Northwest Fishing Reports

So i made some homemade jigs and want to paint them now. is there any special paint i need to do this?

I bought some of that powder coating stuff from Joes that you use a lighter to heat up the jig head and dip it in the powder, but I am still pretty unsuccessful at doing it right. I tried it as per the directions on the bottle and it still doesnt't work right. I used to use nail polish and that holds up ok with a couple of good coats and it comes in endless colors.

Not trying to stray from the thread, but has anyone else had success using the do it yourself powder coat stuff? If you have mabey it could help me and koryasmussen55. I have seen it applied in person but when I do it it tuns out like crap. I think that I may be dipping it wrong. Any suggestions?:scratch:

yeah ive heard of the powder stuff but havent ever heard much about it and whether is works well or not.

So far it hasn't worked for me but I know it does work because I have seen it done successfully in person. I am just obviously doing something wrong in the process.

try looking online for techniques for applying it to a jig and see what comes up. you never know the answer may be just a click away.

alright thanks a lot HillbillyGeek

I know that you said that you would be doing another thread on this but baking them is better than doing it with a lighter? I have only tried it with a lighter because that is how I saw it done successfully. I read in the instructions that you could bake them but have yet to try it this way. Have you tried the lighter method yet? I only have matallic pink so far that I bought for steelhead and humpies.

Looking forward to reading your tutorial. Thanks in advance.

mallard83 wrote:I know that you said that you would be doing another thread on this but baking them is better than doing it with a lighter? I have only tried it with a lighter because that is how I saw it done successfully. I read in the instructions that you could bake them but have yet to try it this way. I only have matallic pink so far that I bought for steelhead and humpies.

Looking forward to reading your tutorial. Thanks in advance.

I use a liquid survival candle to heat the jig heads, then dip them in paint and hang them on a toaster oven rack. When the rack is full, I put it in a pre-heated toaster oven for 20 minutes. You can skip the baking step, but the paint will be harder and look better if you bake them after dipping.

Thanks, I was just using a lighter and that was it. Hope to hear more of the spacifics on the tutorial.

When using powder coat you have to practice, practice, practice.... Try different temps from 325 to 425.... Make a little jig to hang the lures in the toaster oven or get a wife that doesn't care if you cook in her oven... ;-) To clean off old paint try paint remover or an airbrush sandblaster. Using auto touchup paint works well or if you have an airbrush use "One Shot" Sign paint. Order a Eastwood catalog to order paints and primers... www.eastwood.com .... Use some old lace to make scales or get some netting from a craft or fabric store. All you do is spray through it with a airbrush. Practice on an old spoon or a piece of broom handle.. It won't take you long to get the hang of it.... I even spray my hooks with red or green paint.... Works for me!! Let the lures sit for a while and cure so they don't stink!.

Try this for a step by step powdercoating class for beginners .. http://www.powderperfect.com/ppstoreeastwoodDIY.asp This site is great for a fantastic tutorial for powdercoating. Try it.. you will like it. You can get powdercoating gun at http://search.harborfreight.com/cpisear ... &Submit=Go for just about $60.00.... Once you learn a little about powdercoating you will have fun. You can coat a lot more than just jigs... The tutorial that is posted here by hillbillygeek is a great start...... He has done a fantastic job!=d> =d>

I am glad to hear that HillbillyGeek is going to post the hows to this. It is really a matter of technique, and practice, to use power coat.

I have done it using an alcohol burner, because it heats the jig heads slower but more uniform. The key is getting the head hot enough, but not so hot that it either melts the head or causes the paint to run. This is almost impossible with a lighter, a torch, or a burner, simply because you cannot measure the temperature each time.

I use a small toaster oven my wife found for me at a thrift store. I preheat to the desired temperature, then just let the jigs hang for about 5 minutes to fully heat through. Because they are fully heated through, you will have the time to dip and play without getting the unmelted grit on a second color, but because you controlled the temperature, you don't get the running.

As alluded to before, not all paint melts properly at the same temperature. This will take some trial and error. When you get the right temperature for a batch of paint, mark in on the container for the future.

