richstick Posted February 23, 2010 Report Share Posted February 23, 2010 Hi all - new to this site, but wow what a great place! Lots of good info here, but I ran a search for info on painting tungsten, and didn't turn up too much. I'm wondering if anyone out there has tried painting tungsten with regular vinyl lure paints or powder paints, and what their success level was. Any alternatives, or prep methods for the tungsten surface that help paint adhesion? Thanks in advance!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted February 25, 2010 Report Share Posted February 25, 2010 I use a sharpie. It only holds up for a little while, and then I have to touch it up. I'm just trying to kill the shiny silver, not match the hatch. Vinyl paint is soft, and I think it might kill the sensitivity that sets tungsten apart from lead. I might try nail polish, which dries hard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobP Posted February 25, 2010 Report Share Posted February 25, 2010 (edited) I haven't heard of any amateur method different from painting lead . Tungsten is super hard so there's zero you can do to change its surface characteristics. Powder paint, cured after application as per instructions, is probably the most durable. Whenever I try powder coating, the weights come out looking like misshapen lumps, so I usually resort to a Sharpie pen like Mark. I won't use shiny worm weights so when I buy tungsten these days, I go with factory color coated weights. Tru Tungsten appears to use some special hard plastic polymer to encapsulate theirs. Since I paid like $6 for one of their 1 1/4 oz punch weights recently, the color coating damn well BETTER last! You might try the guys on the Wire Baits forum - maybe one of them has a better solution. Edited February 25, 2010 by BobP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted February 26, 2010 Report Share Posted February 26, 2010 I haven't heard of any amateur method different from painting lead . Tungsten is super hard so there's zero you can do to change its surface characteristics. Powder paint, cured after application as per instructions, is probably the most durable. Whenever I try powder coating, the weights come out looking like misshapen lumps, so I usually resort to a Sharpie pen like Mark. I won't use shiny worm weights so when I buy tungsten these days, I go with factory color coated weights. Tru Tungsten appears to use some special hard plastic polymer to encapsulate theirs. Since I paid like $6 for one of their 1 1/4 oz punch weights recently, the color coating damn well BETTER last! You might try the guys on the Wire Baits forum - maybe one of them has a better solution. You're right, Bob. They are very "proud" of their painted weights, and not shy about charging for them. I used to break off texas rigged worms, but now I go back and shake them free. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richstick Posted February 26, 2010 Author Report Share Posted February 26, 2010 Thanks guys I appreciate the help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
