Paint for poppers?

[Charlie1947 0]

I would like to acquire some of your knowledge! I need help with painting poppers. I haven't made my own until now. However, I've been tying for quite a while.

What paint do you use, spray or brush, acrylic or others? Do you also clearcoat? Favorite brands? What colors work best for you? Thank-you so much!

[Poopdeck 0]

I use the dollar or two bottles of acrylic craft paint from Walmart. I brush it on and clear coat it with sally Hansons. My poppers get beat to hell so I never felt a need to buy an airbrush. That and I have no artistic abilities. Fortunately poppers catch fish regardless of the paint job. I just do solid colors maybe some glitter maybe some contrasting dots dabbled on with the end of a drill bit.

[tjm 0]

Testors model paint, brush to coat and wood dowels for spots, I use only yellow, red, black and white though I bought all the colors.

Like Poopdeck said, mine aren't too special to use, my artistic ability isn't, fish don't care too much.

 

oh, I never clear coat mine the enamel has been sufficient for me

[Charlie1947 0]

Thanks guys!

 

BTW, I apologize for the double post. I tried to post but got an error message that I was posting too fast, but it was my only post. I checked to see if it did post, there was nothing there. Then when I posted the second time, both posts were there. I couldn't find any way to delete one of them!

[Flat Rock native 0]

I would like to acquire some of your knowledge! I need help with painting poppers...."

 

You have come to the right place. And, check out some masters here: Stippled Popper, DenDuke, Mike West!

 

Many others too but you will get the proverbial "Memos."

[Stippled Popper 0]

If you use a water based craft acrylic paint, a clear coat(numerous choices here: clear nail polish, 30 minute epoxy[you will need a turner], water based polyurethane, UV resins) is very necessary.

 

For colors start off with the colors on the poppers used in the past or as tjm already said yellow, red, black and white. Branch out from there if the mood strikes.

 

Paint Brands: Anita's All Purpose Acrylics, Delta Ceramcoat, Americana from Deco Art, and Folk Art are all in my collection.

[Guest]

+1 on Testors...they got hot colors too. Also glitter fingernail polish, particle glitter & powder, spots, weed guards. Lotta eye options other than painted foo. I'm more for overall attraction to fish these other guys are more meticulous and neat....

 

 

[tidewaterfly 0]

IF you're making your poppers with some of the ready made hard foam bodies, and try a paint not mentioned, especially one that's not water based be sure to test it to be compatible with the foam material. I made that mistake one time, and the solvent in the paint ate up the foam.

 

Haven't had that problem with the soft foams or any other material.

 

For a long time I used a hobby/craft type paint called Odds N Ends made by PlastiKote. A local hardware sold it in jars & spray cans. It dried fast & made a nice looking popper & coated well with a brush. The color selection wasn't the best, but they had all the colors I wanted. If you can find it, it's a good paint & it worked fine on those hard foam poppers. They didn't have a chartreuse, but did have a fluorescent green & a fluorescent yellow, and I mixed my own chartreuse colors. Otherwise, I used white, black, yellow and sometimes red. Like Poopdeck said, I also keep my paint schemes simple.

 

I usually painted 2 coats, painted eyes & finish coated with 2 ton epoxy. I added a fine pearl glitter to the epoxy often too. This if the body material is white. If not, a coat of white first for lighter colors. Black was usually just 2 coats, sometimes only 1 on smaller size poppers as that paint covered very well.

 

If you make popper bodies from basswood, balsa or cork, all of which makes some nice poppers, they all soak up a lot of paint, so a seal coat or two & a primer coat is often needed if you want a nice smooth finish. I used a primer/sealer product called Kilz from a paint or hardware, and that worked well for me. It's available in 2 formulas also, one is oil based the other water based. Cork can have a lot of voids in the surface. You can fill them with various wood putty's or epoxy will work. Not necessary to fill them, but again makes a better looking popper.

[tidewaterfly 0]

One other thing if you're making the bodies from any of those "wood" materials. You may have to do some light sanding between the coats, especially the seal & primer coats. When they're painted it raises the surface grain some. I used either finger nail boards ( swiped from my wife) or emery paper which is usually used for metal working or plumbing. It's a better choice than sand paper because the grit stays on the backing longer and you should be able to get it at most hardware stores. Comes in a roll, about 2" wide and a little goes a long ways. Various grits are also available.

[Charlie1947 0]

Thanks very much! Great info is very appreciated!

[deaddrifter 0]

I really like the Copic system. It allows you to airbrush with a marker. You will need to do a clearcoat over top once the marker fully dries. Their "canned air" does get a little expensive so if you go this route I would suggest picking up an inexpensive small air compressor from Northern Tools or a similar hardware store.

[Guest]

There is a new book just out on making poppers and sliders. It's a bit pricey but the link to ordering or previewing the book is below. The preview is quite long and contains a lot of useful info.

 

http://pixachrome.com/designing-poppers-sliders-divers/

 

Dave

[Mike West 0]

I think everybody pretty much covered it .

Any paint will work, what you have to watch out for is a chemical reaction between your paint and your body material and your paint and your clearcoat/topcoat.

 

Your best insurance is to cover your body material 1st with a water-based poly or acrylic clear coat.

And then when you apply your base colors coat each layer with the same thing. It protects against smearing and mistakes wipe up with a damp cloth.

 

Copic System...?

I looked into this about a year and a half ago and I ended up taking the advice from Kimo here.

