Burlapping question...

[surfcock]

Burlapped my first foam decoy yesterday. It was a bit messier than I thought it would be, but cleanup was easy so it all balanced out. My question is how long do your burlapped decoys usually have to dry before they're ready for a final light coat of mastic? Once it seems fully dry should I give it an extra day just because?

Second question: I'm looking at starting with a pair of black ducks and getting more complicated with my painting after the first pair. I know I've read where some folks have gotten flat paint samples tinted to whatever color they need. Is there a better source for paint than buying a bunch of pint sized paint samples you'll never use all of for 8-10 bucks a piece?

[Downeast]

I wouls set them in the sun for about a week. They should be as hard as concrete. If you look around the web you can find the color codes for painting decoys. The work has been done for you. Then just take the code to your nearest paint center and they will match the color. I had a book on painting decoys that listed all of the colors but I have no idea where it is right now.

[Rubberhead*]

I posted this before. These were all done with Walmart Rustoleum flat spray paints except for the dark gray which was an oil-based spray paint I picked up at Tractor supply. I used a double coat of primer. The "black" duck is nothing more than the Earth Brown Rustoleum camo paint. The black and tan are also Rustoleum camo paints. The white is flat and the mallard chests and pintail head are dark brown (I think).

Krylon spray paints suck because the tips clog.

[Rubberhead*]

Oh - for detail work, I'd just spray some paint on wax paper and use a fine paint brush to apply. Keep in mind that doing this, the paint won't be as flat as it is when it's sprayed on.

[surfcock]

I remembered you saying that about those decoys, but was wondering how you did the detail work. How did you keep the paint from drying on you? Just work fast?

Oh, and for the black duck specifically I did already get some of the dark brown and tan camo spray paint.

Thanks!

Oh - for detail work, I'd just spray some paint on wax paper and use a fine paint brush to apply. Keep in mind that doing this, the paint won't be as flat as it is when it's sprayed on.

[Rubberhead*]

When doing detailed work with the spray paint on the waxpaper pallette I just worked quick. I started with all the target decoys right next to me knowing exactly what I was going to do before I started. You will need to bleed off some of the propellent prior to spaying the paint on the wax paper.

For the times when I sprayed directly on the decoys, I worked in layers allowing the previous layer to dry before adding the next. You will really need to plan your work when you do this. One lesson I learned is that the black (for whatever reason) creeps under masking tape no matter how well the tape is applied. So, I learned to put the black layer down first.

If you look close at the black/white line in the rump of the mallard drake directly in front of the goldeneye, you can see that there is a little black that run about a 1/4" into the white.