A couple of questions about powder painting and jig making

[anderson_dc]

I have been following the site for quite some time and really appreciate all of the great information shared here. I have a few quick questions for you guys and i hope you can answer them for me.

1. Ive been casting the Do It Mold Shake it Jig with Screw Loc lately and it seems that the larger sizes come out really good but the smaller sizes (3/16, 1/8, 1/16 oz) seem to have a problem with the screw loc coming loose after i have molded it. Is there a simple solution to correct this? Im using the mustad 32798 hooks and i have been going up one size hook on each of the weights.

2. Same mold as above but ive also noticed that the lead on these jigs doesnt always like to adhere to the hooks the best. Cutting the sprue with a gate shears seems to help but is there anything else i can do so that they adhere better to the hook?

3. The Do It Mold Shad Head that uses VMC Barbarian hooks never casted all that well due to changes in the dimensions of the hook and i now see that Do It has dropped it from it's line up. Has anyone found any hooks which work well instead of the VMC barbarian hooks?

4. When powder painting glow colors i have noticed that it works better to use a white undercoat first and then the colored glow powder paint. A problem that i have come accross though is that sometime the white will run and it will make it look like garbage; any way around this?

5. I use a sunbeam toaster oven to bake my jigs, i believe it is model 6198, anyone else use this toaster oven and if so do they have any recommendations on times, etc for finishing off the jigs?

6. Im looking at using a heating gun to warm up my jigs instead of the propane torch im using now; is this a good idea? What kind of heat gun should i look for? Is a heat gun going put out less heat then the propane torch?

Thanks Fellas!

[dayooper]

I can help you out with a few of those questions.

4. Yes a white base coat will make the glow colors work better. Another way is the use the regular color of paint as the base coat instead of white and you will get a deeper glow of that color. For example, put a base coat of regular yellow chartreuse on and then the glow yellow chartreuse. To keep your base coat from running, I would suggest a fluid bed as it will put a real thin coat of paint on the jig.

5. When using a toaster oven, get an oven thermometer to verify that your toaster oven is heating up to the right temperature. The one I use is off by more than 50 degrees according to the dial on the front.

6. A heat gun is definitely better than a propane torch (safer too). What we use to preheat the jigs is the toaster oven. Just hang your jigs in the toaster oven and let them preheat for 15 - 20 minutes at 375 degrees. If you are only doing one coat on the jig and opening and closing the door of the toaster oven a lot, raise the temperature to 400 degrees. When doing multiple colors, we take the jig out of the toaster oven, dip it in the fluid bed, and then use a craft brush to sprinkle on the additional colors. By the time we finish the last color, we hold the jig over a heat gun to smooth everything out. Then hang the jig back in the toaster oven when yu are done to cure, You will want to be careful curing the jigs if you use multiple colors.

Hope this helps. We have videos on our website that show this process. Check them out at Welcome to TJ's Tackle. Let me know if you have any other questions.

Thanks,

Benjamin

[fish devil]

1. Ive been casting the Do It Mold Shake it Jig with Screw Loc lately and it seems that the larger sizes come out really good but the smaller sizes (3/16, 1/8, 1/16 oz) seem to have a problem with the screw loc coming loose after i have molded it. Is there a simple solution to correct this? Im using the mustad 32798 hooks and i have been going up one size hook on each of the weights.

2. Same mold as above but ive also noticed that the lead on these jigs doesnt always like to adhere to the hooks the best. Cutting the sprue with a gate shears seems to help but is there anything else i can do so that they adhere better to the hook?

I am no pro but I am going to say its a heat issue. The larger sizes hold enough heat for it to work. What I do is I heat my mold, hooks, screw locs and swivels before pouring. I heat them on a hot plate, load the mold and pour. It made pouring much easier for me.

[tailchaser]

1. on the smaller ones, if your using the do-it springs, bend the part that goes into the lead a little.. this allows the lead to grab it a little better...

