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| Jump to page : 1 Now viewing page 1 [30 messages per page] More Muskie Fishing -> Basement Baits and Custom Lure Painting -> Doing Foil Baits |
Brad P |
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| Eastman03 |
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| I use regular aluminum ducting foil tape. Trace out the side profile of the lure, and cut it out. I then usually (unless you want a smooth look) press the foil into a steel mesh, like stucco metal lathe, or whatever else (some guys use handles of ratchets for a knurled look) to get a design. Very carefully line up and stick the foil onto the bait making sure I don't have any bubbles. I press down and smooth the edges with a bone folder (any smooth plastic surface will do, like a pen). Sometimes I cut out other shapes like gills, or mouth pieces to accent the lure as well. Then I epoxy over to get a smooth surface, paint (usually with transparents to get that shine show through), then final finishing epoxy layers. I recently got into cutting strips of foil out with scalloped shears and painstakingly put layers of these strips on the lure to create foil scales! I really love that look, but it takes a long time! YouTube has many great videos of guys foiling lures. There is also a great and very active facebook group designated strictly to foiling baits (lots of guys heat press nail foil onto lures, something I'm not familiar with). It's called Custom foiled lures. Foiling is a fun way of quickly creating depth and shine into a lure. Make sure you start out with a real smooth surface, and take your time with the edges and details. Edited by Eastman03 3/28/2019 1:12 PM Attachments ----------------  IMG_0152.JPG (115KB - 565 downloads) | |||
| Brad P |
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| Gringo Loco |
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| All Eyes |
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| All Eyes |
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| Regarding paint for foiled baits, Createx or Wicked transparent colors are what I use for the sides, while the belly and back will get opaque paint to hide the edges. Here are a few of my foiled wood baits. Edited by All Eyes 3/28/2019 10:42 PM Attachments ---------------- foiled baits reduced.jpg (107KB - 618 downloads) foiled baits reduced2.jpg (76KB - 555 downloads) foiled baits reduced3.jpg (78KB - 570 downloads) | |||
| Eastman03 |
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| 1VW |
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| There are almost as many ways to foil a bait as there are to paint one. Not that I'm any sort of expert but I thought I'd share the ways I seem to use the most. In all these cases, after I foil, I like to immediately spray the bait with a "scratch" coat of Krylon artists fixative which seems to stick to anything and just about anything will stick to it. The scratch coat going on immediately will also keep the foil from oxidizing and dulling out if it sits around awhile before I get the chance to paint it: Way #1, for flat sided baits or baits with gentle curves: The foil tape method as described in the excellent advice given by Eastman and his pretty bait as well as All Eyes baits. You can add texture to the tape tons of different ways but I like the good ol pasta roller method of texture plus foil plus soft backing material squished though a pasta roller. If you don't want to go through the extra effort of cutting out separate gill plate details etc. - don't, just put a layer of glue on the head where the gill details will be, apply foil tape to the whole bait and emboss in the gill detail on the foil (a dried up ball point pen works great) before the glue underneath sets. Way #2, for non-flat sided baits with steep curves or weird body profiles where foil tape gives too many wrinkles to mess with: use a thinner aluminum foil like kitchen foil/Reynolds wrap that can conform to curves easier, texture if you wish with whatever (like the pasta roller) spray glue on the bait or coat the bait with something like thinned down pva glue, wait til the glue is tacky and make a foil sandwich with a sheet of foil laid on both sides of the bait - squeeze the whole works between 2 thick sponges and voila, foiled bait with little to no wrinkles. trim the excess and smooth the seams. This method may still require epoxy over the foil before you paint to smooth and hide the seams. One other advantage of this method is that you can get thin metal foil sheets for cheap which have some crazy colors already on them like the Reynolds Ultrafoil sheets Way #3, for baits with lots of carved or intricate details and sharp corners or baits where you are trying to limit how much epoxy you have to do or reduce extra finish weight that could