sarge34 Posted February 2, 2012 Report Share Posted February 2, 2012 Hello all, I had just recently started making my own baits and I have a few questions for some experienced makers. First of all is old wheel weight lead ok to use for making spinners and buzzbaits? My first purchase was lead for janesnetcraft and it worked fine but I do have acces to plenty of wheel weight lead if that is ok to use. Also I purchased a paasche vl dual action airbruse set and have painted with createx using opaque white or black as my base coat and paint over with the fluorescent color line. finishing of the lure with a dual coat epoxy finish. My lures so far seems to not be durable enough they still seem to be chipping paint to easily. Am I doing this correctly should i be sanding down the lures after i have poured them? any help would be much appreciated thanks much in advance.. Brad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cadman Posted February 2, 2012 Report Share Posted February 2, 2012 (edited) Brad, Hear are my answers to your questions. Wheel weight are fine. Wheel weights are very hard and if you have problems pouring, mix in pure soft lead. I use a ratio of 70/30 or 80/20. That's 70% hard lead and 30% soft lead. You can adjust accordingly. Lead hardness is totally up to you. You can pour pure soft as well. As far as paint finishing goes, majority of the jig makers use powder paint. Reason being is when it's cured (baked in a toaster oven), it is very durable, andf if you put epoxy on the jig it is almost bullet proof. The only drawback with powder paints is you can't paint all the fancy little gills, scales etc. But honestly the fish don't care. I put on 6 colors on my jigs (see my avatar) and I have no issues at all. Finally most guys here use D2T(Devcon 2 Ton 30 minute) or E-Tex (Envirotex) as an epoxy finish coat. As far as cleaning jigs for powder painting. I do nothing to the jigs except file off the sprues to give the jig a smooth finish. That's it. You'll get more info for sure here. If you want more info on powder paint PM me your e-mail and I can go over some of the benefits and give you a tutorial. Edited February 2, 2012 by cadman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piratefishing Posted February 3, 2012 Report Share Posted February 3, 2012 As a cheap alternative to Devon 2 ton epoxy. I am using nail polish top coat to seal my thread around my jig collars. Not sure how it works on the jig heads themselves but I am going to find out soon. A lot of people use the nail polish stuff for a multitude of things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted February 3, 2012 Report Share Posted February 3, 2012 cadman, Your paint jobs are amazing!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jig Man Posted February 3, 2012 Report Share Posted February 3, 2012 The only thing I'd add to Ted's post is, if you can, melt the wheel weights down in a different pot than your regular lead pot. I use an old cast iron pot and my propane fish cooker. That way all the slag from the wheel weights never gets into my Lee pot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSC Posted February 3, 2012 Report Share Posted February 3, 2012 (edited) As a cheap alternative to Devon 2 ton epoxy. I am using nail polish top coat to seal my thread around my jig collars. Not sure how it works on the jig heads themselves but I am going to find out soon. A lot of people use the nail polish stuff for a multitude of things. Just a quick note on the use of Nail Polish ... It is good stuff BUT do not let it get in contact with Soft Plastic (Such as a Trailer) 2 cents worth Good information by CM on ratios.... & ... Powder Paint Just to add on to cleaning (which as suggested is the way to go) Remeber to "FLUX" Edited February 3, 2012 by JSC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smalljaw Posted February 3, 2012 Report Share Posted February 3, 2012 Well it seems cadman has pretty much spelled it out and I agree 100%. The only thing I will add is if you want to use the airbrush and make fine detail then go ahead but do yourself a favor and get some D2T, this will keep your lures from chipping as quickly has it is much tougher than normal clear coats like dik nites and seal coat. Piratefishing, nail poish is ok for coating thread but it won't help covering the entire jig head, it is not D2T. Firt thing you'll notice is it will run and then if you have a drying whell and manage to get it to set up evenly you'll notice in 3 to 7 days that the color is a little off, it won't be your imagination, it will be due to the yellowing that happens with it. Trust me, you aren't the first that thought about it, remember, there are a lot of us here that have been making tackle a lot longer than this site has been here. Trust me when I say nail poish isn't a substitute for D2T. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piratefishing Posted February 4, 2012 Report Share Posted February 4, 2012 Well it seems cadman has pretty much spelled it out and I agree 100%. The only thing I will add is if you want to use the airbrush and make fine detail then go ahead but do yourself a favor and get some D2T, this will keep your lures from chipping as quickly has it is much tougher than normal clear coats like dik nites and seal coat. Piratefishing, nail poish is ok for coating thread but it won't help covering the entire jig head, it is not D2T. Firt thing you'll notice is it will run and then if you have a drying whell and manage to get it to set up evenly you'll notice in 3 to 7 days that the color is a little off, it won't be your imagination, it will be due to the yellowing that happens with it. Trust me, you aren't the first that thought about it, remember, there are a lot of us here that have been making tackle a lot longer than this site has been here. Trust me when I say nail poish isn't a substitute for D2T. Suggestion well taken. I guess I was wrong on it. It has worked OK but not too impressed. Have only used it for the thread on my jigs. Will have to go grab some D2T and try the real stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smalljaw Posted February 4, 2012 Report Share Posted February 