I usually place the dipped jigs back into the oven to bake some more. Powder coat does not need the second baking, but it sure helps make it harder and it looks so much better. WORD TO THE WISE, PUNCH OUT THE HOOK EYE BEFORE HANGING IN THE OVEN TO BAKE AGAIN.

As for other options, you can use Vinyl paints. I use to use a small air brush with this stuff, and I can get some awesome result, but dipping or brushing looks pretty bad with this paint. Nevertheless, the fish don't usually care.

You can get both the powder coat or the vinyl paints at places like Cabelas Catalogs, or Stamina Tackle (WWW.Staminatackle.com if I remember correctly).

A few comments:

- If you are going to use a toaster oven to heat/bake them, use a different oven than that used for food. You really don't want any lead dust or any bad fumes in the same oven that you use for food. While the jig heads "look clean", there are some fine lead dust and lead fumes (while heating) that may be present. As mentioned above, get a used oven from a thrift store, Goodwill, garage sale, or Craigslist, and keep it in the garage so that no one else in your household starts using it for food. I got mine for free from Craigslist.

- Most jig heads eventually crack or chip after use, even the powder paint. Vinyl paint is durable but smelly. I just use normal polymer-based acrylic paint from the craft store. It's not as tough as the other paints, but it's cheap and easy to use, and I usually lose a jig to a snag before it's worth repainting the chips/cracks.

- Try using unpainted jig heads... trust me... the fish rarely care.

Spray paint

danielt wrote:Spray paint

no kidding huh? i might have to gice it a try. is that what you use on your jigs and chatterbaits? if so it does work good.

for my own personal use I use it. actually I dont even paint the ones i use...but yes spray paint works and clear coat makes it shine. It will come off over time but only if you are really banging up on stuff. Powder coat does last longer and stays on better but if the spray paint comes off I just touch it up with a sharpie.

tnj8222 wrote:

danielt wrote:Spray paint

no kidding huh? i might have to gice it a try. is that what you use on your jigs and chatterbaits? if so it does work good.

You'll want a white undercoat, before painting with your final color.

I've used the Rustoleum brand spray paints, from Home Despot: their white undercoat and flourescent pink, green, orange for my salmon/steelhead jigs. You'll want to make sure that the brands and ingredients of the paints are compatible with each other, otherwise the paints will dissolve each other. So, for example, don't use a white enamel undercoat, and then paint it with another paint that will dissolve enamel.

The spray paint scratches/chips pretty easily. Not a big deal if you are fishing muddy and weedy areas, as compared to rocky riverbeds. But then again, I use the chipped heads for steelhead/salmon and they don't care.

HillbillyGeek wrote:

mallard83 wrote:I know that you said that you would be doing another thread on this but baking them is better than doing it with a lighter? I have only tried it with a lighter because that is how I saw it done successfully. I read in the instructions that you could bake them but have yet to try it this way. I only have matallic pink so far that I bought for steelhead and humpies.

Looking forward to reading your tutorial. Thanks in advance.

I use a liquid survival candle to heat the jig heads, then dip them in paint and hang them on a toaster oven rack. When the rack is full, I put it in a pre-heated toaster oven for 20 minutes. You can skip the baking step, but the paint will be harder and look better if you bake them after dipping.

One thing about powdercoat is that it doesn't stink like spray paint because it doesn't have any petroleum volutiles. All it does is melt the paint solids instead of evaporating petroleum, hence the smell isn't as bad and the fish don't smell it.....But What do I know, maybe they like it!!

koryrasmussen55 wrote:So i made some homemade jigs and want to paint them now. is there any special paint i need to do this?

Several types of paint work well.... Using paint from a hobby shop or auto paint from GI Joes, Shucks, etc, Get some OneShot paint from The Eastwood Co. This paint is used by sign painters and car stripers and graphic artists on cars. Lots of things you can do to replicate scales ie., netting from a fabric store and spray thru it and it looks like scales. You can get cheap air brushes that are powered by your breath..... They actually work well.... After you paint a lure you should clear coat it. The best is from Eastwood Co... www.eastwood.com It is a bomb can (no air compressor needed) Their cataloges are free. Brushes can be found at a art supply store or a craft store.... Remember Practice! Practice! Practice!!