negatively impact how the bait swims: use metal leaf like sculptors metal leaf sheets sold by Speedball or Creative Concepts or the like. Lots of different colors available. Lay a sheet of the metal leaf on the counter, coat the bait with thinned down pva or spray glue and wait until it's tacky then touch the bait down onto the sheet of metal leaf, slowly flip the bait over and use a soft bristle brush to rub the leaf onto the bait. Brush off any hanging bits and then repeat for the other side of the bait. There will be no seams to hide and thus no need for a layer of epoxy pre-paint. Way #4, Alternative to metal leaf, just because I like it sometimes or want to fill in a spot I may have missed with one of the other methods or want portions of a bit to have the foil look without covering the whole bait in foil: gilders paste wax or Rub N' Buff. That's right, wax based metal paste, wipe it on with a sponge brush, let it dry a bit and buff it with an old T shirt rag slightly until it shines. A coat of spray lacquer over the top negates any issues you would end up with thanks to the wax content of the paste, then paint & clear as normal. I like to put this over a black base on carved baits so that some of the detail in crevices shows through, you'll lose that detail highlight if you're heavy handed with the paste. Again no seams and available in about any color under the sun. Lots and lots of other ways to do it, these are just the ones I like to use the most Have fun! 1VW Attachments ---------------- foil tape.jpg (80KB - 555 downloads) tape drawn detail.jpg (95KB - 501 downloads) texturing.jpg (127KB - 472 downloads) foil sandwich.jpg (111KB - 517 downloads) foild sandwich 2.jpg (99KB - 461 downloads) metal leaf.jpg (92KB - 519 downloads) leafing.jpg (86KB - 487 downloads) leaf no seam.jpg (77KB - 487 downloads) gilders wax.jpg (105KB - 479 downloads) gilders wax2.jpg (127KB - 465 downloads) | |||
| jdsplasher |
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Posts: 2226 Location: SE, WI. | |||
| Landry |
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| All Eyes |
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| Eastman03 |
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| Brad P |
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| 1VW |
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| Thanks for the kind words guys, didn't mean to hijack this thread, just trying to share. JD, that gold bait was built in 2011 and has been a consistent producer; just had to sand down the top layer of epoxy and re-coat so you could see something other than toothmarks. It was on the rack when I needed an example for embossed gill detail Eastman, the pasta roller works awesome! You can adjust the thickness for different types of texture and what degree of texture you want. Garage sale special as was the silicon baking mat I use for backer. The scratch coat of clear immediately put on the foil really helps prevent clouding from additional handling, you can manipulate the foil while having the clear barrier between your hands and the metal. Great idea with the strips of foil scales on your bait by the way, I never thought of doing something like that. VW Attachments ---------------- IMG_2589 (480x360).jpg (70KB - 458 downloads) | |||
| All Eyes |
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| Here are a few pictures that show how I have gone about putting a scale pattern on my foiled baits. I first carved the gill plates which is optional but gives them a nice 3-d effect. In the first method, you can glue down a mess netting material as shown, and apply the foil over top of it by pressing down with your fingers. Another way that I found is by using a Dremel tool with a sanding cone bit. Held at an angle, a slight touch of the bit will hone out this little scale shape. If you practice a bit to do somewhat straight lines, it takes very little time and the effect can look pretty cool. Attachments ---------------- carved gills.JPG (75KB - 465 downloads) netting.JPG (67KB - 470 downloads) scales2.JPG (93KB - 460 downloads) scales5.JPG (114KB - 442 downloads) foil bait2.jpg (104KB - 520 downloads) | |||
| All Eyes |
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| This is another pattern done with a Dremel tool and this time a small round bit. It's impossible to screw up because you just make random little gouge spots everywhere. It still makes for a nice overall effect. Attachments ---------------- 0002.jpg (106KB - 557 downloads) | |||
| Brad P |
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| Eastman03 |
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| Gringo Loco |
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| 1VW |
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| All Eyes |
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