I bought a entry level airbrush and a 8# pound CO2 tank. About $130 if I remember right.

I fill the tank up about twice a year for $8 to $12

FYI...if you end up doing this buy a #20 tank...cheaper to fill and easier to find places that will do it.

 

If you end up getting into this(its a slippery slope)and tie more than three dozen poppers a year you will spend a fortune on the Copic system.

 

Search my name for popper time. Im gonna post some stuff that will save you a lot of headaches.

 

Good luck and show us the results.

✌

 

PS...check out Stippled Poppers threads and his website... youll learn a lot.

[Stippled Popper 0]

MIke West: Full disclosure.

 

That website doesn't actually belong to me. The owner asked if it was OK with me if he

were to publish the PDF as a public service. I told him it would be fine.

 

Dave: Some former and current denizens of this website are mentioned in that book. Lots of information.

But not a pattern book.

[FotoFisher 0]

I don't post often, but read alot...Good question. I've tried many colors and finishes, looking for that holy grail, but come to find out it's all about personal preference and tolerance for the level of effort. What I've found out, and wish to share with you here below, is it isn't just about what is the best paint or finish to use, but what is the best combination to use. Some finishes don't play well with paints and colors. Maybe I am giving more than you need, but here's my experiences in a nutshell:

 

PAINTING

Wood Hardener/sealer - this is a must as a base coat before painting and finishing for woods and cork

Nail Polish: a good but not perfect paint choice, especially for detail work and small bodies. Larger bodies take time to cover and require several coats. It expands under heat - Will bubble up under summer sun if applied to body that hasn't been sealed, even if overcoated with clear Hard-As-Nails. Epoxy top coats, however, will help prevent bubbling.

Latex Paint: if it is water-based, then OK to work with, but oil-based is a paint to clean up with small brushes. Oil based will also yellow under influence of sunlight.

Enamels: hobby model paints fit this category and are a good choice for detail work and covering small bodies. A little more effort required for clean-up

Acrylics: one of the better choices to work with - can either be opaque or transparent. If you are into air-brushing, you can't beat the control and color blending. Aerosol acrylics are good for applying solid colors, but shouldn't be considered on the same plane as air brushing.

Permanent Markers: The Copic system and Sharpies are ubiquitous here. ProMarkers are the best for color saturation and longevity under the elements. Time consuming to color a whole body with a marker. Marker colors are transparent. NOTE: permanent marker colors will bleed through acrylics and latex paint applied on top of the marker colors.

 

TOP COATS

Clear Nail Polish: Many use it because it is easy to apply and dries seemingly hard. But it has a few drawbacks: it bubbles up with little air pimples under heat - the heat of a summer sun. And it also tends to bleed colors color beneath it, except for acrylics and water-based latex. Don't apply over some enamels and all permanent markers. Test before use.

Clear Acrylics: a good quick choice; apply in several thin layers and should be sprayed not brushed. Clear aerosol acrylic spray cans are comparatively expensive though - $10 or so for one can. Caution that clear acrylics are waterproof for only so long. You notice degradation of the finish of a bug fished for a season. But by the time the degradation occurs, you'll have worn out the bug with fish teeth anyhow.

Water-Based Urethane: Ceramcoat and Loon products come to mind here. Not a very durable finish. It will come peel from the bug body after just a fish or two.

Softex and PlastiDip: I use these for certain frog bugs I make because I like the way it dries with a rubber-like matte finish, much like a frog's skin. But it isn't a very economical coating and is smelly to work with. These products will also make permanent marker colors run underneath, so avoid using with marker-painted bug bodies.

Vinyl Lure Finish: similar to Softex and PlastiDip, but chemically different. Not so durable in my opinion, and more expensive.

UV Cure Resin: a quick replacement for epoxy. Most will cure with a slight tackiness, which I don't like. Plus, it's expensive to cover a bug body with the stuff, since the stuff itself is comparatively expensive to epoxies.

Dipped Finishes: Envirotex Lite and DiamondFinish Clear Coat are EXCELLENT finishes but require extra precaution and a well-ventilated space to work with - noxious fumes. Best for production bug makers, not for onesy-twosy makers like most of us.

5-, 10-, 15-, 30-minute Epoxy: good for quick bugs, but the faster the epoxy cure, the more yellowing and cracking will occur, even within a few weeks to a month or two - sunlight accelerates this. If you have the time, use 60-minute or longer epoxy for bug topcoats. Anything under 20-minute epoxy will quickly deteriorate under the elements - just avoid it. A rotary drying wheel is a must.

Rod Building Epoxy: a really good choice for bug top coats. It's flexible no matter the temperature and will not yellow. Again, a drying wheel is a must.

Flex Coat's Lure Gel Epoxy: this is my go-to bug top coat. Very similar characteristics as rod building epoxy - takes 12 hours to cure to a handling state and 24 hours to cure to full hardness.

 

So, what do I use? I seal all natural materials with wood hardener first, then use white acrylic as a base coat, as it makes all colors applied on top, "pop". Then I use hand-painted or airbrushed acrylics for decorative painting schemes (or Copic airbrush colors, depending on the color effect I am looking for). I add acrylic or nail polish colors on top of that for spots, dots and detail. Then I coat with FlexCoat's Lure Gel Epoxy.

 

Disclaimer: I am not compensated in any way for the mention of any products above. And as always, if there are 5 different ways to do something, you'll get 10 different opinions. This is just my experience.

 

fotofisher