Cleaning Very Small Eyelets

[Hannibal]

Ok I'm coming to this group in search of answers. I'm powder painting tungsten ice jigs and am running into problems getting the eyelets cleaned out without chipping the powder coat. Some of the holes are tiny being that they are # 18 hooks all the way up to # 8 hooks. What are the ways any of you are getting this done with success?

[Basseducer]

I use the green high temp tape to cover the eye before I paint. Keeps it clean so no need to clear it out later.

[Hannibal]

I though that about that stuff too. I'm assuming that during the heating phase, that it's cool by the time you dip into the powder. So the powder doesn't stick to the tape?

[Apdriver]

You can also use the Teflon tape used to wrap threads. It won't burn and comes off pretty easy. I know a lot of guys grab the eye with a cold set of pliers then dip in their fluid bed and that keeps the eye from getting painted. Rotate the pliers out to keep them cool. Those little hook eyes are a pain and you'll have to figure out what works best for you. One thing for sure, they are much easier to clean before you bake than after.

[Hannibal]

I can't do the pliars idea because the eyelets are 90* to the hook shank. But didn't know about the teflon tape.

[smalljaw]

If you are dipping them in a jar then stop. Invest in a fluid bed and a pair of clamps also known as hemostats, grab the hook eye with the hemostats so the jig is at a 45 degree angle and then heat and dip and your hook eyes will be clear.

[Hannibal]

I am using a fluid bed but the issue with the hemostats, which I have straight and 45* bend versions, is that the hook eyes are not parallel to the shank. They sit at 90* to the hook shank thus causing the hemostats to be perpendicular to the jig and not allowing the room to dip in the fluid bed.

[Darkman]

I heat up a small wire, same or smaller than hole, and just poke through it

Clears right up, it is not a fast way to do it but in case you can't find a solution to you liking that is always an option

Take care

[Jig Man]

When I get paint in the eyelet I use my Popsnagger to clean the paint out.

[SW Lures]

You can use a electric wire soldering iron with attachments and get some of the paint out. I would recommend to just work hard to not get the paint on the eye. I don't like the chance of a burr being at the line.

[Fatman]

A buddy on another board suggested these and I got a 6 pack of them cheaper than I could find a single pair.

BACKHAUS TOWEL CLAMPS 3.5" SURGICAL VETERINARY

http://www.ebay.com/itm/6-Pcs-Backaus-Towel-Clamp-Forceps-5-5-Surgical-Dental-Instruments-/121970788697?hash=item1c66068959

 

 

 

[Kasilofchrisn]

I use hemostats and even 90* jig eyes are not a problem to clamp to.

I use 3" fluid beds fr these kinds of jigs without a problem.

I wont use or sell a jig with paint in the eyes so I do my best t keep it out in the first place.

Heating a needle or wire is what I used before I started making my own jigs and figured out how to keep it out in the first place. 

Edited December 31, 2016 by Kasilofchrisn

[SW Lures]

6 hours ago, Kasilofchrisn said:

I use hemostats and even 90* jig eyes are not a problem to clamp to.

I use 3" fluid beds fr these kinds of jigs without a problem.

I wont use or sell a jig with paint in the eyes so I do my best t keep it out in the first place.

Heating a needle or wire is what I used before I started making my own jigs and figured out how to keep it out in the first place. 

I have started doing pretty small jigs and I found quick that this quote is true. If you care about the eye then keep the paint out the best you can.

Think about it this way, to clean the eyes take a bit of time. If you protect the eye, time saved and fustration. 

[cadman]

On 12/4/2016 at 2:45 PM, Squeaky said:

The whole idea of clean eyes comes up often. The concept of powder painting is to heat the part, dip in fluid bed and come out with a nicely painted jig.

If the part happens to be the eye.... It gets heated while heating the jig.. So if it is dipped, it will get paint on it.

what is the solution??  Easy... The parts you don't want paint on need to be covered... If it is heated, and exposed to the powder... It will stick.

I can't tell all my secrets.. As it took me a long time to figure it out, and helps my jigs to stand out from others. 

Think about the process.. And come up with solutions to the problems at hand.

 

 

 

Welcome to TU. However, Thank You for a  1st post that benefits no-one. I and many, many others here over the years have gone out of our way  to help,teach and share ideas so, members can make a better jigs.  There is nothing so secret that cannot be shared, unless you have a patent on something. Your jigs look very nice, however many guys here have fantastic looking jigs as well and have helped others when asked.

