Crappydiver Posted February 5, 2011 Report Share Posted February 5, 2011 Im sure you all know about applying eyes with a dowel or nail head or other similar tool but I thought Id throw this out there and see if you all have any comments. I was told powder coat is a type of enamel that it is only applied differently. So I had the thought to bake it and see what happens. Heres what I did. First I applied my powdercoat paint to the jig heads as usual. Then after it dried I tool my nail head and applied my first eye layer with those little jar enamel paints used on models. After a hour or so with a fan on them I applied the pupil dot with the smaller nail head. I let it dry for a hour or so too so when they were swinging around while I carried them to the kitchen they didnt touch each other and get messed up. Lastly I baked them according to the manufactures directions for the powdercoat, I was amazed at how hard they came out also. One thing I may have done differently is I baked them at 250 for 25 minutes like they had a weed-guard on them because when I first started powdercoating I would have a drip on lots of them in certain colors. I was wondering if anyone else had tried doing this? You can buy the model paints at any hobby shop for about $2.00 each. Oh also I only used red, white and black and the white did get a little cream color but still looks great a Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
defish Posted February 7, 2011 Report Share Posted February 7, 2011 Nice looking jig! Enamel paint and powder paint are not the same thing, so the enamel eyes on these jigs will still react with soft plastics. I use vinyl paint and a trimmed toothpick to paint eyes on powder coated lures. It's more durable and nonreactive with soft plastics - though I hate how it STINKS when I'm using it. Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HJS Posted April 1, 2011 Report Share Posted April 1, 2011 Nice looking jig! Enamel paint and powder paint are not the same thing, so the enamel eyes on these jigs will still react with soft plastics. I use vinyl paint and a trimmed toothpick to paint eyes on powder coated lures. It's more durable and nonreactive with soft plastics - though I hate how it STINKS when I'm using it. Dan Crappydiver and defish - I was thinking the same thing about the interaction between soft plastics and enamal. That mix can turn into a sticky mess in no time flat if left in contact with each other in the storage boxes. But I'm still struggling with applying eyes to powder coated jigs. I'm still using either flat stick-ons or the more rigid slightly domed eyes that are set in recessed holes in the jig head. They look good and are durable enough. Btw, I'm about to start a new thread in this forum that deals with eyes and epoxy mixing pots. Might be of interest to some. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scooter61 Posted February 11, 2020 Report Share Posted February 11, 2020 I too am having the same problem. I just recently started making my own jigs, mainly crappie jigs. I am powder coating and baking them, and started with the stick on eyes, but the ones the manufacturer recommends are to small so buy one or two sizes bigger if going this way. The problem with those are they are so small and I have big hands so its kind of awkward. I had ordered a 12 color finger nail polish kit from Amazon because it had good colors in it. Problem is that some of the colors did not want to stick to powder coat finish. So, I went back to putting the stick on eyes on and then putting a coat of clear hardener over them to make sure they come off. I seen some of you are using enamel so I think I will give that a try instead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gaspumper Posted February 11, 2020 Report Share Posted February 11, 2020 (edited) You should try craft paint.I use one called Craftsmart premium satin acrylic paint got it at Michaels, it will take heat to 350 degrees, powder paint jig heads as usual then apply the eye with nail let dry then apply the pupil (different color) then put jigs in oven to bake I do mine 360 degrees for 20 min.The acrylic paint melts into the head and can't scratch off. Edited February 11, 2020 by gaspumper edit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basskat Posted February 14, 2020 Report Share Posted February 14, 2020 I use the cheap "Folk" brand from Wal-Mart and bake on powder paint. Done it for years now with no issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
