First Time Powder Coating Experience Today

[The Rooster]

I tried some powder coating today for the first time. I took two 1/4 oz. worm weights to the shop to experiment with. Here's what I learned:

First, stir your paint (these things I learned will seem mundane to those who already know, but maybe you can offer some guidance or explanations for what I learned). Before starting, I stirred up the white paint to loosen it up. Then I unrolled a paper clip and put a worm weight on it, and bent the wire some so it wouldn't fall off or move around a lot. Then I heated the weight using a lighter for about 20 seconds. Afterwards I just did a quick swish through the paint. WOW! It came out fully coated, glossy looking, and dry within seconds! If I had quit there it would have been a success.

But I was inspired, so I opened the red paint and tapped the container on the counter to loosen it up. I was just going to dip the tip of the weight to basically make it mostly white with a red tip. I heated the end of the weight with the lighter for just a few seconds, not wanting to blacken the white paint, and then plunged the weight into the red powder. That was mistake number two, as I had already made mistake number one but didn't know it until then. I didn't think stirring the paint was needed since I had shook and tapped the red powder prior to use. The lead weight just stuck into the powder much like it might have if just plunged into dirt in the ground outside. Afterwards I stirred the paint, and tried again. This time it was loose, but I wasn't getting the same nice, glossy results with the red. It was drying flat and grainy looking on the end of the sinker, and also leaving pinkish looking areas from where the red powder had not fully coated the white below it.

So I followed this with a whole series of mistakes. I heated and reheated the sinker repeatedly, and plunged it several times. I was trying to get a very distinct white to red edge on it. But I would get a powdery looking transition from one color to the other instead, and not evenly coated either. It was always grainy looking each time as well, and I figured it was because I hadn't gotten the tip hot enough to fully activate the paint to melt and bond well. I was afraid to hold it in or over the flame too long or it would ruin the white paint by browning or graying it, which it did in some places. I also noticed the sinker's conical tip was getting fatter from all the dipping and having paint build up. It was changing the overall taper of the weight which was something I did not want. Finally I decided to just dip the whole thing and make it all red. That worked but only moderately well. It was flat and grainy finished so I started heating and rolling the weight over the flame to smooth it out. It did get glossier as I did this but not like that white had been before. So I laid it aside and tried the second weight.

I simply repeated my first attempt at just making an all white weight. It came out not so well since my lighter was low on fluid by now so I didn't heat the weight more than a few seconds and the paint left places that were thin and I could see a darkened spot on one side as the lead showed through. So I attempted to reheated it for a second swish. This worked but also caked the paint on and left a grainy look (again, not enough heat?), so I began rolling the weight over the flame to smooth it out. This worked with limited success. It seemed the paint would begin to run slightly and form heavier spots leaving a lumpy look to the finished surface, like yogurt in a cup. Also, the paint had hardened on the tip and bonded the weight to the wire shaft. When I twisted it on the shaft to remove it I got paint chips on the tip.

Not knowing what to expect at all before this, I'm trying to not let this discourage me. My first swish was flawless and I think it's because I stirred the paint, heated the weight nice and hot, and just made a quick 1/2 second long pass through the loosened paint. Where I went wrong was not knowing how to reapply enough heat to the already painted weight the second time in order to add more color without scorching occurring. Also, not stirring the red paint before use, and all the dipping and redipping again and again that built up paint and actually changed the look and shape of the worm weight. The second weight didn't go as planned due to not enough heat even for the first pass and then repeating this again without enough heat so paint just caked on (wouldn't tap off either, I tried), and then trying to fix it by rolling it over the low flame.

I read Cadman's tutorial on applying secondary colors using a brush to just tap and let the paint fall onto the heated surface. I did not try this as I had thought it would leave a sprinkled on appearance and I had wanted a very distinct white and red field on the weight with no transition, just two solid colors meeting in the middle. Was there any good way to achieve this?

I plan to keep trying. I only spent about ten minutes to do all this as it was. It's all the time I had for it at the moment, so I just wanted to squeeze it in. Also, a fluid bed is in my future. I'll likely mess up a lot of sinkers learning this though. As of now, I have no way to bake them after painting, but I'm just trying to get the coating part right for now. The paint seems hard when dried but I know it's brittle because of the chipping I got when it bonded both lead weight and wire together and I twisted them apart and got chip out. I think next time I try this, it will be just to do some solid coats on one pass so I build confidence. I feel I can do that fairly well based on my very first dip. I might also try mixing some colors, as I have now bought all four of Harbor Freight's colors they have available, white, red, yellow, and matte black. I think I should be able to make gray, pink, and orange with these also. I need to find some blue from somewhere to mix any other colors.

[cadman]

Just a few pointers for a beginner: This would solve half of your problems.

 

#1 Do not use a candle or a lighter. Candles and lighters give off black soot as you have noticed. Neither one of them is a good source for even heat on the initial heat up and then on the re-heat. So either use a heat gun or a propane torch. Both of these will work just fine. Remember that either one of these will melt a jig head if kept too long in the heat.

 

#2 Always fluff your powder paint whether you are dipping or swishing. If you are not using a fluid bed, then you will have to fluff every 2nd or third jig.

