Today I'm powder painting jigs and I normally heat the jig head with a heat gun, dip into a jar of powder paint and cure in the oven. I saw a video from Pro-Tec powder paint saying that all you need to do is heat the jig hot enough so that when you dip it should come out glossy, reheat if powder is dull. No oven required. 

 

Is that the way I should be doing this? If I get the same results and skip the oven step then I'm all for it.

 

Here are the one's I did today with the oven method:

Before

 

After

 

Sorry about the lighting situation

My experience is without the baking the paint won’t be hard and will chip very easy.

 

I honestly don’t know how many I have painted.  I used to do 1,000 a year for one guy.  
 

Here is my method:  I use a fluid bed so I have a larger opening into which I can dip the jigs.  I hold the jig eye with a Pop Snagger tool to keep paint out of the eye.  I heat the jig just hot enough to get a dull coat of powder on it (shiny is too much paint and causes drips and runs).  I hang them by the hook in my toaster oven and depending on the size of the jig I bake them for 10 to 15 minutes at 350°f.

I’m not positive but I think I saw an article about a new powder paint that doesn’t need to be baked to be durable. Check the Powder Pro site or do a general search. 

I am not familiar with not baking powder paint. Over the years for myself and commercially I(we) always baked the powder paint after it was applied to harden it. Maybe there is a new powder paint out there now, I don't know. I pretty much heat the jig with a heat gun, then swish it through the powder paint and it glosses over. Then I rack it by the hook for the oven. If you do it my way, you have to be careful not to keep the jig too long in the powder paint. Otherwise like Jigman said, you will get too much powder on the jig and the paint will start to drip once you bake.

  I guess if you find out that there is a different powder paint without baking, try it out and let us know. If you want to know how hard the paint is take your painted jig and throw it on concrete and see if the paint chips. The paint should dent not chip off.

Thanks @cadman. I do it the way you and @Jig Man taught me many years ago. I’m still grateful for the lessons and still have the advice written down along with a “Lessons Learned” set of notes.

 

I’ll let you know if I do pick-up a powder paint that doesn’t need oven baking but the one’s I posted above were baked and I’m happy with the results. 

Rather than dip, which I usually get too much paint on and sometimes the eye full, I'll sprinkle it all over after heat in the heat gun with a small cup or spoon. There's a heat gun tip that's rectangular and the bodies fit right on there/just lay it on. I collect to the overs for reuse. I don't care if it's not glossy, just coated all over, since it'll smooth out in the old toaster oven. You can re-apply, if it's not smooth. I guess if you do it enough, you get real good at it, how long to heat first, etc. I made a little steel rack to hang them on for the oven. Pieces of small scrap angle and file for grooves and a few bolts. I got paint on my regular oven rack once.

Charge the body- and the paint+ (gun) is the pro way. Best for even thin coating.

I'm probably due to make a batch of spinner bait bodies, so I'll check back/around for new paint, too. I like to use fresh/virgin lead and coat in clear right away to give than chrome look. About the only time I use color is on jig heads.

I use to make the powder paint at one of my plants I was over. I was a specialty nylon.