James RickardMaking scale patterns on lures
September 9th 2008 00:20
Scale patterns on lures can give them a professional appearance. (I have to wonder if they appeal more to anglers than fish but, that's another story.)
If you have an air brush or can of spray paint, making a scale pattern is fairly easy. I've read in a couple of places that you can add them with a simple paint brush but I'm not very artsy-fartsy and was never able to get the hang of it.
If you have an air brush or can of spray paint, making a scale pattern is fairly easy. I've read in a couple of places that you can add them with a simple paint brush but I'm not very artsy-fartsy and was never able to get the hang of it.
This is all you need to get started.
All you need to get started is a piece of mesh material, or netting, as shown in the picture. Granted, you have to make the scale pattern in relation to the size of the lure you're making but this will give you an idea. One piece is from a fabric shop and the other is common plastic netting bag I got from a bag of oranges.
The first thing to do is add a base color or under coat of whatever color you want. Normally when painting, it's not a good idea to paint light over dark or use a red-toned undercoat but doing either can make some nice patterns when you're adding scales.
Wrap the material around your lure and secure it at the bottom.
After that, I drill pilot holes where I'm going to hang the hook hangers. However, I save the actual installing of hooks for later!
When the base coat is dry, I wrap the mesh material around the lure and secure it along the bottom using clips or other suitable devices.
This is when I use my air brush or spray paint and apply a very light coat of a contrasting color to make the scale pattern by painting right over the mesh material. I recommend making this a one-shot deal and accepting what ever turns out. If you go over and over the material you risk paint build up and the scale pattern is lost. Even if you wait for the paint to dry, you often lose the desired pattern. If you can't live with the results, I think the best thing to do is to take sandpaper, remove all of the paint, and start over from the beginning. I know! That sounds like a pain in the neck thing to do but, I look at this as a project, something to kill time so, it's not THAT much of a hassle!
When the base coat is dry, I wrap the mesh material around the lure and secure it along the bottom using clips or other suitable devices.
Finished lures.
It you like the way things turn out, add the hardware and you're ready to hit the water!
Until next time--watch yourself and watch your line!
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