Happy New Year.

[dpalinsk]

1 hour ago, cadman said:

 

Welcome to TU. However, Thank You for a  1st post that benefits no-one. I and many, many others here over the years have gone out of our way  to help,teach and share ideas so, members can make a better jigs.  There is nothing so secret that cannot be shared, unless you have a patent on something. Your jigs look very nice, however many guys here have fantastic looking jigs as well and have helped others when asked.

Happy New Year.

 

Well said!  (And I think people pay it forward as well which is what makes TU such a great community.)

[SW Lures]

X2 Cadman & the jigs do look nice.

I would help anyone here. Reason being....because many has helped me. I'm working on jigs now. I have several ideas on how to cover the eye. I am going check one out soon. If I'm right, I will post my results.

The eyes look very interesting when you zoom in.

Welcome to TU,

Dale

[Fatman]

I can pour jigs with the best of them having done it for 43 years, but who taught you everything you know??

BUT!!!! I also know this!

Without the sharing of knowledge on this site I never would have leared how to do powder tapping, glitter coats or making a fluid bed, And I've passed that knowledge on to others.  I've also taught people how to tie flies and jigs.   

I sent a friend who does plastics three paint jobs  I did and he made plastics to match them

None of us know it all!

[RayburnGuy]

Nice jigs Fatman.  Gonna have to follow you to the boat ramp and see if anything falls out of your tacklebox.

 

Ben

[cadman]

4 hours ago, Fatman said:

I can pour jigs with the best of them having done it for 43 years, but who taught you everything you know??

BUT!!!! I also know this!

Without the sharing of knowledge on this site I never would have leared how to do powder tapping, glitter coats or making a fluid bed, And I've passed that knowledge on to others.  I've also taught people how to tie flies and jigs.   

I sent a friend who does plastics three paint jobs  I did and he made plastics to match them

None of us know it all!

 

Doug, I've seen you progress throughout the years.  Very nice looking jigs. You should be proud of your accomplishment. Job well done.

[smalljaw]

On ‎12‎/‎4‎/‎2016 at 3:45 PM, Squeaky said:

The whole idea of clean eyes comes up often. The concept of powder painting is to heat the part, dip in fluid bed and come out with a nicely painted jig.

If the part happens to be the eye.... It gets heated while heating the jig.. So if it is dipped, it will get paint on it.

what is the solution??  Easy... The parts you don't want paint on need to be covered... If it is heated, and exposed to the powder... It will stick.

I can't tell all my secrets.. As it took me a long time to figure it out, and helps my jigs to stand out from others. 

Think about the process.. And come up with solutions to the problems at hand.

 

 

I have to echo Cadman's thoughts on this.  I have been doing this a long time as a lot of members here and when I started there was no TU to go to for help but if there was I would have been here. I know tackle makers who learned most of what they know themselves and feel like everyone should do the same but not me, if I can save time and money by getting a little help then I will so I strive to help. I can see if you have something you made or developed that could have money implications down the road that you may not want to share  but keeping the hook eye clean on a jig head is easy to do however we all use a different method.  I don't know if you pour weedless jigs of not but if you ever saw Teflon base hole pins being used, well that came from this site, the same thing can be said for the "powder paint air brush" as well as many mold modifications that have gone on to become money makers for big companies but it doesn't stop us from helping someone. I don't mean to start an argument but your post served no purpose other than to advertise your product for free, the jig pack you sell them in is placed just close enough for folks to see yet is still vague enough to be an "accident" but we all know better.  What the OP wants to know is how we all do this without cracking paint or perhaps a way that may be faster, if someone sell jigs and makes them in large numbers, finding a way that keeps you from having to use an extra step would be helpful and the information is paid forward to someone else needing help.  So I hope you stay in the community and give meaningful help as someone with your experience obviously has a lot to offer but do us all a favor, please don't stay here to look for posts in which you can sneak in a free advertisement, we all have witnessed this before and are use to it but it isn't fair to those who are looking for help, and if it sounds harsh I'm sorry but telling someone nothing and showing off your "product" on a first post has made me think you aren't here to help and I sincerely hope I'm wrong and look forward to issuing you an apology the first time I see that I'm in error.

