It takes me a little over an hour to paint 2. I paint 2 at a time cause i can do it in a little more time than it takes to do just 1....I try to think of the crank bait as a blank canvas just like I would do with a painting on paper/canvas. I'd never have multiple canvases going at the same time painting the same thing. That approach also means that all of mine are different--no 2 will be alike.

Well, maybe not for profit...maybe enough so I can keep painting and my wife doesn't put an end to it.

This is a photo of the 2016 Kerns HS bass club and their custom painted lures. Very satisfying to see youngsters getting involved in bass fishing and related activities. Kudos to their coach for doing a great job. I totally understand Brad's commitment to helping these HS bass clubs out. If it helps get kids out from in front of their Xbox and involved in something outdoors, I'm thinking its probably a good thing. I take old lures and refurbish them for donation later in the year, usually around Christmas.

All of my custom patterns get fished, on several different lure models, and usually get one full season of bass fishing on several different lakes. If it consistently catches bass its a keeper, otherwise it gets chunked. I'm partial to the LC style lures as you can see:


Anyway, back to the subject of time spent painting one lure. I'm guessing Thecrankster would consider an LC 2.5 as a medium size blank. Not including pre paint preparation and using only 1 airbrush it usually takes about 30-45 minutes to paint a 3 color pattern. The time difference is mostly due to color changes...takes longer to switch from black to white than from blue to green paint. So the time spent on a pattern increases with the number of color changes and the amount of detail in the pattern. Also, the use of mesh and stencils are factors to consider, as is the shape of the lure blank. Some blanks are a lot harder to paint than others. For example these were pretty hard to paint due to their shape.

How much you spend on a paint pattern, like Brad said, "is a hard question to answer."

Some blanks are a lot harder to paint than others. For example these were pretty hard to paint due to their shape.

How much you spend on a paint pattern, like Brad said, "is a hard question to answer."