Another Powder Paint Question

[FIAB]

Do any of you use a powder paint air brush when putting multiple colors on a jig?  If so is this your preferred way to put multiple colors on a jig.  I have only done a second dip or sprinkled additional colors on the base color. 

What air brush would you suggest?

Also, I would like to repaint some old spinner baits but they will not fit down into my fluid beds far enough without bending the wire.........is that what you do....just bent the wire and then bend it back in shape.  Or do I have my fluid beds too tall.  I try to keep about 4oz of powder in the container so I think I have enough powder in the container.

Thanks

[Jig Man]

Have you tried taking them in hook first.  That is how I do it.

[Siebert Outdoors]

I'm looking at them but havent used one yet.  Have you tried making a trough instead of a tube to dip them in?  The gun would probably be best IMO though.  Cadman probably uses one.

[mr.mallard]

if you want a hard line between the two colors what i have been doing with moderate sucess is covering the part that i dont want painted with a few layers of blue painters tape. painting the whole thing. taking the tape off and curing it. and then covering the painted part with blue painters tape and redoing it with other color. must get thick coat of powder paint to be effective IMHO

[cadman]

Bone-headjig.

  With all honesty I only use a fluid bed for one color applications and that's it. I am going to get into airbrushing with createx, but just don't have the time. I have never used a powder air brush, although I heard good things about it. I'm old school. So what is old school. I taught myself my technique, 7 years ago because I didn't know how to use an airbrush and I still use it to this day. If you are trying to do something like a pic in my avatar, you have to plan out what colors you want where. My whole process is to dip a brush in the powder paint and tap it on a hot jig. That's it nothing else it's that simple and no B.S. Plan where you want the paint to go and put on light coats. I will say it will take you several months of a lot of practice to get it to look that way but as you can see, if I can do it so can you. In the case of the avatar, the entire body is done in beige textured powder paint (everything is powder paint). Next is to turn the jig over and put on the org belly. Turn the bait over rght side up and then you do the yellow, then the green and then the black. Once this is done put on your gold powder glitter, bake in the oven and your done. Put on eyes and clearcoat with D2T. I like my colors to flow into each other so there are no clear defined lines. But that is a personal choice.

[FIAB]

Mr. Mallard I have thought about using tape but was looking for something a little less time consuming.  I am also not so worried about clean lines.  But I may give this a try.

Cadman the way you describe painting your heads is what I have been doing.  I guess I just need more practice.  One wrong flick of the brush and or shaky hands and the whole jig head can be screwed up.......or at least becomes a single color jig head again.  I also think this might work better for me if I used a heat gun to heat the jigs up instead of the oven or do you just use the oven for both heating and curing.

I had just seen the air brushes for powder paint and thought that they may make life a little easier.  I already have a compressor so I may get one and give it a try.  If not I'll take your advice Cadman and keep practicing the Old School Way.

GMAN I can't think of a way to make a trough to work in a fluid bed.....or are you talking about just a trough with no fluid bed.

Jig Man do you get paint on the hook tip when you take it in hook first or are you keeping the hook tip out of the paint and dipping it at an angle. 

Thanks all for the input.  If I get an air brush I'll let you know how it works.

[cadman]

Cadman the way you describe painting your heads is what I have been doing. I guess I just need more practice. One wrong flick of the brush and or shaky hands and the whole jig head can be screwed up.......or at least becomes a single color jig head again. I also think this might work better for me if I used a heat gun to heat the jigs up instead of the oven or do you just use the oven for both heating and curing.

I had just seen the air brushes for powder paint and thought that they may make life a little easier. I already have a compressor so I may get one and give it a try. If not I'll take your advice Cadman and keep practicing the Old School Way.

Thanks all for the input. If I get an air brush I'll let you know how it works.

Bone-Head Jig,

   I will definitely agree with you on the practice. Just like anything else it takes time to be good at it. Also if you are not using a heat gun, then I would strongly advise in getting one. Here are the reasons why.

