube is thicker, and shouldn't raise the grain as bad). Then I add whatever my color scheme is. I use everything from model spray paint to fingernail polish; it just depends on what I need. If I need a well-blended smooth paint, I use spray paint. If I need wild colors in small areas, I use fingernail polish. Sometimes I use acrylic paint with a paintbrush.

I just seal it with a sandable sealer from Wal-Mart found in the craft paint area. I just dip the lures before painting. I use cheap acrylics and an airbrush. A friend uses automotive spray paints that look great. I seal the finished painted lure with an automotive acrylic lacquer clear coat and start fishing.

I have been using material similar to the stuff used on fishnet stockings that I got at a fabric store. I place the material in an embroidery hoop. It seems to help if you spay a bunch of clear coats through the mesh and let dry before you try spraying scales. As far as masking off areas that don't get scales, you can, but you will probably be happier with free hand results that get a faded in scale pattern. It takes some practice, but it's a piece of cake after a few times. Most of the details I do are with masks that I have custom cut out of thin clear plastic. I do very little freehand unless I am fading in a solid back. You can really get some neat effects with the masks if you experiment around.
I use water based acrylic paints such as Delta Ceramcoat or FolkArt. Cost at craft stores may run up to $1.79 for 2 fluid ounces. The same paints can be found at discount stores like Wal-Mart for $.89. The cost and the variety of colors surpass any other source I have found. I thin the paint with water to about the consistency of milk. Dries in about 30 minutes. You can spray multiple colors, e.g., back one color, side another, and belly another in one session (IF you are careful) by just switching color jars or vessels. If the airbrush is cleaned immediately after spraying, you can use running water to wash it out.
There are many ways to paint your lures, from cans of enamel spray paint, to using brushes. You can even mix your own custom colors and use an airbrush.

You need to use the style of finishing the lure that will give you the most confidence in the finished product. Me, I never paint my lures silver or gold. I use metallic foil finishes for more flash in clear water. I only paint the lure bodies when I need a fluorescent finish, such as chartreuse.
In clear water, I try to expose as much reflective foil as possible, with only thin areas of dark and light colors on the back and belly of the lures, just to break up the outline and mimic natural forage. I do sometimes paint red areas that look like gills, but it may appear to fish that these areas look like blood, and thus, wounded prey. I almost never paint fins on my lures unless I want a highly detailed look to the lure, which I think holds more attraction for fisherman than for fish. But you may want this look on a lure that will be retrieved very slowly, or in very clear water, where you want the most natural appearance possible. If it gives you more confidence in the lure, by all means make your lures as detailed as you wish. If you have a lot of confidence in a lure, you will fish better with it.
When painting jigs or other hard baits use at least four thin coats of paint to achieve a professional finish. I use two coats of primer, two of color and an epoxy clear coat.
Your best bet is to scan the bait you have. Get the top, side, and bottom views. Create stencils based on your scans. Using the stencils, draw at least the side and top views on a block of wood. Using a bandsaw cut out the first shape. Keep the scraps and tape them back onto the original block. Now cut out the other view. You'll need to do the final shaping at this point.

First of all you probably tend to spray too much paint on it. So did I in the beginning. Use quick sprays that move along the body fast so a fine layer of paint is added. If one layer isn't enough, do it again after a pause of a minute or two.

For the walleye pattern that I did on the "DIVANI 2", I went about it like this:
1. Paint the lure white.
2. Cover the lure's body with mesh that is about a little longer than the lure's length and about 3.5 times the height of the jerkbait. I fold it around the back and fasten the two loose ends at the belly using laundry clippers (for hanging laundry to dry outside). I use as many as I can, so about 15 for the "DIVANI 2". Make sure the mesh is very tight to the body otherwise you don't have scales but a mix of scales and spots.
3. I then use a metallic gold spray-can and spray lightly over the flanks and I do this twice.
4. Next I spray the orange throat using a quick shot of paint. Really quick so it doesn't become a thick layer, just one spray or two. It's best to spray a speckled throat first and go over it again than spraying one thick layer because then you get drops and a very ugly finish.
5. Spray the back brown and hold the lure really straight with the back towards you. This way you reduce the chance of brown paint ending up on the flanks.
6. Use a stencil to spray the brown perch bars. I use a cardboard from which I cut lanes of 1.5cm thick and 2cm apart. I also add toothpicks under each bar so this gives an airbrush effect. For fire tiger stripes it's much nicer to have solid stripes.

Generally you have to learn how to use quick spray shots and very fast covering of the flanks. It should take about 1 second to spray from the tail to the front. Otherwise you spray too much paint on it and then of course you have the chance of getting drips or speckles on parts of the lure where they don't belong.

If you go to Dixieart.com, they will set you up. I have a Paasche VL (double action) and I use the Createx paints that Dixieart has. When spraying these I use the medium tip and to date I have not had a problem with clogging or anything. Hope this helps!

I use the same setup. Createx paints in a Paasche VL with #3 tip and needle. 20-35# air pressure depending on what I am doing. I like the Createx Auto Air better than the standard stuff, but both work fine. No odor at all and cleans up easy.



http://www.tacklemaking.com/default.php?pageID=80