Follow On to another thread- Silver colored jig heads

[Micanopy]

Recently there was a thread about silver jigs, and I didn’t wish to ruin it, so I started this one. It is OK if someone ruins this one.

So he was asking about fishing clear water using silver colors. A few suggested that he could just powder paint the freshly poured jig head into clear and save that just made shine. I thought this was a good idea as well, but then……

I got to thinking why powder paint anything. I apply a resin top coat to secure the eyes, why not just apply that all over the head and seal away oxygen and allow the jig to keep it’s luster. Here is what I got.



This is a 1/24th oz Bat Jig with an EC 571 hook in 1/0 size. Coated in a finger nail over coat UV product. It is so much easier than gluing or using regular UV resins. Quick cure easy application no mess no brush needed.

So I made up about 2 dozen of these shiny heads what been sealed, and figure to give them a try soon and see how they do. The thread appealed to me because I have heard so many say that they actually catch more fish using unpainted heads over any beautifully adorned jigs with bright colors and seductive eyes. Which really got my attention. How can that be ?

I mean unpainted does not mean that there is no color. There is either a shiny grey or a dull grey depending on the jig’s age and the composition of the lead. Maybe grey works really well. Maybe it works in clear water but not stained and I have stained waters.

Then I thought what if I were to intentionally try to paint the heads a metallic color. Chrome is out. Silver and gold are disappointing. Then I thought what if I did an electroplate of copper and another with nickel, or even silver. So I looked into electroplating a little deeper than I did a few years back when I first learned it was available to be a craft we could do at home. Highly toxic craft but and easy one.

Then I searched an saw where Cabelas sells a plated jig head, and looking at the picture I feel that there is room for another way to finish a jig head. I quickly assembled a system and added my stuff from home and found some old pipe and hooked it to my battery charger and it was working. The solution was turning blue as it should to indicate copper sulfate present. However when I dipped a freshly poured head it turned black and gooey. Failure.

So I we t back and learned that the voltage and the amperage must be done slowly, and the solution must be sanitary and uncontaminated, and temperature plays a role, and so I am assembling the proper chemicals and voltage thingies and clean copper material and will give it the old college try.

AN. EXPERIMENT !

Anyways I plan to copper plate a jig head and give it a rub with a cloth and see what I end up with. Shad have copper colors to them you know. Especially in stained water. The stupid fish might like copper. Nickel likes to be plated over copper, but not lead. Well at least not without some very nasty chemicals. So I plate in copper then nickel or even silver. They sell commercial solutions that have additives and such to provide very bright results.

I think better than power paints in brightness, and better than fingernail polish due to the thin nature of a plate providing an interesting effect. So it is inexpensive and easy to do and once I get my stuff all assembled I will pour a few and make penny jigs and share, here with you, and nothing on Fakebook.

BTW- On a side note. I would appreciate it if you people didn’t go blabbing aloud about these stupid plastic bait sales. BassPro got me this morning and it wasn’t even fair. Bobby Garland junk half price- HAH !!!

[skeetbum]

Plating is another rabbit hole that I’ll just spectate. I have quite enough rabbit holes to visit without help. I learned about nickel not plating well over copper when I played with shotguns. Plated shot for hard to kill birds is common and nickel plated was thought best for a time, if not still. Home made shot and people that do stuff for themselves, like we do, spoke of the better penetration of nickel over copper plated shot. Ford/Chevy maybe? But they wound up talking about the nickel had to be done over copper causing even more processes to be done. II knew right then that I’d be buying mine.

I’ve used some chrome looking heads in the past with good results. Have fun fooling with it.

[DockShootinJack]

A couple of more Bass Pro sales and I will have to have a bigger boat.. Interested is seeing how those plated heads turn out

[SuperDave336]

Whew what a bunch of work. Think I’ll just stick to the chrome or copper powder paints.

[Grainraiser]

Whew what a bunch of work. Think I’ll just stick to the chrome or copper powder paints.

Yeah I have chrome, silver and smoke pro tec paint. I take's care of the silver head jigs.

[z520tom]

This is freshly poured lead head with one coat of silver halo power paint if I remember the name correctly. It's my clear water head most of the time.

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[VaCrappieMan]

I can’t wait to see your plated heads. I have looked into the plating stuff myself but really just wanted to buy some plated jigheads haha