#1 In order to do multiple colors , you have to keep the jig body warm to hot to the touch all of the time.

#2 You really only want to heat the lead and nothing else if possible. The reason being is this. If you heat the whole jig with the hook any paint that falls on the hook will stick to it and you don't want that.

#3 If you are doing jigs or spinnerbaits or buzzbaits and you use a fluid bed you should only be heating the body. Because what happens especially in a fluid bed is this. If you heat the entire bait as mentioned above, you will get powder paint melted on the bait, hook and all. So by heating only the body(via a heat gun) you will see that when you put the bait into a fluid bed, the body will gloss over, and the powder paint on the jig hook will, well look powdery, and this is what you want because with the powdery hook, you can just wipe it off with a rag. Hope this all makes sense............Good Luck

[Jig Man]

Jig Man do you get paint on the hook tip when you take it in hook first or are you keeping the hook tip out of the paint and dipping it at an angle. 

When doing spinnerbaits or buzzbaits, I heat the head with a torch so the hook is not hot and doesn't get any paint on it.

[FIAB]

Sounds like I need to buy a heat gun first and work with that and then look at a powder paint gun if needed.

Thanks for all the info guys......that's a big help and kind of clears things up for me.

[cadman]

Sounds like I need to buy a heat gun first and work with that and then look at a powder paint gun if needed.

Thanks for all the info guys......that's a big help and kind of clears things up for me.

You can use a torch like Jig Man does. I know several guys that use it. It's all personal preferance on what  you like and what you are comfortable with. If you use a torch though, watch very carefully so you don't burn the paint on subsequent colors or melt the lead head.

[Shad_Master]

Don't mean to hijack the thread - but do have one quick question - when heating up the jig, with a torch (or I assume with a heat gun) - how do you know when it is hot enough and not too hot.  I have been waiting until the lead becomes slick almost "watery" looking - I know if I go too much past that the whole thing will melt.  Any quick tips on this?

[cadman]

Don't mean to hijack the thread - but do have one quick question - when heating up the jig, with a torch (or I assume with a heat gun) - how do you know when it is hot enough and not too hot. I have been waiting until the lead becomes slick almost "watery" looking - I know if I go too much past that the whole thing will melt. Any quick tips on this?

Shad Master,

That is way tooooooo hot. When it gets that silvery you are already at melting point. For one thing that is quite dangerous when using a heat gun. How do I know, by experience. I did that once and the hot lead melted into the heat gun, shorted it out, started burning, blew a breaker and scared the c**p out of me. The best way to know if a jig is hot is by trial and error and the counting system. Let's say you have a 1/4 oz football jig. Put it over your heat source and count to 5 seconds in your mind, swish it in your powder, if the powder doesn't adhere, put it back in for 3 more seconds. Once the powder adheres, try your next jig and let's say you counted to 8 seconds, swish it through the powder and see if the paint adheres and glosses over. If not add another second or two. You don't want the jig any hotter than it should be. The reason being is the hotter a jig is the more powder paint will melt and adhere causing way toooooo much paint. Then when you go to bake it, henceforth the dripping and paint nipples. Naturally when you go up in size or down in size in weight adjust accordingly. A 1/16 oz jig takes a lot less heat to paint than a 1/2 oz jig. Hopes this helps.

[Jig Man]

Sounds like I need to buy a heat gun first and work with that and then look at a powder paint gun if needed.

Thanks for all the info guys......that's a big help and kind of clears things up for me.

You can use a torch like Jig Man does. I know several guys that use it. It's all personal preferance on what you like and what you are comfortable with. If you use a torch though, watch very carefully so you don't burn the paint on subsequent colors or melt the lead head.

  I only use the torch for the initial heat.  For subsequent colors I heat in the toaster oven and apply paint with a makeup brush by tapping.

[Siebert Outdoors]

Yeah thats what I was thinking just a trough.  It might not work well.  I've never tried it.  I use to paint S/b but quit and now thinking about it again.  I have a little more of a concept of how to do it but I think I'd go witht he gun.