chipping powder paint? HELP please!

[toppwatr]

my powder painted jigs keep chipping when i want to use them around rocks and its getting terribly annoying. at the end of the day its just lead gray and thats it...... i try to "cure" them in an oven at 350 for 20 minutes like it says but all that im getting is clogged eyeholes and a big drop shaped protrusion on the head of the jig. i really am getting annoyed here if someone could help me that would be great.
thanks

[carolina-rig-01]

If you are getting globs of paint running off of the heads when you cure them then you are getting too much paint on the heads. Also if you clean the eye out before you cure it, and then again as soon as you pull it out of the oven you can avoid the eye getting clogged. Another way to prevent the hook eye from getting filled with paint is by filling the eye with a small nail or piece of wire before you cure it and then pull the wire or nail out as soon as you take the head out of the oven.

Curing the heads is the only way to make the powder coat durable. Even then itit will chip when abused but it won't chip nearly as easy or as bad.

[Rebbasser]

Gotta disagree with C-rig a bit. If you ate getting gobs of pIint i believe you are not getting the jig hot enough initially It is a narrow range between hot enough and melting the head. I use a blowtorch to heat them up and them bake them in the oven to cure them. Drives my wife crazy but she will let me do it

[Cheech]

Originally Posted by Rebbasser

Gotta disagree with C-rig a bit. If you ate getting gobs of pIint i believe you are not getting the jig hot enough initially It is a narrow range between hot enough and melting the head. I use a blowtorch to heat them up and them bake them in the oven to cure them. Drives my wife crazy but she will let me do it

Actually, I think getting the lead too hot will make you get too much paint on the initial dip. I like to get it barely hot enough to have the paint stick, and maybe do two layers. Another key is to make sure you stir the powder for every jig. The powder can compact and make dipping the head more difficult. Stirring the powder loosens it up and helps get an even coat on the first dip. Also, if I get clogging in the eye, I just take a very fine bit from my dremel tool and clean it out afterward.

I started doing this when I was messing with putting 4 different colors of paint on my heads to match the California 420 color that Reaction Innovations puts out. They are very very deadly.

BTW, I've been reading this forum for a while, and I haven't posted much. I'm an avid basser, and I fly fish and tie flies a lot too. I live in Nevada (there are more fish here than people think). Good to meet you all.

[carolina-rig-01]

Originally Posted by Rebbasser

Gotta disagree with C-rig a bit. If you ate getting gobs of pIint i believe you are not getting the jig hot enough initially It is a narrow range between hot enough and melting the head. I use a blowtorch to heat them up and them bake them in the oven to cure them. Drives my wife crazy but she will let me do it

I'm not saying your wrong Reb. But in my experience if the jighead is too hot I get too much paint on the head and end up with the gobs. If the head is not hot enough then the paint doesn't stick well at all and I end up with a partially covered head. I tried everything to fix it when I first started and dipping the jighead in the powder and removing it quicker cured my problem, thus I thought that less paint was the answer. I agree there is a fine line between a jighead being too hot or not hot enough, and too much paint or too little paint. I usually can tell if I get the temperature right on the jighead by how the paint looks when I pull it out of the powder coat. You want it to be shiny not dull, but not so hot it is steaming.

[Lvitch]

Funny, I don't even paint mine. I carry a sharpie assortment and color them to match the jig. That metallic sheen and beat up appearance looks more natural I think. Just my .02

[M_A_C_K]

All the guys that fish really rocky places switched to vinyl and would never use powder coat... powder coat is easier but if you fish a lot of rocky areas you should definitely switch to vinyl... Everyone I know that fishes rocks are 100 percent believers in using nothing else. Something about the vinyl dents instead of chipping off like powder coat.

[Fish30114]

Originally Posted by M_A_C_K

All the guys that fish really rocky places switched to vinyl and would never use powder coat... powder coat is easier but if you fish a lot of rocky areas you should definitely switch to vinyl... Everyone I know that fishes rocks are 100 percent believers in using nothing else. Something about the vinyl dents instead of chipping off like powder coat.

What Mack said----you a trout guy MACK?.....

[M_A_C_K]

Originally Posted by Fish30114

What Mack said----you a trout guy MACK?.....

Nah... I'm a bass man at heart... Just like knowing the materials lol

[bassintom]

To be honest I don't really care if my jigs get chipped. I have many with no paint left. I just make sure the hook is sharp. This has worked for me for a long time. I'm one of those guys that can't be bothered with stuff like that or cleaning my boat..The time is better spent fishing.or drinking beer

[toppwatr]

bassintom brings up a point.....how much does the paint on a jig that is basically covered in skirt and trailer really matter? or does it matter more than i think....i mean i caught a nice fish this weekend on a homemade finesse jig without paint because it chipped off.

Lvitch, does the color stay through rocks?

[M_A_C_K]

Yes you can catch fish without painted heads... But With moody bass/crappie a different color head can make all the difference to me... If it doesn't matter to you just buy some cheap nail polish and coat it with clear nail polish... if it chips just paint it again even tho it can be very tough... Hardcore rock fisherman won't even use a jig that hasn't had the vinyl curing for at least 8 months.

[Mac2]

About getting the paint in the eyes....you don't have to. I hold the jig in an alcohol flame to heat as I hold it by the bend of the hook, then when hot, I grab it with the hemostats covering the eye of the hook then dip in the jar. It never plugs the eyes.

Also when heating, I count somewhat quickly....for example a 1,2 is long enough on one side of a sixteenth ounce head with a little quicker 1,2 for the other. When I dip, I know I'm on the mark if the powder on the leadhead stays granular in appearance....no sagging will occur if it looks gritty before curing. White powder is gloppy to work with so the granular is the way to go for sure when using it.

[keysd13]

Here is my .02. I've found that using a fluid bed helps get an even coat on the jigs and makes it less likely to chip. Also I use an old toaster oven for heating purposes and the temp on the know is not accurate. So check the temp of your oven before starting. Black powder coat is more tolerant to heat than other colors, where green pumpkin and white will run when too hot. You can always build a holder to allow the powder coat to run towards the shank of the hook and clean the excess off after you are done. Hope this helps.

[boloson]

Wouldn't an epoxy help with the chips?