2. this is for all the molds, when i take the jigs out of the mold, i always grab the sprue with pleirs to pull the jig out.. when you grab it by the hook, the internal lead is still pretty soft and it loosens the grab on the hook... also, i always let them cool for at least a couple of hours before i start trimming the sprue etc.. again, i think the internal lead is still warm and when you start messing with them before they cool it will loosen..

3. i use the mustads.. but if your still set on using the VMC, use a dremmel tool and modify the mold a little so the VMC will fit..

4. i dont usually do bright colors.. cant help you on this one...

5. i bake my jigs in a toaster oven (i dont know the model, but it is a cheapy from wally world) i usually bake @ 400deg for @ 10 minutes, dip the jigs, then bake again for @ 5 minutes.. if you are using red hooks, back off the temp to 325-350 and bake a little longer before dipping.. if you get the red hooks too hot, the red will get darker, and dis-color a bit..

6. i dont use either, but from what i have read here, the heat gun is the way to go...

[anderson_dc]

Thanks for the input so far, i have some updates and other questions as well.

-What kind of oven thermometer do you use? Not something im that familiar with and links or pictures would help a bunch.

-Ive wondered if the difference in temperature with the hooks, screw locks, etc might be the problem. I will try and warm it all up before i pour the lead. I do already warm my molds up before pouring and it does help make more consistent pours.

-When you say to bend the part that goes into the mold on the do it springs a little what do you mean? It already has a 90 degree bend at the end; should i bend that more?

-I currently take the jigs out with a pliers from the sprue like you mentioned and that does make a difference. I dont let them cool for that long so i might start waiting longer for it to completely cool and see if that helps.

-What is the model number on the mustad hooks you use in place of the VMC Barbarian jigs? I really dont want to modify my molds at this time and was hoping i could find an alternative hook which would fit into the mold.

[tailchaser]

- i just use the temp setting on the oven.. i assume is is pretty close...

- i dont think it is a problem with a different temp, i think it has more to do with the fact that the end of the spring does not go far enough into the smaller heads.. there just is not much lead there to work with.. so where it bends 90deg.. i tweek it a little and make it look kinda like a hook.. i use a small pair of needle nose and straighten the 90deg part a bit then put a little hook on the end.. this gets it a little farther into the head, and gives a little hook for the lead to grab...

- sometimes, i will let them cool overnite, i will just pour one night, then the next night i trim and paint.. i had the same problem at first, on once i started letting them cool before handling them too much it pretty much solved the problem.

- I use the 32798bln, I think, it is the 60deg flat eye hook from mustad.. i havent used the VMC's, but, If you take any of the do-it molds (i have @ 20) if it is set up for a flat eye hook, or a regular eye, to make it accept the other, just take a drill and open up the cavity for the hook eye.. it does not affect the mold preformance.. it will also allow you to use a large hook more easily... to be honest, you sound like me, i like to tinker and " I want what I want" so, you might just have to suck it up and modify the mold.. thats one of the reasons i have so many.. some i have screwed up, some i have 2 or 3 of the same mold but each has been modified to do different things...

[reeves]

anderson dc,

The problem with the lead not holding to the hook is really not something you are doing wrong. If you just take your hook and dip it in the lead, let it cool and you will be able to release the lead from the hook very easily. This is a common problem and a couple of things you can do to help the situation.

After pouring try waiting about a minute to allow it to cool some. As mentioned, remove the jig from the mold only by the sprue. When removing the sprue, try holding the lead head between your thumb and forefinge tightly and with pliers grab the sprue and move the sprue back and forth while holding the lead head still (this puts no stress on the hook this way). This will work fine but occasionaly you will still have a loose one and I have found that once the jig is baked to cure the powder paint, it seems to tighten the bond between the lead and hook.

Hope this is of some help to you.

[rhahn427]

You don't need a heat gun to heat the jigs ...... you can do it in the oven and then dip them ...... let them cool a little ant then back in the oven to cure.

The base coat paint problem is probably because you are using to much paint ...... either fluff a little before you dip and dip fast and tap off any excess or use a flow bed with a quick dip .....