# Eye Painting on flies



## lemaymiami (Feb 9, 2007)

Got a request to explain how I paint eyes on some of my flies. The following photos should cover it.... A few notes first...

You can't paint eyes on a thread based head until you seal the thread properly - I use Krazy Glue. Eye painters need to be a bit smaller than the eye you're looking for since the dot of paint will always be a bit larger than the size of the painter... Each coat of paint needs to dry thoroughly before the next one or you won't get good results. The paint I use is called "quick drying" and that's a joke since unless you heat it a bit it will take almost a day to dry for each coat. The final finish I use on my flies is FlexCoat, a rodbuilder's finish that requires the item coated with it to rotate for two hours until it sets up properly - but it won't cure completely for another day....

Now for those pics...


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## skinny_water (Jun 11, 2008)

Perfect explanation.  Now to steal the lady's brushes...

...to cut them up and epoxy nails onto them.


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## skinny_water (Jun 11, 2008)

Actually I have a broken rod I use, or maybe fashion some outta bamboo


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## iFly (Mar 9, 2010)

Excellent. I always skip the eyes because, I had no practical method of doing them. I think, that just changed. 

Thanks, once again.


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## ethan.weber (Apr 26, 2011)

do you think painting over the eyes with head cement would work? or would i be better off with epoxy?
also thanks for a great how-to.


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## lemaymiami (Feb 9, 2007)

The problem with any final coat is whether that finish will attack the paint already there (stuff like head cement or Sally Hansen "Hard as Nails" contain solvents that can attack ordinary paint.... ask me how I know). 

If you're in any doubt you can do a test patch or just do without any final finish at all.... As long as the thread has been treated with super glue it isn't going anywhere at all...


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