Protech Curing

[Michboy11]

Hey everyone. New to jig painting. Cant seem to get this curing thing down. I'm using a toaster oven. I leave it on the temp setting and let it run for about a half hour to make sure the temp stays constant. My problem is, no matter how much paint or little paint i put on the jigs, they always seem to drip. I've turned the heat down to almost 290 and it doesn't seem to matter. Do you guys have any tips or tricks for me?>

[cadman]

Welcome To Tackle Underground.  If you are getting paint runs, there are only two things that cause this:

#1......Too much paint.

# 2.....Toaster oven too hot.

I'll start with #2, because that is usually the biggest cause. Just cause your toaster oven says it is 290 degrees, doesn't mean that, that is what it is. Get a good external oven thermometer, and put it in your toaster oven and see what it actually reads. I'm going to bet that your toaster oven is running too hot. If that is the case, mark your toaster oven dial to the correct setting that is on your thermometer.

You didn't mention how long you keep your jigs in the toaster oven. I keep my jigs in a preheated toaster oven at 300-350 degrees for 15-20 minutes max.

You also didn't mention how long you keep your jig in the powder paint.

#1, is also always the case for powder paint dripping. Way too much powder paint on a jig.  My first question would be  how do you know you have too little powder paint on your jig? If it is still dripping, then you still have too much powder paint on your jig. I don't know how long you have been doing this, but there is a learning curve to all this powder painting madness.

Do you use a fluid bed or are you swishing it through a jar of powder paint? Notice I said swishing and not dipping. If you dip your jigs in a Pro-Tec jar, you could be packing down the powder and causing more powder to stick to your jig. Almost after every 2 jigs you dip, you have to stir the powder paint to fluff it up again.

A fluid bed is much easier to use, than dipping in a jar. If you want a tutorial on how to make one,  PM me your e-mail.

Finally what color are you having problems with and how big of a jig head?

[Michboy11]

I'm sorry i should of elaborated more. 

 

I haven't been keeping them in the toaster oven, usually what i was doing is heating them over a heat gun for about 10 seconds or so and dipping them in a fluid bed. Nothing crazy, just a quick dip in and out and tap the access off. Then once im done painting the whole run, i load them on the wire hangar in the pre-heated oven and let them sit for 15 minutes. 

The reason i said little powder is because i can almost see the lead threw the paint, essentially testing to see if i was doing something wrong.

I am going to go with the toaster oven hotter than i think it is. I just assumed that because it was set at 290 and the heating elements where coming on and off, that it was maintaining roughly that temperature. 

I have been using a homemade base but the cups i bought from TJ's. If you can send me your plans id be interested in trying it. At this point, i'm willing to try anything. I will PM you my email address. 

[cadman]

Now that I read more about your process, it seems like you have a handle on what needs to be done.  Maybe you need to fine tune some things and look over your process again. If you see lead thru your jigs, then you definitely have the powder on the thin side. I would check the heat of your oven, and try some different temps. 

[smalljaw]

Being that your using a fluid bed I'm assuming the paint isn't on too heavy. If you get a simple oven thermometer and check the toaster oven, I'll bet that is where your issue is. My brand new toaster oven set to 350 degrees was actually 410 degrees, the one I had befor that wasn't as bad but at 350 it was actually at 385, toaster ovens are notorious for this issue, even expensive models only have an approximate temp based on dial setting. If your oven is old older it could be worse, get an oven thermometer, most are less than $10 and leave it in the oven for 30 minutes and check the temp, if the heating elements are off note the temp and wait until they come back on and then watch,  I'll bet you will get a shock at how high that temp goes.  I got one for $70 that has sealed elements so that high temp spike doesn't happen, my old oven had high and low spots, the back 4" of the oven were unusable because the temp would spike to 430 degrees and this was with the oven regulated with an oven thermometer, the very front would only get to 318 degrees so I could only cure 25 jigs per batch. So when you are going to cure your heads, get an oven thermometer, that is where the problem is.

[Michboy11]

thanks for the info guys, i went on amazon and bought a thermometer. I will check out the heat problem, if it is too in-consistent i will be buying a new toaster oven as the one i have is relatively old. 

[LimpNoodle]

6 hours ago, smalljaw said:

Being that your using a fluid bed I'm assuming the paint isn't on too heavy. If you get a simple oven thermometer and check the toaster oven, I'll bet that is where your issue is. My brand new toaster oven set to 350 degrees was actually 410 degrees, the one I had befor that wasn't as bad but at 350 it was actually at 385, toaster ovens are notorious for this issue, even expensive models only have an approximate temp based on dial setting. If your oven is old older it could be worse, get an oven thermometer, most are less than $10 and leave it in the oven for 30 minutes and check the temp, if the heating elements are off note the temp and wait until they come back on and then watch,  I'll bet you will get a shock at how high that temp goes.  I got one for $70 that has sealed elements so that high temp spike doesn't happen, my old oven had high and low spots, the back 4" of the oven were unusable because the temp would spike to 430 degrees and this was with the oven regulated with an oven thermometer, the very front would only get to 318 degrees so I could only cure 25 jigs per batch. So when you are going to cure your heads, get an oven thermometer, that is where the problem is.

 

That's why I ALWAYS get a countertop convection oven.  That fan makes a huge difference.  

[mark poulson]

2 hours ago, LimpNoodle said:

 

That's why I ALWAYS get a countertop convection oven.  That fan makes a huge difference.  

 

I got my toaster oven in my divorce from my second wife in 1991, and it's still working, although I don't know if it's temps are true.

But it still cures my jigs just fine, so I guess, like they say, ignorance is bliss.

[kylesmoney]

Also try heating the jig more before you dip it.  I've never seen lead through the powder coat unless the jig head was too cold before I dipped it.  Usually, a quick bob in the fluidized bed filter and it comes out entirely covered.  Couple quick taps to knock off any excess and onto the rack it goes.  

[Michboy11]

Well the reason i did a jig with such little paint on it, was more or less to test the toaster oven. To see if the jigs would melt either way and they did. I'm convinced you guys are right and its the toaster oven being too hot. I have a thermometer coming in. 

Thanks for the info guys. Nice to know this community will be so quick and helpful with a newbie. 

[Apdriver]

You can buy a oven thermometer at Wally World for about 5 bucks.

[LimpNoodle]

12 hours ago, Michboy11 said:

Well the reason i did a jig with such little paint on it, was more or less to test the toaster oven. To see if the jigs would melt either way and they did. I'm convinced you guys are right and its the toaster oven being too hot. I have a thermometer coming in. 

Thanks for the info guys. Nice to know this community will be so quick and helpful with a newbie. 

 

If the jigs are melting your oven is way too hot.

[Michboy11]

Not the jigs themselves. The paint.

[smalljaw]

Don't touch your oven until that thermometer shows up. You may have the urge to dial it back some but don't, leave it where it is so that you find out what the high and low temps are in your oven.  Paint sagging, or "nipples" as a lot call them, happens for 3 reasons, the first is too much paint, the next is curing oven too hot, the 3rd is less common but it is from either excessive hand oils or other type of contamination that keeps the paint from bonding to the lead. If you want to know how rare it is that the paint doesn't adhere or bond to the lead properly, consider that I've been using powder since the Spring of 2003 and I've never encountered it, but I had paint actually drip off in my old oven when it was too hot and I actually had my first couple heads develop the dreaded nipple from too much paint.