[SW Lures]

To get away from this post by Squesky a little. This is truly a community to communicate, exchange ideas and opinions. I came to this site after months of just reading. I was interested in hard baits but was reading about wire baits because I have been making jigs for a long time.

I see a lot of giving here on the site. Maybe not giving a precise idea but a door to open a way of doing a new technique or tool. I'm amazed at all these techniques that came from this site Smalljaws, but I really shouldn't be that surprised. I've used your and other's comments about wire twisting machines to make me one from materials laying around. It needs some tweaking but does ok now. After a few changes it'll be a very good tool. It came from y'alls likes or dislikes about machines. I'm really after making a good inline spinner for smallmouth. 

This is a good time to state this, as I've told you before Smalljaws in a PM. I appreciate all infomation that y'all give. If possible I will go out of my way to do the same.

Dale

Edited January 2, 2017 by DaleSW
Spelling

[Squeaky]

Fellows... I never meant to stir the pot. And I understand that this is a community that shares its information, a community that I haven't been a part of. I learned many techniques from other sites, but am new to this one. I'm not trying to push my product... 

It took me many years to figure out how to have super clean eyes and hooks, and I'm just not going tell all my secrets...  I told the premise of what needs to be done, if you read the post!! The parts need to be COVERED!! What more needs to be said..  That's more than I share with Joe blow off the street... How you do it is up to you. 

You guys are pretty harsh... I sell these things and have a pretty successful time doing so. It would be pretty silly of me to hold your hands through it, don't you think?? It's not rocket science... If the part needs to be covered.. It's up to you to figure out how to do it.....  

I know many of you from another site, that I was pretty active on at one time. I learned a lot just by looking at your jigs and paints. But this is one thing I learned on my own.

im taking down my picture... Just to show I'm not trying to push my product on here. 

I'll go back into lurker mode

thanks for the warm welcome

[Squeaky]

I really thought it would lead to a more productive discussion instead of a bashing.. 

Good luck to all

[mark poulson]

49 minutes ago, Squeaky said:

I really thought it would lead to a more productive discussion instead of a bashing.. 

Good luck to all

 If you read this as a bashing, I think you've missed the point.  This site is about sharing stuff,  like how to keep powder paint out of jig eyes, not " It took me many years to figure out how to have super clean eyes and hooks, and I'm just not going tell all my secrets. "  If you're not going to share your technique, then that just comes off as bragging.

 

[smalljaw]

6 hours ago, Squeaky said:

Fellows... I never meant to stir the pot. And I understand that this is a community that shares its information, a community that I haven't been a part of. I learned many techniques from other sites, but am new to this one. I'm not trying to push my product... 

It took me many years to figure out how to have super clean eyes and hooks, and I'm just not going tell all my secrets...  I told the premise of what needs to be done, if you read the post!! The parts need to be COVERED!! What more needs to be said..  That's more than I share with Joe blow off the street... How you do it is up to you. 

You guys are pretty harsh... I sell these things and have a pretty successful time doing so. It would be pretty silly of me to hold your hands through it, don't you think?? It's not rocket science... If the part needs to be covered.. It's up to you to figure out how to do it.....  

I know many of you from another site, that I was pretty active on at one time. I learned a lot just by looking at your jigs and paints. But this is one thing I learned on my own.

im taking down my picture... Just to show I'm not trying to push my product on here. 

I'll go back into lurker mode

thanks for the warm welcome

 

I'd be the first to apologize if I felt I was bashing, but I don't think it was and I'll tell you why.  Don't you think the OP knows that if you cover the hook eye before you dip in powder it will be clean?  Ice jigs and certain other types don't always have a full leg sticking out from the head, that means you would have to cover the eye really close to the head while not touching the head otherwise you get a bare spot and that takes time. The jigs he is talking about have much smaller hooks than what you use, read...size #18 up to a size #8, you probably never use anything smaller than a #4, or maybe a #6 at the smallest for a Crappie jig. So by telling the man to cover the eye but not offering a useful way to do it is the same as  someone asking how to cook fish and you tell them to turn the oven on, that much the person knows so if you didn't want to help this person then don't reply, it isn't mandatory.  You see what I mean?  your post came off sounding very condescending and sarcastic.  I would hope you would stick around but if you feel any thing you could contribute would be giving up trade secrets which could hurt your business, well we understand and wish you continued success.