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Rellim1010

Curing Jigs With Fiber Weedguards

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Im sure it is on here somewhere, but I cant seem to find it.

I just came upon a great deal on some raw 1oz and 3/4oz jig heads with fiber weed guards glued in. I already had a toaster and heat gun. I got a jar of powder paint, and the plastic sleeves to protect the fiber guard when heating before painting.

I guess my question is can I use that same plastic sleeve when I am baking the jig to cure the paint without it damaging the weed guard?

If not what to you recomend?

This is not going to be a huge production, just a here and there type of thing, but with how rocky the lakes in Maine are its tough to swing $4-5 on a jig. Let me know your thoughts.

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I have never had any good luck with plastic sleeves or metal sleeves over weedguards. The heat still curled the weedguard strands when I baked the jigs. I'm not going to say that, that will happen to you. I always put weedguards into a jig after it has been baked. Why not just paint your jig with nail polish, or lacquer paint and call it a day. JMO.

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ive done nail polish before, and it just chips way too easily.  In maine if there is exposed lead it is illegal (and the wardens love to stop bass guys and check our gear, i have lived here for a year and been stopped 3 or 4 times already just so they could check stuff)

 

Is vinyl paint more chip resistant?

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ive done nail polish before, and it just chips way too easily.  In maine if there is exposed lead it is illegal (and the wardens love to stop bass guys and check our gear, i have lived here for a year and been stopped 3 or 4 times already just so they could check stuff)

 

Is vinyl paint more chip resistant?

Yes, vinyl paint is very chip resistant. Actually better than powder paint. There are really probably only two reasons that it is not popular anymore. #1 It smells really badly, as I used to use it before and got very bad headaches from it. It is lacquer based. #2 You cannot do multiple colors with it. However if you are going to do just black, brown, blue as solid colors than no problem. Definitely paint these outside in a garage.

 

BTW welcome to TU.

 

One other option, and that is to pull the weedguards out, clean the holes, put in teflon pins, repaint with powder paint, bake and then glue in weedguards. However this may be more work than you want to do. I have more info on this if you need.

Edited by cadman
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Is it more cost effective to use powder paint over vinyl or vise versa?

 

And I wish money wasnt an object haha then I would just buy everything and play around a lot lol

 

And I was trying to stay away from pulling the guards.  if thats really the only way then so be it, but i dont want to ruin the ones i have by pulling the guard and glueing/epoxying them back in.  How much do teflon pins cost and what size would i need? 

 

I dont mind the work if the product will be better.

Edited by Rellim1010
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Is it more cost effective to use powder paint over vinyl or vise versa?

 

And I wish money wasnt an object haha then I would just buy everything and play around a lot lol

 

And I was trying to stay away from pulling the guards.  if thats really the only way then so be it, but i dont want to ruin the ones i have by pulling the guard and glueing/epoxying them back in.  How much do teflon pins cost and what size would i need? 

 

I dont mind the work if the product will be better.

 

You have a PM

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Cadman,

Does vinyl paint play nice with soft plastics?

 

Mark,

    From my experience no. All the plastics I used, if left on the vinyl paint started to melt. The interaction between the two was messy. I have not used vinyl paint in about 7 or 8 years due to the fumes. However, I cannot say that it will affect every type of plastic out there. I know nothing about plastic bait formulation, so maybe the new plastic you guys use now won't affect it. I will say, that the vinyl paint does take a long time to flash off or evaporate, even after the vinyl paint has cured. However I have not noticed the smell of the vinyl paint affecting catch ratio back in the day when I used to use it.

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Cadman,

Does vinyl paint play nice with soft plastics?

Mark-

          I airbrushed 100's of bass jigs 25+ years ago w/ VL&J paint. The trick is to spray them w/ two part epoxy after the paint dries and they will not effect plastics.

 

         For powder painting-  you cure jigs w/ weed guards already poured in w/ a tight fitting sleeve that goes past the top of the fiber guard by 1/4". The trick is to  pre-heat around the base of the weed guards so the powder paint sticks- without affecting the fiber guards.Lower the oven temp to 250 and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the sleeve and the guards will flare but now you don't have to use pliers to flair out the guards. 8O Most here on TU use Teflon pins and glue in the fiber guards

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I do this like Smallmouthaholic recommended. I use K&S metals 5/32 aluminum tubing for 1/8 weedguards. Leave them cool with the tube in place then wiggle the tube loose. Works great and I hate gluing in guards. I'd like to thank Slowfish for posting this a while back or I wouldn't know about it.

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I used to pour all my jigs with the weed guard in place until Teflon pins came out.  It is very easy to do but you need a good cover.  I used small wooden dowels cut a little longer than the weed guard and drill out a 5/32" hole through the middle.  Take a larger drill bit and make a cone in one end so it is easier to slip the guard in the dowel.  I can't say anything about metal tubing, I've never used it.  Slip the dowel over the guard and heat your jig with your gun.  Dip in powder paint and you are good to go.  I always put them in the oven at 285 degree for 45 minutes and the paint always cured out.  But your oven may be hotter/cooler.  Any hotter and the weight of the dowel would bend the guard outward.  Let them cool in the oven before pulling the dowel off and your weed guards will be perfect.  You can reuse the dowels forever, I still have the 50 I made to start with.

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You can change the angle of the fiber guard( to be 1/4'' away from the hook point) as soon as the jig and molded in fiber guard comes out of the mold by holding the hook and bending the wire guard forward-holding for 20 seconds w/ pressure against the base of the fiber guard and the tip against the hook eye.. Good luck w/ that w/ glue -in guards :drool:

 

I do not want any fiber guard touching my hook point since that position provides the least amount of snag resistance working through submerged wood.I also fan-out the fiber guards before fishing.

 

I respect those folks who wish to drill out, Teflon pin and glue in fiber guards but I have no desire for that time consuming process plus too much glue makes a mess.Spare me the justifications and stick w/ the methods you prefer.

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