Glitter Jig Coat?

[iabass8]

I've been pouring my own tear drop style jig heads in 1/16 3/32 1/8 3/16 and 1/4 for the past year and have decided to take the plunge coating them in glitter. Glitter jigs/plastics are a mainstay in my spring/fall walleye jig pitching. I normally buy these from http://www.riverwalleyes.com/lead-head-jigs.html as his are what I love using and I can just stop by his house to pick up what I need. I'm using triple thick to dip the jig head in and then coating them with fine silver, black and gold ultra fine glitter which seemed to look and work perfectly. They are currently drying for 24 hours and then I need to coat them. I've read to use 2 part epoxy and I've also read to use nail polish hardener. These glitter jigs seem to be a mystery among jig makers and the ones that know how don't share the info. Anybody have an idea as to what the ideal coat for these jigs would be that would stand up to rock? Do you add any glitter to the clear 2 epoxy? Hutch's jigs just don't ever seem to crack. small amounts of glitter do fall off here and there but I have some jigs that are over a year old that still look new.

[cadman]

iabass8,

      Based on reading his description of how he puts his glitter on, it looks like he puts on the epoxy and covers the jig with fine glitter. I can't tell from his jig pics about his process, however if I had the jig in my hand I could tell you right away. There are several ways of applying glitter to a jig. If the jig is powder painted you can apply the glittered clear and then bake. You can also clear coat the jig with epoxy and sprinkle it on however, depending on the epoxy, it will sag and run, you can mix the glitter in the epoxy and then apply or you can spray it on with a spray can, and then clearcoat. Again it may run. I choose to powder paint the jig and then put on a glitter coat with a clear and then a clear epoxy coat to protect that if you want durability. I am confused by this statement "using triple thick to dip the jig head in" and "They are currently drying for 24 hours and then I need to coat them." Can you elaborate on these two statements you made and maybe I can help you further?

[iabass8]

Sure. Triple Thick says it requires you to let w/e you coat it with rest for 24 hours after applying the coat before you do anything to the surface. however, I picked up a few of the jigs and they seemed well and dry so i put a little epoxy on a few to see what happens. 

 

If I were to go the route of triple thick + glitter then epoxy  and a little bit of glitter, how much epoxy should i be adding to each jig head? I'm assuming just enough to put a very thin layer over the glitter just to cover it? I don't want the epoxy to add much if any weight to the jig. I almost think I could just skip the triple thick step and just epoxy + glitter and that would create a "hard shell" with the glitter still there?

 

Thanks cadman.

 

edit: tripe thick, if you didn't know, is basically a clear brush on glaze that i dip the jig head in and then let the excess run off until there isn't any run. It really helps stick the glitter and none comes off when dropping it or shaking after it drys.

 

Does nail polish hardener work? It seems after the epoxy dried the jig lost a little of its "sparkle" and almost looks like a flat metalic with a little glitter. The nail polish one i tried next to it looks like what I want it to. Is there a tip to applying the epoxy better?

[cadman]

What is the original paint on the jig head?

 

Is triple thick an epoxy? I never heard of it so I can't comment on it.

 

If you use epoxy, depends on what you use it will run.

 

Some nail polish with its acetone base will soften paint, and will make it worse before better.

 

I apply epoxy with a brush.

 

 

I am really confused by all of this that you are doing and not familiar with this process. Are you making these jigs from scratch? If so a step by step explanation would help on how you go from a raw jig to the final finish and what specifically are you having problems with.

[Siebert Outdoors]

If it was me I would look at powder painting them.  There are some clear sparkle finishes you can add.

[smalljaw67]

I'll try to help here, you need to tell us what kind of paint, the reason is because of what cadman talked about, and that is the paint getting soft from things like nail polish ie. Sally Hansons hard as nails. If you use vinyl paint then it will soften and so will certain powder paints if not cured first bit if I were you what I would do is paint your jig and then use a light coat of epoxy, srinkle the glitter you want on and let dry and then do an epoxy coat over top. I prefer to powder paint and then dip in clear powder with glitter in the clear and then bake to cure, you can buy the clear with glitter pre mixed or you can buy the clear powder and glitter seperate and mix your own based on how much glitter coverage you want.

[iabass8]

These are just bare lead jig heads. Hutch uses the same bare jig heads and then just applies the glitter and it holds extreamely well but i don't know what he coats it. 

 

I have quite a few bare jig heads that haven't seen any use yet and have been in a plano box for a few months. The powder paint mentioned earlier doesn't give the same effect I'm looking for as using fine glitter.

 

my only issue with the jig itself is putting a finishing coat on them. I'm just unsure what will coat the jig /glitter the best to ensure the least amount of cracking and making sure the majority of the glitter holds.