anyone have a trick for removing stock paint from a hardbait other than sanding it?

nope. acetone or paint remover might help but that will gum it up.

no need to take the paint off really. just sand the finish with 400 grit so the entire thing is nice and scuffed up, then prime and paint.

nope. acetone or paint remover might help but that will gum it up.

no need to take the paint off really. just sand the finish with 400 grit so the entire thing is nice and scuffed up, then prime and paint.

+1

Ive used self etching primer right over stuff factory finishes with no problems! I usually sand mine just to scuff it up, then prime and your golden!

Don't use a chemical paint remover, it will eat you bait.   Just scuff lightly, prime then paint.

im painting suspending jerkbaits, so I want to take as much of the stock paint off as possible before adding my own plus a heavy epoxy topcoat

Heat the bait a little with a blowdryer before you epoxy it. It will go on much thinner and bubble's will dissappear.

I usually sand everything off, and then use wet sandpaper at the end to smooth it out

Use 220 and 400 grit paper and try not to go too heavy on paint layers.  If you're clearing with heavy epoxy on a suspending bait, you want to remove all the finish.  It will also remove 3D details.  Pro refinishers use a blast booth which preserves most of the detail.  Epoxy isn't as bad as some think because it has a 1.05 specific gravity, only a bit more than water.  You want a bait to suspend in the hottest water it will be fished in.  It will have more relative buoyancy in colder water, which you can fix with Suspendots, etc.