Jig Tying Pointers

[jigsbydirk]

bass pro, barlowstackle.com, jannsnetcraft.com, cabelas all carry powder paint and all of the brands seem to be about the same quality, the trick is to be sure and keep the paint loose/ fluffed in the can.

[Darryl Morris]

Those of you who are using powder paint. I have some questions. First, I've found it to be more expensive than others. Is it that much better for the price? Second, if I understand correctly, there is a heating process necessary for using powder paints. How do you do that?

[speck chaser]

powder paint can be purchase from most sporting good shops also bps
has it. i use a propane torch to heat the heads before diping in paint be careful to not get the head too hot just takes a few swipes through the flame
you can bake it on to make harder but i never do.Alo i use kip tales for most of my jigs here in east tn.

[3GIRLSDAD]

Well the ?'s just keep coming. Speck, what is a kip tail?

3GD

[speck chaser]

Darryl, I use a small propane torch hold the jig by the hook with your fingers or use needle nose pliers pass the head back and forth through the flame
3 or 4 times then dip in powder right out of the container then tap off excess it will maelt on if you got the head hot enough. be cqreful not to get to hot paint will bubble or your lead will melt and fall off doesnt take long it is expensive but you can paint hundreds of heads with one bottle hope this helps. you can bake it to harden if you want to but i dont think it is necessary

[Crappie Reaper]

Darryl, I don't have much experience with powder coating, but, I was told to heat the heads up in the oven, then dip into the powder. That didn't work as the jig heads cooled too fast to accept the paint. I then just lit a candle, then used needle nose to hold head over the candle for about 3-4 secs, then dip it fast, whack off the excess, (haha, I said whack off), then I hang it on some wire that I streched and tied across an old baking pan. This way I could hang several at one time. I think I strung like 10 rows of wire across the pan. Anyway, I then bake it in conventional oven for about 10 minutes at 300 deg. Pull them out, let them cool, they are ready to tie. The propane torch is probably a better way to heat the jig head up, as the candle tended to leave a bit of black smoke (soot) on them. But remember, do NOT hold the jig in the flame too long, or the lead will melt off the hook and fall down and burn whatever is below it. Grab the hook by the eye with the needlenose and try not to dip that portion into the paint. It will save you painstaking hours from cleaning out the eyes to be able to tie them to your line. The powder coat, is very, very tough durable paint. You can get too much on it, and it will drip like any other paint. I would like to know myself how I could use the powder better. I am thinking about making a small electrostatic booth for my jig painting needs. That would coat everything, including the hook. Don't know about that though, would be a pain to have to clean it off the barb every time.

[speck chaser]

it is a calf tail kip is what they are sold by

[Jeff Schiller]

The best way I've found to powder coat is by using an oven. Not your wife's oven...that could keep you out of home made chocolate chip cookies for a while. 'Cause you will get paint everywhere.

Here's the secret:
Get yourself one of those small toaster ovens. They should run you about $20 or so at Wally World. Get a small cake pan. I think a 6" fits in the toaster oven perfectly. That may be an 8". I can't remember.
Drill one or more hole on either side of the top of the cake pan.
Take an old wire coat hanger and cut it up so that it is longer than the width of the cake pan. Make two "L" shaped bends in either end. Put one end in each of the holes that you drilled into the cake pan.
Make sure the wire coat hanger is relatively straight going across.

Turn your toaster oven on full blast or to around 350 degrees.
Put a number of jig heads on the wire hanging above the coat hanger and put them in the oven.
After the oven has heated up, you don't have to let the jig heads sit in there for more than a minute or two.
After your jig heads have gotten hot, open the door to the oven and remove each jig head one by one with forceps.
Grab the jig heads by the shank of the hook. Use a combination of fingers and forceps to turn the jig so that you're now holding the jig head by the line tie eye.
Dip the jig head into your decided powder paint (make sure to shake the jar - with the lid closed :D Learned that one the hard way - every once in a while to keep the powder loose). Bang the jig head on the side of the powder paint jar to shake off the excess powder paint.
Hang the newly painted jig head back onto your rack.

Go through each jig head one by one until you have them all done.
Close the door to the oven and let them sit for about another minute.

Take them out and hang them on something to cool.
My cooling rack is a couple of pieces of plank, about 1/2" x 12" x 3' with dowel rods screwed into it at staggered intervals concerning width between rods and height of the rods themselves. I then added a screw on top of each dowel rod and tied pink (for better visibility) kite string to between each set of dowel rods. This creates multi height areas to hang lots of jig heads after they are painted.
I also use my drying rack to hang my shad heads after I have air brushed them and while they are drying after they have been clear coated.

Anywho...sorry this is long. Hope that helps.

PS. I usually only put between 6-8 jig heads in the toaster at one time. Any more than that, they will cool too fast while the door is open and the paint will not stick and you'll have to dip 'em again.
Good Luck

[jigsbydirk]

powder painting is easy if you have a gas cookstove. you simply turn the burner on medium, clasp the jig with some forceps and place in tip of flame for 3-5 seconds, then dip in paint and hang on the oven rack. i have found this way to be almost mess free and rather efficient(1 doz in about 3 min.) hope this helps

[labill]

Where do you get the powder paint?

3GIRLSDAD.....I bought my powder paint from Cabelas, ordered 8 different colors, but that was about 6 years past. I buy in volume, and still have plenty left......most tackle suppliers have a selection these days.