Keen to get into air brushing lures – what is your experience and is it worth it?
Keen to get into air brushing lures – what is your experience and is it worth it?
Posted by Lonely_Country8464
5 Comments
Weedle_blzit on
Whenever I feel like I have too much money and free time, I start making my own lures.
chubsplaysthebanjo on
It depends on what you make. For striper plugs it’s very much worth it for me to make my own. I can’t make a husky jerk cheaper than rapala can. You have to also practice air brushing. There’s nowhere on the compressor to type in a prompt and have it spit out a lure like your little picture there
siren84 on
That all depends on what your goals are. Do you want to paint lures as a hobby and take joy in fishing your own paint jobs and sharing with friends? Do you want to sell some of your painted lures? Maybe a mix of both. It’s just my opinion, but if I were you or had to do it all over again I’d never sell a single lure and give all of them away. The lure painting world is wildly oversturated with folks all painting on the same blanks and using the same stencils. It’s REALLY tough to make money long term. When you start your friends and family will likely be very supportive and make it rain compliments. That will likely give you a lot of confidence to go out and try and sell your lures. Right about that time is when you realize that you are competing with bargain basement outdoor stores that mass produce lures for a fraction of what it takes you. I know this sounds like I am really bitter but to the contrary I feel I am just now starting to figure out that not all hobbies should be monetized. Paint your lures and give them away. The joy should come from painting and giving not selling. Best of luck to you either way.
Emmystra on
I don’t airbrush my lures but I’m here because I fish often and i happen to airbrush miniatures. It’s a really fun hobby, the only thing is it might cost more than you’d expect because of things like airbrush cleaner and flow improver. There’s a big startup cost and lots of little things you might feel like skimping on, but if you cut corners with airbrushing you will end up permanently clogging or damaging your airbrush. You need to follow every step properly and be serious about keeping it clean. Respirators or an airbrushing hood are a must too, it won’t feel like anything at first but if you just sit in the paint-filled air one day you’ll suddenly notice your lungs are messed up. Do everything right though, and you can get clean, amazing work done.
_fuckernaut_ on
If you generally like art/creating things then it’s fun. It can be *really* frustrating but also really rewarding. I haven’t airbrushed in years but kept all my equipment in case the urge strikes again.
I agree with others that you should completely forget the notion of trying to sell lures, that’s a quick way to suck all the fun out of it.
5 Comments
Whenever I feel like I have too much money and free time, I start making my own lures.
It depends on what you make. For striper plugs it’s very much worth it for me to make my own. I can’t make a husky jerk cheaper than rapala can. You have to also practice air brushing. There’s nowhere on the compressor to type in a prompt and have it spit out a lure like your little picture there
That all depends on what your goals are. Do you want to paint lures as a hobby and take joy in fishing your own paint jobs and sharing with friends? Do you want to sell some of your painted lures? Maybe a mix of both. It’s just my opinion, but if I were you or had to do it all over again I’d never sell a single lure and give all of them away. The lure painting world is wildly oversturated with folks all painting on the same blanks and using the same stencils. It’s REALLY tough to make money long term. When you start your friends and family will likely be very supportive and make it rain compliments. That will likely give you a lot of confidence to go out and try and sell your lures. Right about that time is when you realize that you are competing with bargain basement outdoor stores that mass produce lures for a fraction of what it takes you. I know this sounds like I am really bitter but to the contrary I feel I am just now starting to figure out that not all hobbies should be monetized. Paint your lures and give them away. The joy should come from painting and giving not selling. Best of luck to you either way.
I don’t airbrush my lures but I’m here because I fish often and i happen to airbrush miniatures. It’s a really fun hobby, the only thing is it might cost more than you’d expect because of things like airbrush cleaner and flow improver. There’s a big startup cost and lots of little things you might feel like skimping on, but if you cut corners with airbrushing you will end up permanently clogging or damaging your airbrush. You need to follow every step properly and be serious about keeping it clean. Respirators or an airbrushing hood are a must too, it won’t feel like anything at first but if you just sit in the paint-filled air one day you’ll suddenly notice your lungs are messed up. Do everything right though, and you can get clean, amazing work done.
If you generally like art/creating things then it’s fun. It can be *really* frustrating but also really rewarding. I haven’t airbrushed in years but kept all my equipment in case the urge strikes again.
I agree with others that you should completely forget the notion of trying to sell lures, that’s a quick way to suck all the fun out of it.