4, 2012 Suggestion well taken. I guess I was wrong on it. It has worked OK but not too impressed. Have only used it for the thread on my jigs. Will have to go grab some D2T and try the real stuff. I didn't mean to sound smart or arrogant so I apologize if it was taken that way. I just read what I wrote and it sounded a little smug too me so forgive me for that. I just wanted to let you know that I have tried it when I first started out, it was chap and seemed to work ok until I used it on a white bait. The bait didn't look bad but when I did other lures the same white color, they always seemed nore vibrant before the nail polish went on. And then I stopped using it until I found D2T, the stuff was exactly what I was looking for, not only didn't it dull the colors, it gave them depth and seemed to make them eve more vibrant and upon close inspection it looks as if the lure itself is encased in glass but it also says on the website that it makes a great encapsulant. Anyway, what a difference, and all depends on what you're looking for, I still use nail poish in threads of the few hair jigs I tie unless I'm making it weedless and then I use the D2T on the threads but only a little. Good Luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldfart9999 Posted February 4, 2012 Report Share Posted February 4, 2012 I think Ted and the others have pretty well summed it up, as far as thread glue, I use thread cement for fly tieing. The fluxing mentioned is for cleaning the lead for pouring, it works, there are several threads here about it. Powder paint is the best way to go, there are threads for making a fluid bed along with instructions on how to use it. Welcome to your new addiction, be prepared to become a recluse as you'll be too busy making jigs to interact with others, including your family.LOL Rodney Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piratefishing Posted February 5, 2012 Report Share Posted February 5, 2012 I didn't mean to sound smart or arrogant so I apologize if it was taken that way. I just read what I wrote and it sounded a little smug too me so forgive me for that. I just wanted to let you know that I have tried it when I first started out, it was chap and seemed to work ok until I used it on a white bait. The bait didn't look bad but when I did other lures the same white color, they always seemed nore vibrant before the nail polish went on. And then I stopped using it until I found D2T, the stuff was exactly what I was looking for, not only didn't it dull the colors, it gave them depth and seemed to make them eve more vibrant and upon close inspection it looks as if the lure itself is encased in glass but it also says on the website that it makes a great encapsulant. Anyway, what a difference, and all depends on what you're looking for, I still use nail poish in threads of the few hair jigs I tie unless I'm making it weedless and then I use the D2T on the threads but only a little. Good Luck. Oh no no no...none taken I understand. I'm going to grab some D2T on Monday at this industrial supply place. Sent you an IM with a question. Been trying to get a few opinions on a subject related to this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cadman Posted February 5, 2012 Report Share Posted February 5, 2012 cadman, Your paint jobs are amazing!!!! Thanks for the compliment Mark. Lot of guys on here have their own technique just like on the crankbait forums. It's not how good you are it's about doing the best you can for yourself and learning from others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted February 6, 2012 Report Share Posted February 6, 2012 Thanks for the compliment Mark. Lot of guys on here have their own technique just like on the crankbait forums. It's not how good you are it's about doing the best you can for yourself and learning from others. Well, however and wherever you learned it, you certainly learned it very well! Hats off to your painting skills. A sidebar. I mixed some soft plastic glitter into my colored powdercoat paint, specifically purple flake into brown powder, and it worked fine. Does anyone else do this, or is coating with clear and flake a more used method? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basseducer Posted February 6, 2012 Report Share Posted February 6, 2012 I do that all the time Mark. I have many paints set up that way, I even make my own junebug. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted February 7, 2012 Report Share Posted February 7, 2012 I do that all the time Mark. I have many paints set up that way, I even make my own junebug. Thanks. I am glad I'm not the only one! Misery likes company... I find that green glitter really shows up, but I need twice as much purple to get it to show well. I use .015 glitter. Have you tried larger glitter? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basseducer Posted February 7, 2012 Report Share Posted February 7, 2012 Mark, I spray all my powder so I use the smaller .008 size. I can use the .015, but usually don't. Brown Is one of the worst colors to ad glitter to. I cut it 4 to one with clear and add lots of glitter. The brown becomes semi-transparent and a little lighter, but the glitter shows up better. I can add another coat to make it darker and the glitter still stands out because it is being re-applied with the new coat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted February 8, 2012 Report Share Posted February 8, 2012 Mark, I spray all my powder so I use the smaller .008 size. I can use the .015, but usually don't. Brown Is one of the worst colors to ad glitter to. I cut it 4 to one with clear and add lots of glitter. The brown becomes semi-transparent and a little lighter, but the glitter shows up better. I can add another coat to make it darker and the glitter still stands out because it is being re-applied with the new coat. I have had the experience that brown is the most difficult powder for me to get to "fluidize", so that makes sense. I'm guessing it has to do with how heavy the powder is due to whatever oxides are used. But, then again, it might just be bad mojo, for all I know. Hahaha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
