CObasser Posted April 9, 2013 Report Share Posted April 9, 2013 (edited) Hi guy's ,I have been making tackle for several years and I am looking to get into powder painting jigs for more durability .I've been airbrushing them and coating with 2 ton but they don't hold up too good . So i have a couple ??'s 1. Are all powder paints about the same durability ? If not what are your suggestions for the best . 2. I saw some posts about getting the paint from "non fishing " suppliers such as auto powder paint .are they applied the same way ? Just to the manufacturers baking specs . 3. Does anyone mix their powder paints to get custom colors ? 4. has anyone used the Big jig armor paints from fishing skirts.com if so are they worth the money? 5.And last but no least , how hard are they to airbrush ? I am fairly good at it and am just looking to get a 2 tone paint scheme between the top and bottom of the jig . Edited April 9, 2013 by ocbasser Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cadman Posted April 9, 2013 Report Share Posted April 9, 2013 (edited) Oc,I'll answer some of the questions and others will chime in.#1 As far as I'm concerned, powder paint is the best of both worlds. It's durabilty is outstanding and you can apply multiple colors to a jig once you practice for awhile. I use many different manufacturers of powder paint, and have never found one that is not durable, providing you bake your jigs. There is no such thing as best. Many guys use Pro-tec, although it is good paint it is in my opinion very expensive. I won't pay $20/lb when I can get it for $7, unless it is an exotic powder or custom made for me. I have done a lot of study and triall and error on powder paints, and unless you buy some stuff that has been mis-handled they all are good. So I go to the alternative powders. Once you get to learn how to use them they all work fine and are durable.#2 Non-fishing powder paint. I'm assuming you are referring to brands that are not elaborate and don't say made for jigs. All these powders are fine and can be used for painting jigs.#3 When you mix two colors of powder paint, you will not get a true color. So lets say you mix blue and yellow. The pure color would be green. However when powder paint is made the colors are made in the blend. So when you mix it yourself, you will get a shade of green, however it will not be pure but a blend. This is not like mixing house paint in the liquid form.#4 I do not use it and I personally don't think it is worth the money. I can powder paint anything in the world with the powder paint I have and I think my jigs look pretty good. The key is to learn how to use powder paint to your fullest potential. Learn how to blend, shade, heat, reheat and everything else. Powder paint is just that powder paint. It is a tool, how you use it to create your masterpieces is up to you. Take a look at my avatar, that spinnerbait was done with powder paint.#5 I can't help you with this as I don't do this process. Edited April 9, 2013 by cadman 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaBehr Posted April 10, 2013 Report Share Posted April 10, 2013 There are super instructional videos on most of your questions at : tjstackle.com Just watch your wallet....I managed to misplace a couple hundred since I first visited the site! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FishAction Posted April 10, 2013 Report Share Posted April 10, 2013 Most of the powder paint sold today is thermosetting and there are several different types of it. Some degrade in UV light and chip easily while others are more durable and withstand the environment. Polyester TGIC is my go to type as it's extremely durable and manufactured for environmental conditions. Here's a link giving a short explanation on powder paint types. http://accentpowdercoating.com/Powder_Types.html By the way, Pro-Tec paint is polyester. Take the time to understand the types and use of powder paint and then your buying decisions will be easy. You don't have to get your paint from a particular source if you buy it by specific type but make sure you get the manufacturer's recommended cure temp and time and follow them for best results. And of course lots of people will tell you to use a certain temp for a certain time for all paints but in reality, it won't always work. One other caution, a lot of paint is offered on eBay in small containers. The type of paint, cure temp and time is not available on the seller's page or on the container so it's a shot in the dark when you try to use it. For every new process you may get into, take your self to school. In other words, learn all you can about the process and materials before spending your money. The internet is a wonderful world of ready information! Mixing powder paint colors to get a different color will never truly match the color you're trying to match -- just buy it and be happy. Charlie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smalljaw Posted April 10, 2013 Report Share Posted April 10, 2013 I spray powder with a Badger model 260 hobby sandblaster, a regular air brush won't work and before you get into spraying powder you need to know that it isn't liquid, you will not get fine lines and detail. The one thing I like about spraying powder is it makes it easy for me to blend colors as well as adding fading effects, you can do this like Cadman with a brush tap method which I am not good at or you can spray it, the brush tap is the quickest and easiest on the wallet but I prefer the airbrush simply because I've been doing it for so long that it is easy for me now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy1976 Posted April 10, 2013 Report Share Posted April 10, 2013 The only paint I get from protec is their glow colors. I mix their super glow white with two pounds of harbor freight and get a really nice glow white. Harbor freight black, yellow, and red are nice too. I tried mixing and it really doesn't work. My favorite powders are Columbia power paints. They have a three pounds for thirty deal with quite a few options. Candy colors are really nice. Best paint I've used is