 

#3 If you are only applying 2 colors. The first base color should be applied to the entire jig, unless you are trying to apply a lighter color over a darker color. The first color will always give the second color something to grab onto as far as something like a primer. On the second coat always heat through thoroughly, so you can get both paints to cross-link, and you will get a smooth even transition between them both.

 

#4 In applying the second color, the jig with the first color has to be hot. Then either dip it quickly in the powder paint or use a brush to tap on the second color. If you want to use the brush, just keep on tapping more powder until you've covered it all. Once you've done this heat through. 

 

#5 You can also apply powder paint via a special airbrush. I am not an expert on this, however if you need a name to ask questions about this . PM me.

 

#6 Finally all of this will take some time. Practice makes perfect, and I'm not talking about 10 minutes a day. So once you put in some time, you will see better results.

 

This should give you a start in powder painting.

[smalljaw67]

I'm going to echo everything Cadman has said, candles and lighters are not good, and you can't simply coat paint over bad spots because the paint will drip and leave "nipples" when it is cured. You need to cure the weights, it you aren't going to cure them then just use vinyl paint, powder is the toughest finish you can get once it is cured but it is also very brittle uncured and after a few cast the weight will lose half the paint. I wouldn't worry about spraying powder unless it was something you think you might do on a regular basis, not just a few worm weights every couple of months, however, a fluid bed would be a good investment as would a heat gun or propane torch, I'm old school and use a torch and I'll tell you what I tell others, use propane, not mapp gas, the reason why is because you'll melt your lead really quick, it is too hot so propane is the way to go if you use the torch.

[cadman]

Rooster,

     Since Smalljaw replied, he was the person I was going to recommend to you if and when you want to get into airbrushing your weights. He does some incredible jigs and spinnerbaits with his paint process. We all develop a technique that works for each of us. You will develop your own things that work well for you also.

[The Rooster]

Thanks guys. I do have a propane torch I could use. Never thought about using it. I used to have a heat gun but my wife mostly used it stripping paint on wood trim. She gave it away. I can always get another cheaply at Harbor Freight. What about using a hair dryer? Not enough heat? I'm just trying to think of ways to experiment further. I told my wife I wish I'd kept the two toaster ovens my stepdaughter was selling in last year's yard sale. She told me we'd just buy a new one, a nice one large enough to bake lots of jigs and weights in. She knows it has to be a dedicated oven just for this, too. She's very supportive of my hobbies.

I'm definitely building a fluid bed, too. I suppose it's only used for full cover coating, right? Seems like any partial coating done with one might leave too much room for error with the second color going on, like I might accidentally get too much paint on it the second time.

I just put that ten minutes into it because I had a little break time there and wanted to try something, just anything, to get started learning. Now that I've had the experience, I will be going in with some idea next time of what worked and what didn't as opposed to knowing nothing at all like the first time. I know I'll be dipping a lot of worm weights before I get good at it. I have a huge amount of home made egg sinkers here I could practice on. Hundreds and hundreds, truth be told it's probably 50 pounds or more. I wish they were worm weights. I could get a mold and melt them down and recast them but I have nothing at all in the way of lead molding tools so that would be more expense on top of what I'm doing now. But in the future I may do that so I could make what I want and not have to just buy them.

One thing I'm confused on, Cadman, what did you mean by heating through? Is that the baking process that cures the paint after it's applied?

Also, I've read where some guys use their ovens to preheat the jigs for painting. If you do this, would you heat them at the same temperature, and for the same length of time, as you would for the final baking of the paint? I wonder how long they would stay hot enough to paint once they're ready for dipping? I would think they'd cool off fairly fast once out of the oven.

[smalljaw67]

Rooster, what Cadman was talking about when he said "heating through" was the entire weight being heated so that the paint would melt on the entire weight because even though it is metal and it conducts heat you can still get an area that the paint will melt while just sticking without melting on another part of the jig. So in order to have 2 colors come together seamlessly the weight or jig needs to be heated through, just make sure you don't melt it. To do that you just hold your weight over the flame and count to 4 and try it, if it dosen't gloss over a few seconds after dipping try 6 seconds and so on and then remember how long you did it for the size weight you painted. I'll save you some time, don't use a hair dryer, no where near enough heat, you'll be on it for 6 hours before it even gets close enough for the paint to stick. You can heat in the toaster over and then pull the weight or jig out and then just dip, doing the toaster oven method is good for single colors, the reason I wouldn't use it for multiple colors is because of something you already found out, the small hunk of lead will cool very fast so having a jig right at 350 by the time you dip it has already dropped a few degrees and the paint will drop it even further so a second dip or even a few taps of ppwder from a brush isn't going to go on as the weight will be too cool. With a heat gun or torch you can heat then dip and then quickly give it another shot of heat and get the second color, and if you use the torch remember to keep the weight just above the flame, you don't want it to hit the weight, especially if you have paint on it since it will scorch any paint you have on it. Curing is simple, you'll see some guys really get into specific temps and times for different colors but I found that 350 for 15 is great and if you aren't confident try 20 as the few extra minutes won't hurt it, once you take it out and let it cool you can test the cure by dropping the weight on a side walk or other concrete surface to see if it chips, if it isn't cured properly you'll know it right away as it will chip instantly on the surface that hit the ground but I think no matter the brand or color 350 for 15 to 20 minutes should be good for a solid cure.

[The Rooster]

Thank you soooo much.