green gizzard shad version 1.0

Turned out nice except I got excited and touched the bait before the paint was totally dry. Other than that not a bad looking pattern.

I'd hit that

Nice job Brad. How do you go about fixing that gill plate? Can you just paint it a different color for a cover up?

gives it character haha, good looking color

That just gave me an idea.... I wonder what it would look like to use like a small wire brush or toothbrush or something to make it look like bite scars or scratches. I had baits that were ate up and every time you threw it, it would get clobbered. Just thinking out loud about how you could duplicate that effect and if it would really make any difference. You know, make the bait look really injured. Hmmmm

That looks great!

Well the baits were a epic failure, I dipped them in ac1315 sealer and the paint literally ran all the way off. I'm back to bare blanks, I sprayed another one in chrome and I'm going to let it dry 24 hours to see if that makes any difference. Might be a bait I have to use Devcon on, and dip in ac1315 after the Devcon has cured.


Rip green gizzard version 1.0

played with a couple new colors on a 1.5 and a 2.5 this afternoon. everything was shot over chrome so we'll see if it sticks when i go to do the devcon. worked ok last time. nothing fancy. i've learned to keep everything simple when you're working over chrome. still have to hit the back with some detail moss green to deepen it.

That is a cool looking eye bcd, where did you get those? Also a very interesting pattern. Sure looks custom!

got that eye at barlows. 3d green.

I need to go over there, they have a bunch of stuff I "need". Have been thumbing through their catalog the last few days.

they do carry a ton of stuff. i wish they would upgrade their blanks. not the best quality compared to what we usually buy.

Nice looking bait. I was thinking a red bleeding gill on those scuffs would be an interesting characteristic.

Really like the bright silver paint but I've been reading that the solvents in 1315 (and others) work like paint remover on some paints....I'm assuming the silver was from a rattle can?? If so the idea of using D2T over the silver is your best bet.

yeah the chrome is from a rattle can. i shoot it over a krylon primer and do use devcon as a clear coat. just finished a couple blanks with it that are curing. here are pics before the clear. the devcon really made the colors i used pop.
primer, chrome, fluoro orange belly, blue glitter folkart gills, metallic peridot folkart back, detail moss green to darken the back, devcon2t. i'll post some other pics when the devcon has set up. it's a little milky when you first put it on and clears as it sets up.

as promised. after the clear.

Have you tried a rattle can clear then dipping it? That usually works for me and the GST that I use, I wont use epoxy anymore...aint got time fo dat.

Will be giving that a shot next let one dry for over 24 hours and same outcome when dipped.

Thats brutal, let us know if it works.

Will do, I really don't want to use Devcon unless there is no alternative. I'll try some rattle clear on saturday and let it dry half a day and then try the ac1315. Really want to figure out a way to make this chrome base coat to work.

On my spinner bait lead heads I have to put down a base coat of WHITE auto paint for metal. Then after that dries I spry on the Automotive Chrome. Sift on the glitter while it is wet. After that dries I put the Epoxy top coat per your advice, Brad. They are hard as nails and looks like chrome.

Without the white underneath it turns gray as soon as the epoxy hits it.

I'm going to try the rattle clear if that doesn't work I'll have to use the epoxy, got version 1.1 based to dry 24 hours will spray clear tomorrow and see what happens.

are you using an auto primer on the blank before you chrome it?

Not yet, this paint says it have a built in primer and is suited for plastic. They could be wrong though.

This will be version 1.2 will see if the primer helps out.

Nice work...really like the way it looks on the gill plate. Did you use a blue color on them?

thanks and yeah. it's a new color i tried from folkart that has glitter in it. have to spray it with a .5 needle but i like the effect. going to shoot one with the silver version of that paint and see how it looks. probably use a bronze and turquoise on the back and sides.

Well version 1.1 and 1.2 worked out, but as Donald mentioned earlier the chrome turns grey. Version 1.3 was dead on though and now I can start knocking out some volume. First pic is with auto clear and ac1315 second is devcon with ac1315 after devcon is cured.

Looking good

Great looking color Brad - thanks for showing all of us the trials and tribulations you all go through to come up with great custom baits.

Well played!

No problem sir, unfortunately they don't all work out on the first try. I'm glad a stuck with the chrome it really looks nice out in the sun. It's something different than anything else I have in the boat. That is one thing I enjoy about painting is coming up with something different, yet effective.

More green gizzard tonight, also did 2 with a real light iridescent purple right under the green with just a small amount of purple on the gill plate. I'll try to get some good pics of that tomorrow.