curtisb Posted April 22, 2016 Report Share Posted April 22, 2016 Have been powder coating for awhile. Slow process pour jig heat, swish through paint, then bake. Is airbrush a quicker process? If so where do I start? Compressor type, paint type, airbrush brands? THANKS Curtis B. I'm sure that I just opened up a can of worms. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaBehr Posted April 22, 2016 Report Share Posted April 22, 2016 Using an airbrush takes a lot more effort, but you have a lot more options on how to paint the bait. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kasilofchrisn Posted April 22, 2016 Report Share Posted April 22, 2016 Airbrush is slower than powder paint IMHO. Paint a color then let it dry or heat set then paint another color then heat set. Clean the brush(unless you have more than one)between colors and when you are done it needs a good cleaning also. Then you have to clear coat and let it dry. IMHO I feel powder painting is quicker and more durable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basseducer Posted April 22, 2016 Report Share Posted April 22, 2016 You can also spray powder. You don't get the detail, but you can do some nice blends and fades. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LimpNoodle Posted April 22, 2016 Report Share Posted April 22, 2016 Wow. I find powder coating is pretty quick. You're going to have to pour the thing no matter what. I use a hot plate and frying pan to pre-heat my product. All I have to do once it's hot is swish and hang, Then when I get done I load the oven and bake. I've airbrushed spinner blades in the past and it's MUCH slower. The only thing a airbrush does is open up the creativity. I'm going to set mine up soon so I can do some things with slabs. White on one side and chartreuse on the other. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted April 23, 2016 Report Share Posted April 23, 2016 (edited) I have a friend who makes a very successful line of jigs, and he paints Apple Barrel red eyes on his cured powder coat heads by hand. Then he recoats them with clear powder coat that has some fine glitter in it. The clear really makes the Apple Barrel paint p.o.p.. Edited April 23, 2016 by mark poulson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JRammit Posted April 23, 2016 Report Share Posted April 23, 2016 I like painting... Cause powder coat is $5-$6 per color.... I can pick up acrylic paint at walmart for 50 cents a piece I dont have an airbrush, just hand paint and coat in epoxy with glitter Quicker? No... Not even close... But results are same or better for pennies on the dollar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gaspumper Posted April 23, 2016 Report Share Posted April 23, 2016 (edited) I like painting... Cause powder coat is $5-$6 per color.... I can pick up acrylic paint at walmart for 50 cents a piece I dont have an airbrush, just hand paint and coat in epoxy with glitter Quicker? No... Not even close... But results are same or better for pennies on the dollar Depending on how many you make in a year that might work,I do 5000+ a year and powder paint them all. After powder painting, I use testers model paint for the eyes then bake them at 250 degrees for 30 min. surprising the model paint seems to melt into the powder paint making them very durable. Edited April 23, 2016 by gaspumper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JRammit Posted April 23, 2016 Report Share Posted April 23, 2016 Depending on how many you make in a year that might work,I do 5000+ a year and powder paint them all. After powder painting, I use testers model paint for the eyes then bake them at 250 degrees for 30 min. surprising the model paint seems to melt into the powder paint making them very durable. No way i would even think of hand painting 5000 of anything (ha ha)! A dozen jig heads or worm weights in the evening after work, no prob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smalljaw Posted April 23, 2016 Report Share Posted April 23, 2016 I actually spray powder and I do it with an old Badger model 260 hobby sand blaster. The same model is now discontinued but it is still around only now it is being sold as the powder paint air brush. It is still faster than regular air brush and paint but as Basseducer has already said, you can get fine detail so you go for blending and fading effects. I use to use vinyl paint and then had a short stint with create and here is the thing, they require a base coat of primer or white, then dry, then color 1, dry, color 2 dry and so on. With powder it is heat, swish or spray and cure, done. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LimpNoodle Posted April 23, 2016 Report Share Posted April 23, 2016 I buy powder paint by the pound. Cost ranges from $6 a pound up to around $27 for some colors. A pound of powder will coat a lot of jig heads. Most of the stuff I'm doing is 1/2 ounce or larger jig heads, heavy tail spins, heavy under spins, slab lures up to 2 ounce. Even with the large stuff a pound of powder will do hundreds. That's dipping. If I used an electrostatic gun I could double that. The durability of powder paint is awesome. It's almost impossible to chip it. It doesn't react with soft plastics either. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SW Lures Posted April 24, 2016 Report Share Posted April 24, 2016 I use nothing but powder. I just sent out about 400 bucktails and spinners .5-1 oz. I used some myself on a trip that I just came back from. Banged them off of rocks, throwing and trolling. Some scuffs, but no damage. Losing them in the rocks is another story. Lol I have been asked to make some smaller jigs. I'm moving down to 1/16-1/4 oz., I'm sure it's going to be some differences. A learning time for me. I'll be reading some before I start. Looking at misting some other colors in with the primary color and eyes. Dale Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psilvers Posted April 24, 2016 Report Share Posted April 24, 2016 I don't produce jigs commercially but I have always used powder. I did experiment with an airbrush but it was just to much hassle. However, now I looking at making some larger spinnerbaits and I will pull out the powder paint airbrush and practice a bit. I think I will also try some powder water that I got from Columbia Coatings several years ago. Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SW Lures Posted April 24, 2016 Report Share Posted April 24, 2016 I use powder in as fluid bed. Never used a brush for jigs. I do paint hard lures (cranks). What is the needle size that would be right for powder? I have .30, .35. I would buy another for powder if I need to. I really would want to keep these that I have dedicated to the water paints that I use. Thanks for any thoughts, Dale Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basseducer Posted April 24, 2016 Report Share Posted April 24, 2016 Dale, the brush we use for powder is actually a hobby sand blaster by Badger. A lot of the component suppliers carry them now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psilvers Posted April 24, 2016 Report Share Posted April 24, 2016 I have the Badger sand blaster that Basseducer and Smalljaw mentioned. For the powder water/powder paint mix I have an Iwata Eclipse with the large nozzle (0.5 mm). I can't say that I have used either one very much, but I am about to start! I will keep you posted. Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SW Lures Posted April 24, 2016 Report Share Posted April 24, 2016 Thanks both of you, Psilvers yes keep me updated please. Dale Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SW Lures Posted April 25, 2016 Report Share Posted April 25, 2016 I was looking for videos on this technique for brushing powder on. I couldn't find any. I could be looking in the wrong quarry. Any help would be appreciated, Dale Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smalljaw Posted April 25, 2016 Report Share Posted April 25, 2016 You won't find many videos of guys brush tapping (brushing on) powder or spraying powder in multiple colors but I'm working on trying to make one showing how I use the hobby sandblaster to apply powder. The problem I'm running into doing the video is lighting, my grandson does a great job recording it but it ends up too dark. I have an older camera and it is time for a go-pro so once I get a new one I'll do a tutorial on how I spray powder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psilvers Posted April 25, 2016 Report Share Posted April 25, 2016 Smalljaw - that would be great! I would really like to see how you do the airbrush powder. A few years ago I bought the Badger sprayer and I played with it a little bit. I also got an airbrush to use with a pain/powder water mix. I didn't get a chance to use either system all that much because other things got in the way and I started making jigs that were easily powder coated with a fluid bed. Now, I am starting some large spinnerbaits and teh airbrush stuff will come in handy. Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SW Lures Posted April 25, 2016 Report Share Posted April 25, 2016 I was starting to wonder if there another terminology to quarry. Thanks let me know when you can, I would like to see it. Dale Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
