Decoy painting

[Elkstuffer]

I thought I saw a thread on here around Thanksgiving time on painting decoys. Good article. I just can't find it now. Can anyone send me in the right direction? Mainly wanting to repaint my mallards. Thanks

[Oldguy]

Take a look at takeem.com   I did nine Mallard Drakes using the instruction video and am pleased with the results. The head and bill spray paint might be easier if the water based paints were used but mine came out okay. I used the Home Depot paints in the sample sizes and have lots of paint left over. Cost was minimal.

[Colin]

I did the takeem.com version and they came out ok. All of the ones that I texas rigged were very badly chipped by the end of the season, but I guess that is to be expected. Next season I will probably do it the exact same and just repaint every off season as I am going to just use these (self painted) as spread fillers so no need to put them in a slot bag.

[Oldguy]

Did you do the recommended drying time and then clear-coat the decoys? I have some dekes Texas rigged and that is surely harder on the poor decoys.

[Colin]

I didn't let the clear set for the recommended 2 weeks. That may be why they chipped so much. That's what I get for doing it during the season and not before. 

[Colin]

Here is a pic of the finished dekes. The takeem.com videos are a little fuzzy so this might be of use if your wondering what the finished deke looks like. I felt like the bills on the drakes were a little too bright.

[Oldguy]

I had the same feeling about the bills, so I might repaint them this Summer to add a touch of green. They do show up on the pond though. Nice work on your painting.

The worst part for me was keeping the spray off the rest of the decoy when doing the head and bill. I'm going to do one with regular paint to see how it compares color and looks wise.

[Brad Harshman]

Are you repainting plastic decoys? I have repainted about 3 dozen ducks.  Mostly blue bills, but I also did a few pintails, redheads, goldeneyes.  I also painted and flocked 6 geese.  My duck decoys live in slot bags.  I used home depot paints.  The most important thing is to start with a clean and FIRM decoy.  Dirt and oil won't let paint stick.  And soft sided decoys, when squished, will allow the paint to chip qyickly.  Trust me, paint doesn't flex like plaatic.  I won't waste my time on soft decoys.

Its like tying flies.  The reward and satisfaction is huge when you fool the birds with decoys you painted.  Go for it.

[REHJWA]

I used rustoleum for my base and outdoor hobby paint from wally world for the heads and speculums.

I also used filler foam to firm my decoys (used weighted keels) before painting.

It works, but make sure you READ the label, gloves are a must for spray foam, I had spay foam on my hands for two weeks...

Also when you drill a hole in a decoy butt and fill it with pressurized filler foam it can "back fire" if your not careful to release the pressure prior to removing the filler straw. My daughter was rolling around on the ground when it shot me in the chest with exploding duck butt foam.

[Colin]

What kind of foam did you use? The spray kind in a can from HD that is used for filling door jam cracks?


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[Special T]

Great stuff is an open cell expanding foam and is a poor choice for decoys because it sucks up water like a sponge. it MAY work if you seal up the hole after your done by melting some plastic over the hole or using some 3M marine caulking. I have used the 3m and sand to turn water keels into weighted ones...

Most of the closed cell foam is a 2 part resin that you mix together and pour into a cavity It would stay dry better but would be harder to apply. 

[REHJWA]

I used the spray foam for gaps over 1" and sealed the hole with hot glue.

I went with a blue wing teal base decoy and then did the drake buffle head color pattern.
The late season birds all decoyed to the smaller sized decoys and passed on the oversized ones.

[Elkstuffer]

Those bufflehead turned out great!