Well maybe there will be a 3d printer resin that can handle lead by the time I get to that. At least designing and testing custom heads will eat up some time.

15 hours ago, Michigander said:

Well maybe there will be a 3d printer resin that can handle lead by the time I get to that. At least designing and testing custom heads will eat up some time.

You can make a 2 piece hand pour mold out of silicone.

 

This is a crankbait mold but they are made the same way.

 

Allen

47 minutes ago, Munkin said:

You can make a 2 piece hand pour mold out of silicone.

 

This is a crankbait mold but they are made the same way.

 

Allen

Yeah, I can print a mold for plastics, but that 650+ degree lead temp is a bit much for the resin.

 

Worst case is I print masters and make a Vac40 metal mold.

 

On 12/10/2020 at 7:42 AM, Michigander said:

I'm going to airbrush acrylic paint onto the jig head and then need to seal it so that it won't just chip off while fishing. I don't have the equipment to powder coat.

You can powder coat jigs with a jar of paint and a candle if necessary. I painted hundreds of them that way before I bought a toaster oven and built a fluid bed.

17 minutes ago, Jig Man said:

You can powder coat jigs with a jar of paint and a candle if necessary. I painted hundreds of them that way before I bought a toaster oven and built a fluid bed.

Powder coating isn't good for fine details though, right?

2 hours ago, Michigander said:

Powder coating isn't good for fine details though, right?

I don’t know what you mean by fine details.

3 minutes ago, Jig Man said:

I don’t know what you mean by fine details.

Obviously not a jig head so the canvas will be smaller but I was looking at attempting stuff like this:

2 hours ago, Michigander said:

Powder coating isn't good for fine details though, right?

 

Correct, it will fill in any fine details.

 

Allen

You might want to research Cadman’s brush tapping method with powder paint.  He can do some amazing things.

15 minutes ago, Jig Man said:

You might want to research Cadman’s brush tapping method with powder paint.  He can do some amazing things.

Got any links to jumpstart my research? I wasn't finding a ton with my search terms.

15 hours ago, Michigander said:

Got any links to jumpstart my research? I wasn't finding a ton with my search terms.

https://tjstackle.com/instvideos.htm

 

https://tjstackle.com/

23 minutes ago, Hewhospeaksmuchbull said:

https://tjstackle.com/instvideos.htm

 

https://tjstackle.com/

So amusingly, I do already own a powder spray gun, lol. That's not the purpose I bought it for, but now that I see the picture in that site, that's what I have.

First field test on some finesse heads. Tried acrylic paint, made some eyes, and sealed with a UV finish. Alumi-UV should be stronger and better but I wanted to get a proof of concept.

 

I think they turned out pretty good for a first try. There wasn't much surface area to work with. Going for a baby bluegill and a baby crappie.

 

Cfrat stores such as Michaels , Hobby Lobby , etc. sell clear sealer sprays . I use them to spray over painted spinner bait blades where I will also sprinkle a little glitter on top for added affect.

Seal Coat by CS coatings you can brush it on, like epoxy without the mixing  https://store.do-itmolds.com/Seal-Coat-_p_807.html

FYI Testors enamels do not play that nice with the nail polish clear coat I have. 

 

The nail polish reacts with the enamel causing it to un-cure? (not sure this is the right term). 

 

I have waited several days and it still causes the enamel to swirl and run.

 

I still use it, I just don't use the brush attached to the cover. I use a paint brush then toss it. 

 

It works, but I think Testors has their own clear coat for their enamel. Should try that.

On 12/12/2020 at 10:00 PM, Michigander said:

First field test on some finesse heads. Tried acrylic paint, made some eyes, and sealed with a UV finish. Alumi-UV should be stronger and better but I wanted to get a proof of concept.

 

I think they turned out pretty good for a first try. There wasn't much surface area to work with. Going for a baby bluegill and a baby crappie.

 

They look amazing 

2 hours ago, Bass Junke said:

FYI Testors enamels do not play that nice with the nail polish clear coat I have. 

 

The nail polish reacts with the enamel causing it to un-cure? (not sure this is the right term). 

 

I have waited several days and it still causes the enamel to swirl and run.

 

I still use it, I just don't use the brush attached to the cover. I use a paint brush then toss it. 

 

It works, but I think Testors has their own clear coat for their enamel. Should try that.

