o wow big difference  how did u do it?  did u strip the old paint or just paint over top of it?   i use to go and find old rapalas and that   which had a been beaten up and then sand the lure off and then repaint but none of my paint jobs came out as good as yours  just wondering how u did it    

i did not sand off the old paint, i just worked right over top of it. you can still see where the old paint is on the belly and back in the first two pics (first post).

i didnt really paint the entire thing either. for the sides (the realistic looking part) i used a photo finishing method, where you print a photo on tissue paper and then glue it to foil and glue the foil to your lure. and then you epoxy over it. and the epoxy makes the tissue paper translucent and the foil shines thru. then i painted the back and belly by hand to match the photo finish.

o ok  yea when i used to do it  the paint was just about totally off so i would just sand off the rest  then just paint it  normally just paint it a solid color with a black back or something  nothing too detailed

wow dave !

That's a really nice one. I'll have to give that photo-finish technique a try someday

Very nice ....It'll sure catch a ton of fish. 8-)

very nice! i would like to try doin this once. what type of foil do you use and where can you get it?

That looks very nice!

Maryland boy does good.

Dave, it is beautiful.  You really did a super job!

very nice! i would like to try doin this once. what type of foil do you use and where can you get it?

i use foil tape (adhesive backed foil) and it comes in rolls like duct tape, and  you can get it pretty much anywhere. i got mine at true value, but im sure places like lowes, home depot, walmart, etc. would have it.

alright thanks! ill have to give it a try sometime (gotta make it through the winter somehow) how do you print onto the tissue paper? to you tape it to regular paper or maybe lightly glue it?

alright thanks! ill have to give it a try sometime (gotta make it through the winter somehow) how do you print onto the tissue paper? to you tape it to regular paper or maybe lightly glue it?

glue stick around the edges of the tissue paper and stick it to the regular paper.