Jig Painting Advice

[hknfsh]

Here the deal......make my own jigs start to finish. When I paint I use a torch to heat the lead then dip in a powder paint. I've heard it said to "cure" to jigs in the oven at ?? temp. Didn't want lead/paint in the same oven as my food so I finally found a toaster oven at an auction today for this procedure. Now my questions are......what temp and how long.....and won't it melt the weed guards ?? This mold allows guards to be glued in later but it's a tight fit....so I pour with them in the mold. Any advice ? Thanks.

[countryred]

I tried it but had to add weed guards later. I used a sacrificial old electric skillet.

[Jacob W]

I have never had good look curing painted jig heads with the weed guards in them, because the temp has to be low enough to not melt the weed guard. I have tried it at 230 degrees for about 50 minutes, but the paint chips off very easy. You might want to try a longer bake time. I do mine at 350 for 25 minutes and the paint stays on very well. Small dab of glue and then press the guard in.

[hknfsh]

Tried putting guards in after paint but the hole is smaller diameter cause the paint fills it in !! How in the heck do the pros do it ?? Like dipping with guards on cause I'll let the paint cover the base of the guard....helps to anchor it in the jig head better....they never come off ! Keep a marker in the boat to touch up where paint flakes off too. Don't know if this effort is worth the hassel. Opinions anyone ?

[Pepe]

The trick is to use pins in the jig to fill and block the weedguard hole when you paint them. Leave them there when you put them in the toaster oven and bake at 350F for 20 minutes. Pull the pins, put a drop of superglue in the hole and insert the weedguard.

Metal

http://lurepartsonline.com/Shop-By-Category/Ladles-and-Accessories/Base-Hole-Pins.html

Plastic

http://www.barlowstackle.com/Teflon-Base-Hole-Pins-P2186C134.aspx

[hknfsh]

Hey DC.....the link about using Teflon pins sounds right on the money ! They are correct about paint sticking to the metal pins. I tried leaving metal pins in to protect the guard hole and realized that paint is all but impossible to get off. Can't use them in the mold so just go with weed guards as I pour. Is a pain when you screw up a guard pouring and have to melt everything off and wire wheel the hook clean !! Will have to get these Teflons for sure. And trick I came up with to protect the guard from the torch flame while heating jig head is cut a piece of tubing used for aquarium air pumps and slide it over the guard down to the jig head.....heat....dip....pull it off. It will still allow a little paint to cover the base for a more secure anchor. Thanks a bunch for the help !! Be safe

[dblades]

I actually doubt the painted head makes much diference. I've caught plenty of fish on plain old dull gray lead jigheads.

[RSBreth]

If you want good hard cured paint you have to do it like Danger Close said - it's also easier to tie your jigs with the guard out, too. One tip is if you use superglue make sure you have a small fan to blow air over the jigs as the glue dries to prevent the vapor leaving the paint milky looking around the guard too. Lot's of little tricks to pouring and making your own - you might start reading up over at Tackleunderground.com

[Dutch]

Get the teflon pins. They are way easier to use than the metal ones. If you pull your pins before you bake then you can reopen the hole by gently drilling it out.

Additionally, if you use a heat gun and learn to heat the head just enough to get a (powdery) coat instead of a slick one then you won't have as much paint on the head and that will alleviate all sorts of other problems. The powdery coat will bake on and be just as hard as your shiny ones from the torch.

Another thing you can do is heat them in the toaste oven for just a few minutes take them out one at a time, dip them, then put them back. I do that when I have to make 2 or 3 dozen of the same color and size.

[twoarkies]

Barlow's Tackle Shop in Richardson, Texas has heat guards that slip over the weed guard when you heat them up for powder paint. They are less than five bucks. Barlows has on line site and are good folks to do business with. I have been ordering items from them since 1974, and have always been satisfied with their service. They sell all sorts of lure building supplies and are a lot cheaper than the box stores and local tackle shops. They used to be one of the few full service rod and tackle supply stores available. They quit selling rod blanks a few years ago, but still have the components.