Bright Baits Navy Blue – airbrush paint for soft lures

Product detailed description

Bright Baits Navy Blue is a dark blue airbrush paint for soft plastic lures that makes excellent sense when building a deeper, cooler and clearly defined upper profile. Navy blue is not simply another dark shade. It is a practical working colour for creating a pronounced back, defining the head or separating the upper body from lighter sides without relying on neutral black.

The main strength of Navy Blue lies in its combination of darkness and a clearly recognisable blue character. It can create a strong upper line and visually reinforce the lure’s profile without making the back look simply black or grey. The deep blue tone becomes part of the entire pattern, making it especially suitable for imitations of baitfish with a darker bluish back and lighter sides.

Bright Baits Navy Blue makes the most sense on the back, the upper third of the body, around the head and in the transition between the dark upper section and lighter sides. In these areas, it helps shape the lure visually, separates the individual body sections and adds depth to the finished softbait. There is usually no need to cover a large area. A precise pass along the back, light shading around the head and a gradually fading transition towards the sides are often enough.

There is a clear difference between Navy Blue and black, graphite, lighter blue or Pearl Sapphire Blue. Black creates the hardest and most colour-neutral silhouette. Graphite looks greyer, more technical and may introduce a slightly metallic character. A lighter blue is more open and less deep. Pearl Sapphire Blue is built around pearl reflection and subtle shimmer. Navy Blue, by contrast, creates a rich dark blue tone without allowing shine or effect pigments to take over the main role.

From a practical fishing perspective, Navy Blue fits especially well into baitfish patterns where the upper body should resemble the darker back of a small prey fish. It makes good sense on shads, minnow profiles, swimbaits, vertical soft lures and larger saltwater softbaits. It works particularly well in colour combinations inspired by herring, sardines, mackerel and other baitfish with light sides and a dark bluish upper section.

This does not mean that the shade is intended only for saltwater lures. It can also work very well in freshwater whenever you want to create a cooler upper profile and move away from the usual black, brown or olive back. On lures with silver, white or pearl sides, a dark blue spray can create a very clean and easily readable separation between the individual body sections.

Bright Baits Navy Blue shows its character most clearly on a white, pearl, silver or lightly translucent base. These backgrounds give the blue enough room to remain clearly visible while creating a natural transition into the lighter lower body. A dark navy back, silver or pearl sides and a clean white belly form a particularly effective combination.

Navy Blue also combines very well with subtle black or graphite detailing. Black can define the very top line of the back, while blue forms a wider transition towards the sides. Graphite can soften the connection between navy blue and a silver or pearl body. A smaller red, orange or pink detail on the throat or belly can then act as a controlled counterpoint without disturbing the main blue-and-silver colour logic.

With this shade, it is important to work in thin layers. Navy Blue is dark and highly saturated, so a heavy application can quickly cover the original base and begin to look almost black. That would remove the main feature that makes the shade interesting – its clearly recognisable deep blue character. It is therefore better to build the intensity gradually and keep checking whether the blue remains visually readable.

I would not normally use Navy Blue as a full body spray without a specific design reason. Its main strength lies in shaping the upper body, creating the back and precisely defining the profile. When applied across the entire lure, the result may become too dark and lose the contrast between individual body sections. A dark blue upper body combined with lighter sides and a contrasting belly usually creates a much cleaner result.

Bright Baits Navy Blue is therefore an excellent working colour for anyone who wants to build the final appearance of a soft plastic lure around a dark blue back instead of classic black. It can create a deeper saltwater profile, a cooler baitfish pattern and a precise dark blue transition on handmade shads or swimbaits. It is not merely a one-off effect shade, but a practical colour for repeated work with blue-and-white, blue-and-silver and other cooler combinations.

With Bright Baits, it is also important to see the product as part of a complete system. The brand offers not only the paints themselves, but also related products such as cleaner, thinner and glosscoat. It therefore makes sense to keep surface preparation, application and final finishing within one consistent system rather than treating airbrush paint as an isolated product.

After airbrushing, the next step depends on the final result you want to achieve. If you want to seal the colour layer without adding more plastisol, a glosscoat or final clear coat may be the right choice. If your process includes an additional laminate layer, that is also a valid option. Airbrush paints for soft plastic lures can be laminated afterwards, and there is no need to apply a separate clear coat before lamination.

Surface preparation does not need to become unnecessarily complicated. In practice, mild dish soap and water are often enough. Gently rub the lure between your fingers, rinse it, place it on paper towels and allow it to dry thoroughly. Once the surface is dry, the finished softbait is ready for airbrushing. When working within the Bright Baits system, it also makes sense to use the brand’s own cleaner and other related products.

There is a natural connection here to the wider workshop and final lure-finishing process. Airbrushing connects directly to soft bait making, working with plastisol, colours mixed into the material and other surface-finishing methods. For a quicker surface-colouring option, take a look at Quick Dip, which provides a different type of final surface treatment and can serve as an alternative workshop method.

Frequently Asked Questions – Bright Baits Navy Blue

What is the difference between Navy Blue and black?

Black creates a more neutral and harder dark silhouette. Navy Blue is also dark, but it keeps a clearly visible blue character and fits naturally into cooler blue-and-silver baitfish patterns.

What is the difference between Navy Blue and Pearl Sapphire Blue?

Navy Blue is a rich dark blue working shade without a dominant pearl effect. Pearl Sapphire Blue adds a more pronounced pearl reflection and is more suitable when you want subtle shimmer together with the blue tone.

Which part of a soft plastic lure is best suited to Navy Blue?

It works best on the back, the upper third of the body, around the head and in the transition between the darker upper section and lighter sides.

Which base colours work best with Navy Blue?

It combines especially well with white, pearl, silver and translucent bodies. These bases create a clean and highly readable contrast against the dark blue back.

Can an airbrushed lure be laminated afterwards?

Yes. The colour can be covered with another layer of plastisol. When laminating the lure, there is no need to apply a separate clear coat over the painted layer beforehand.

→ Detailed technical information can be found below in the Parameters table.

↓ Below the product description, you will also find related and similar products to help you choose more easily and build a complete setup.