Painting/Touch Up Advice..

[NitwiT]

Hey all, picked up a few (20) decoys off of a fellow HBC member.

Looking for info and advice on whether or not the paint is good enough, ( i doubt it) or what to paint them with. 90% of the 20 are G and H decoys.

Btw, I know about the hot buy mallard decoys, not an option, as I have more time then money available atm.

Mark

[Crazy_Farmer]

Nothing wrong with them at all. Should have no problem killing ducks over those decoys. You could paint them up, do little touch ups, but as they sit, they'll bring em in.

[Richter313]

no problem with them at all, some of the dekes that i have in my spread have barely any paint left on them at all! I know i know there not all pretty and colourful but most of the time when you see ducks on water at a distance you can only see their silloette anyway. worry about the touch ups when you got nothing to do in june or july, get out there and hunt them things!

[Chessieguy]

Dont see any problem with them. Like has been said, painting can be an off season chore, if you need to do it.

I remember shooting ducks of the flats using nothing more than piles of seaweed arranged to look like ducks...

[blindman]

When the time comes that you want to do the touch up, go to the G&H website and order a touch up paint kit.

[heyblast]

Use them, they'll work. Don't think they won't work as well as new one's. I'm using decoys that are almost 40 years old never been repainted and they still work.

[crazy ducker]

if the ducks are flaring because your decoys need touching up,then the birds are close enough to shoot

[FLHTCUI]

if the ducks are flaring because your decoys need touching up,then the birds are close enough to shoot

All very good advice has been mentioned.
If you want to spend some money why not buy one of them flying Mallards to add to your spread?
By the time the ducks realize the gig is up it will be to late for them!
BTW, shoot when they are about two feet off the water , when the first one is splashing dead in the water the others will be flaring and you can still pick one or two to finsih off with.
Just my .02's worth.
Or better yet, do nothing they will work great .
Rob

[kastles]

I will be doing this in the spring/summer. I need to cause my calling is shite

http://www.takeem.com/tp.php

[Deer Sausage]

I will be doing this in the spring/summer. I need to cause my calling is shite

http://www.takeem.com/tp.php

I did this. it worked out. i had 24 blocks they weren't great looking even at the start but after a couple seasons the paint was going to hell. i was thinking about replacing them when i saw the same site as kastles. well i figured even if i got new decoys i would be in the same trouble again in a season or two. rather than spend all that money again and again i went and got some paint. i spent some time looing at internet images of birds so i would have some idea of what colors to use. this wasnt easy! we hunt right from the start to the end and the birds are just coming out of their eclipse plumage for at least a month of the season but i decided to go with the winter breeding colors. i got a bunch of paint chips and decided i needed 13? colors. i got pints and that was enough to do it with plenty to spare for touch ups in years to come. i used an exterior latex and the paint was cheapest at walmart. i used a flat matte krylon as a top coat. i used cheap foam brushes. the drakes were easier....getting the hens done was a little more of an artistic endeavor because you sort of have to paint the dark brown over the light in a mottled fashion. i did this with a little less paint on the brush and just hit the top of the feather texture. you can speckle some black on the hen's bill with an old toothbrush. i put on two coats and it took a saturday out of my life. the paint wasnt free either for the price of the materials i could have probably got 24 hot buys. that being said it was kind of fun to get them ready and it definately began the excitement! we hunted over them and they worked better than ever and i felt more confidant because the drakes especially had a color more like the bird itself after their paint job. here near the end of the season they all have a few scuffs and dings ( and my bruthy ugler put a pellet in one!!) but i have lots of paint left and touching them up will be a quick job with a q-tip! no decoy paint is forever so factor that in when you decide whether its worth doing because two season old hot buys will be real tricky to touch up! good luck and if you try it then put up a post! heres some picks! couldn't find my pic of the hen but its actually the best looking of the two.




ps this is my first post here with photos so i hope it works out!