hollywood100 Posted October 27, 2008 Report Share Posted October 27, 2008 Help! Here's the deal. I have been attempting to powder paint some jigs. I am heating 3/4 oz. football heads over a candle and then swishing them through powder in my fluid bed. Here is the problem-part of the jig surface turns out perfect but part of the surface looks pitted and does not have an even sheen. Am I heating the jig too much or not enough? Also, can I "fix" the uneven surface? The candle I am using is what I call a regular candle but it turns the jig surface black as I heat it. Is this a problem also? Thanks in advance for the "cure"! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reeves Posted October 27, 2008 Report Share Posted October 27, 2008 Hollywood, I have had the very same problem with larger jigs. First of all, I would get rid of that candle and get a propane torch (which I prefer) or a heat gun to heat the jig. The black soot you are seeing may prevent the powder from adhering to the lead and may cause you problems in the future. Similar to when you use a candle to blacken your mold, this is done to allow the lead to flow smoother into the cavity as well as help prevent the part from sticking. I would shy away from the candle real quick. The 'cure' I have found is to rotate the jig in the fluid bed as opposed to just dipping it straight in. I have noticed that the powder seems to flow from one side of the cup to the other and my thinking was that there was less powder hitting that side while an adequate amount was hitting the opposite side. By dipping it in and rotating it in the powder has eliminated the fish eye problem for me. Give it a try and let us know if it solved the problem. Also when I first had this problem, as I pulled the jig from the fluid bed, I could see the pits, I immediately hit it with some more heat and re-dipped it and the pits were covered evenly with the rest of the jig. Good luck and I hope I have helped solve your problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yankee jigger Posted October 27, 2008 Report Share Posted October 27, 2008 Yep,what George said. When heating your jig,rotate it.The heat travels but not as good as we may think. Also,ditch the candle...I bought a heat gun at Home Depot for around $30.00 that works great.Helps when doing more than one color. YJ:yay: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dayooper Posted October 27, 2008 Report Share Posted October 27, 2008 Hollywood, One of the best and fastest ways to heat up the larger jigs is to place them in a toaster oven and preheat them at about 350 to 400 degrees for about 20 minutes. Then pull them out with a pair of hemostats and quickly swish them in the fluid bed. This allows the jigs to heat evenly and takes the guess work out of holding the the jig in a propane torch or heat gun and counting. We do this at the fishing shows we do and we can paint hundreds of jigs an hour. My partner likes to hang them on the rack to preheat, I just throw them all in a pan. Then once you paint them, simply hang them back in the toaster oven to cure. Hope this helps! Thanks, Benjamin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhahn427 Posted October 27, 2008 Report Share Posted October 27, 2008 Candles are ok for smaller jigs ....... I use it all of the time ....... powder paint sticks to vitrually anythig when hot ........ problem is that you can't get an even heat all around on a large jig. I also had problems with the jigs getting too hot with heat guns and propane ..... actually melted a couple when I wasn't watching. For me the Toaster oven is the best ........ I actually use a rotisserie oven for mine because I sometimes do spireheads up to 8 oz. The oven is the only way to get them evenly heated .......... I would watch craigslist or the auction site for one about $10 ........ freecycle in my area sometimes has them for free .......... powder painting is fun once you get it right Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelly Posted October 28, 2008 Report Share Posted October 28, 2008 Reeves hit it on the head. There is a lot of ways to heat a jig. Just use a clean fuel source. I like the heat gun the most. The oven dayooper talks of, I like for a large quality. But having a second heat source to reheat the jig helps me a lot (not sticking my hand in the oven) gets toasty. The cheapest heat source I think i have found is the alcohol burner. Have not had time to fix it up after a mishap but works well. I have one Friend that uses his propane camp stove. The trick is consistent heat. For a newbie I would think the oven would work the best. Fluff the powder and swish the jig. Maybe reheat the jig after to level the paint out. The pits can be gotten rid of by using a brush. When the jig is still hot tap the paint on. NO CANDLES. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hollywood100 Posted October 28, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 28, 2008 Thanks to all for the replies and help. I bought a heat gun today ($30) and it solved the problem. I melted the first one off the hook (LOL) but have it dialed in now. I coated about 100 tonight and it is awesome so far. It sure beats painting with the airbrush and then having to brush devcon on each one. Thanks again to all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