their candy purple. You can air brush over powder paints. I use Columbia ultra wet durable clear after though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gonfishn Posted April 11, 2013 Report Share Posted April 11, 2013 Congratulations, you're finally coming over from the dark side :-) Re powder paint suppliers, check out Columbia Coatings, they're pretty darn cheap and their durability is beyond reproach, they're biggest drawback, they don't have green pumpkin :-( Component Systems Inc is another supplier but they're pricier (for basically the same paint) but they have a big selection of colors. We use several sizes of "pots" when we're powder coating, from 6" PVC sewer pipe size for spinner baits and larger buzz baits, all the way down to 2" size for some jigs etc. We have double stations setup for dip'n in the primary color, say white and a clear coat with suspended glitter in the next, doing it this way you don't have to heat the head but once and do two quick dips (if you're into this type of finishing). Rule of thumb, the quicker the better as it relates to the in and out of the powder, pre heat head temp is critical, you don't want it so hot it burns and you don't want it lukewarm so it splotches, you'll get it with practice. Most folks in production use a commercial air blower rather than a torch but torches have their place doing smaller runs. If you're gong to be airbrushing make sure you get the right airbrush. There's a huge difference between a brush designed for powder and one designed for paints. It has to do with the manner in which the medium connects with the air. Once you start tinkering with air brushing, you'll love it. Cadman and some other's on here are the experts, I think Cad even had a tutorial at one time he used to share with folks. Failing that, do a search on here, you'll see the how to's etc. how to build your own or the best place to purchase. We use fluidizer plate in all of our pots now, usually the 1/8th inch size but we went with the 1/4 in the 6" pot and does it ever work nice. Fluidizer plate is pricey but it's worth it in the long run. Second to plate is probably Tyvek but a close second to that is heavy weight shopping bags, not the lightweight one's you get today in most stores but the heavier one's. I've used em all, vaccum cleaner bags, coffee filters, etc. etc. and for my money its fluidizer plate or tyvek or heavy brown bag filters. We now store all of our paints (we buy it by the pound) with dessicant packets as one of the little "secrets" of even dispersal is dry powder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy1976 Posted April 11, 2013 Report Share Posted April 11, 2013 Nice reply gonefishn. Where do you get your fluidizer plate? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CObasser Posted April 11, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 11, 2013 Thanks for the input guys ....hey SmallJaw...what's the Technic to spray it on ? do you dip your base coat and then just spray or do you dip and reheat and spray ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basseducer Posted April 12, 2013 Report Share Posted April 12, 2013 gonfishn, Columbia Coatings added a very nice green pumpkin in last year or so. That's all I use now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjm76 Posted April 13, 2013 Report Share Posted April 13, 2013 gonfishn, Columbia Coatings added a very nice green pumpkin in last year or so. That's all I use now. Really?! What's their name for it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smalljaw Posted April 13, 2013 Report Share Posted April 13, 2013 Thanks for the input guys ....hey SmallJaw...what's the Technic to spray it on ? do you dip your base coat and then just spray or do you dip and reheat and spray ? With powder you don't need a base coat. Most jigs I do are solid colors but the ones I wo that have 2 or 3 colors I'll dip the primary color and then spray the accents. For spinnerbaits I just spray the entire bait. If you practice you'll find that by adjusting the air pressure in your compressor you can get the powder to go on different ways like going up on the pressure you can hold your lure away from you and just dust it with color. I have a propane torch and I do reheat but it only takes two seconds to get the lure back up to temp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smalljaw Posted April 13, 2013 Report Share Posted April 13, 2013 Really?! What's their name for it? You can make your own green pumpkin if you choose, take an empty jar and use 2 parts black, 2 parts brown and 1 part chartreuse, that will give you a base green pumpkin and if you want it darker add a small bit of black to it and it you go too dark you can add a bit of chartreuse and brown to lighten it back up. You need to shake it up really really good to get it to blend as you don't really mix the color, what happens is the blend goes on and melts together to give you the color so make sure the blend is good. If you aren't sure you have it blended enough you can get a mesh flour siffter and put the powder throught it and shake again and it will blend really well. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basseducer Posted April 13, 2013 Report Share Posted April 13, 2013 Surprisingly they call it green pumpkin. You may have to ask for it as it is not on their site. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gonfishn Posted April 17, 2013 Report Share Posted April 17, 2013 Alrighty, thanks for both the recipe for the green pumpkin as well as the fact that ya gotta ask for it from Columbia (I coulda swore I told Linda to tell me when they got it in - oh well). Re the fluidizer plate, believe it or not one of the guys on here had 11 sheets of it so I bought several for us. I'm not sure if he still has any but do a search and he should come up - he put it on Ebay and we got it from there once we "talked" on TU. I'll try to search around and get back on here if I find it. CSI has it but it runs from 77 ents to 1.10 per square inch (depending on the thickness). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