Good to know about that! I'll make sure not to mix those.

 

I have cans of Testor's Dulcote (matte) and their gloss clear coat. I'm not sure how impact resistant that's going to be. I can add it to the list of products I'm going to street test. And by that I mean literally dragging it over the street. It's a fantastic torture test.

5 hours ago, Michigander said:

Good to know about that! I'll make sure not to mix those.

 

I have cans of Testor's Dulcote (matte) and their gloss clear coat. I'm not sure how impact resistant that's going to be. I can add it to the list of products I'm going to street test. And by that I mean literally dragging it over the street. It's a fantastic torture test.

 

Not good for impact but I sometimes spray clear before adding a top coat. That or spray the matte over the top coat to give it the matte finish.

 

Allen

On 12/10/2020 at 8:40 AM, Reel said:

You can powder coat with a clear finish.  Powder paint is available in clear.  Very hard.

Good to know !

On 12/10/2020 at 2:14 PM, WRB said:

I am anal about paint getting onto the hook eye because the paint weakens the knot during clinching tight.

I paint my lead jigs using Testors enamel model paint using a brush to keep paint out of the hook eye. It takes about an hour to paint 100 jigs and hang them on a horizontal wire to dry as I paint them. 

Lead is soft and dents when hitting rocks. If the paint is harder then the lead it chips off. Softer paint like enamel doesn’t chip off, it may scrap off in time working through rocks. 

If you are set on clear coating use clear enamel.

Tom

PS; Bass don’t care if the jig is painted or chipped, you do!

 

Testors is probably the best paint to use if you are not powder coating and just brushing it on.  When I first started making jigs and in-line spinners  that was what I was using instead of powder paint.  It was fairly durable as I don’t think I had my little oven At the time.  Plus it was cheap and available as the hobby store was only like a half mile away 

 

 

as far as how I powder paint to day. I just heat the jigs up with propane torch and dunk them in the powder paint.  Not good for multiple colors but, I usually keep the jigs them selves simple with one color.   Then I cure them in my convection oven at 320.  If the paint has glitter in it I power to about 275 for 25 minutes.

 

once my boat project is done I’d like to get the harbor frieght palm sized sand blaster.  Instead of sand I’d put powder paint in it.  Cheap powder air gun 

On 12/27/2020 at 8:27 PM, Mbirdsley said:

Testors is probably the best paint to use if you are not powder coating and just brushing it on.  When I first started making jigs and in-line spinners  that was what I was using instead of powder paint.  It was fairly durable as I don’t think I had my little oven At the time.  Plus it was cheap and available as the hobby store was only like a half mile away 

 

 

as far as how I powder paint to day. I just heat the jigs up with propane torch and dunk them in the powder paint.  Not good for multiple colors but, I usually keep the jigs them selves simple with one color.   Then I cure them in my convection oven at 320.  If the paint has glitter in it I power to about 275 for 25 minutes.

 

once my boat project is done I’d like to get the harbor frieght palm sized sand blaster.  Instead of sand I’d put powder paint in it.  Cheap powder air gun 

Could you post a link or description of the exact type of testors paint you use? I’m interested in painting some heads and don’t want to mess with powder coating at the moment 

TTesters model enamel paint comes in every color imaginable. The little square jars will do about 100 jigs.

I stretch a wire between 2 eye screws about 24”apart under my work bench cabinet. Hand jigs the hook bend to dry. Been doing this about 50 years with thousands of jigs over that time period?

Tom

 

13 hours ago, BlakeMolone said:

Could you post a link or description of the exact type of testors paint you use? I’m interested in painting some heads and don’t want to mess with powder coating at the moment 

This is what they're talking about: 

https://www.michaels.com/testors-promotional-enamel-paint-set/10068108.html?r=g&cm_mmc=PLASearch-_-google-_-MICH_Shopping_US_N_Craft+%26+Hobbies_N_Smart_BOPIS_N-_-&Kenshoo_ida=&kpid=go_cmp-9972406265_adg-99939223639_ad-433378147590_pla-981059439317_dev-m_ext-_prd-10068108&gclid=Cj0KCQiA3Y-ABhCnARIsAKYDH7uzernfpezgXKlAFi-tjBpG5Jnt8UnCihavucmNTcUd5oSSrWreGMAaAmp1EALw_wcB

 

That is a kit but there's hundreds of colors available in singles.