Painting lead?

[Rooster]

I finally found a cheap source of 2, 3, and 4oz jigs and spoons. Now, I have over 30LBs of unpainted lead in the mail.

These spoons and jigs do not last long, and I don’t need a “professional” finish. I’m just looking for something to give them a little durable color. It has to be a quick and easy process.

I’m planning on using some spray paint and a clear acrylic spray finish. Any particular brand/ type of spray paint and spray finish that works well on lead? Any better painting ideas?

Anyone ever use a flexible rubber coating on lead (that plastidip that comes in a can)?

Thanks!

[buckdawg]

I've been doing some research on this and have come across some different sites that help. That plastidip is supposed to work real well. I stopped by the local hobby shop and the guy there told me enamel paints would work too. they're pretty cheap and i doubt brand name really matters. the problem with enamel is that it will chip as you abuse your lures. vinyl paint is a flexible paint that will stand up to the abuse. they also make powder paint that you melt/bake onto the jig for lifelong color.

Here's some sites I've come across:

http://www.lurecraft.com/catalog.cfm/materials--and--tools/lure--and--jig-paint

http://www.jannsnetcraft.com/

http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?forum=128;

i recently purchased a melting pot off Ebay and a co-worker gave me 36 lbs of lead shot (don't ask me why he had that laying around). so i need to buy some molds and paint and i'm good to go!

[Hetfieldinn]

Those jars of powder coat are hard to beat for jig heads. Hole the jig over a candle for 10-15 seconds, then dip it in the jar. You're done.

A jar costs about $5, and will last for a very long time.

[Rooster]

I’m sure that the powder paint would be more durable, but I want to keep the process as simple as possible. These are some BIG jigs and spoons. The quality of the finish is really not that important, I just need some color.

Which would be better, dipping in Rustoleum or spray paint? Thanks!

[Hetfieldinn]

I don't know about the spoons, but believe me, there is no simpler way to paint jig heads than with the powder paint. You can literally paint a pile of them in five minutes. Hold the jig head by the hook with pliers, hold over a heat source, such as a stove burner or a candle for about ten seconds, dip it in the jar, tap it on the side of the jar to knock off any excess powder, blow on it to cool it down, and it's done.

[Rooster]

OK, you have me interested in the power paint. Have you ever used it with 4 oz jigs?

Thanks!

[Moonlighter]

You might wish you had bought them painted white. Those big heads won't heat so well unless you put them in an oven and then you'll play hell getting them in the jar. You'd probably need two jars of each at best just so you can keep adding to the first to keep it deep enough to cover the whole jig if you can get it in there properly at all. Dipping heads that size usally takes pounds of paint so you can work with a big bowl of it, that or a suspension system or an airbrush. If you had them pre painted white, you could use Sharpies or anything to flavor them. Good luck.

PS. I would measure the jighead length first. The jars of powder paint are about 2 3/4 deep. I bet the jigheads are 3+ inches long.

[Hetfieldinn]

OK, you have me interested in the power paint. Have you ever used it with 4 oz jigs?

Thanks!

I'm not even sure I've ever seen a 4 oz jig!

You could certainly put the powder paint into a bigger container to accomodate the larger jigs.

You could even heat them up with a propane torch, if you have one handy. Just don't put the jig too close to the flame. Or use the oven method, as Moonlighter stated.

[Moonlighter]

Those are monster jigs for sure usually for really big saltwater pigs, like bluefin, grouper, shark, stripers, etc. As I recall, they have both a barb and a round collar for deer hair and plastic tails. Definitely two jar deals to get it deep enough. The torch is a good solution and I use one for smaller jigs myself, but I don't know if you could heat the hole thing evenly and keep it hot enough, long enough even with a torch. Gotta be six square inches of lead on them things. I'm gonna try thta candle next time I do some tiny little ball heads though. With the torch, on occasion I melt the lead right off the hook. Makes the supplier happy I guess.

["EYE" DOCTOR]

Sorry to keep shooting your ideas down but powder painting lures that big by dipping them is nearly impossible. The biggest problem is that you have to dip the lure entirely into the "fluffy" powder for it to work properly. With something that big it compacts the powder as it goes in and just makes a mess. The second problem is the even heat. With lures this big you have to get them very hot to keep them hot throughout the dipping process. What this usually causes is the first part of the lure is too hot and burns the powder and the second part of the lure is too cool to melt the paint properly. Even when placed in the oven they will not hold temperature long enough to be effective for dipping into jars. The only way to get a good finish on the bigger lures with powder is to use a powder airbrush and a torch or heat gun. When you do it this way you would add some heat then spray on some powder until it starts to cool then add more heat and powder until its finished. One other way ive heard works is to use a deep fluid bed that keeps the paint fluffy. Thats why the increase in price in your previous post.
You can paint clean lead with spray paint if you get it very clean and dont use the really cheap stuff. Always start with primer then a white base coat and then your final color. If you use the cheap stuff it will "melt" in your tackle box after you get them wet. Best spray paint ive used so far is automotive basecoat-clearcoat but i spray it through an airbrush.

[Rooster]

PLEASE keep shooting my ideas down until I get a workable plan! LOL

In the past, I have used spray paint, and finished with 2-ton epoxy. I think that I will try dipping the jigs in rustoleum, and finishing with a spray-on clear finish. This will save me a lot of time and effort. I’m also going to experiment with the plastidip. I really like the idea of a plastic coated spoon. We’ll see if it works.

I don’t need the baits to look “pretty”, I just want some color. Worst case, I will just use them unpainted. I have been fishing the BIG jigs that way for about 10 years, and I don’t think that spoon color makes much difference to the hybrids/stripers. Further, these lures take a lot of abuse! I don’t care what type of finish is on a lure, 100+ yard casts and dragging heavy lures over the rocks will destroy any lure in short order. Further, I leave about a LB of lead in the rocks after a good day of fishing. I’ve spent a lot of time making BIG topwater lures for surf casting at the dam. Multiple coats of epoxy, scale patterns, and even glitter (pretty). They look very nice in the tackle box, and are fairly durable. However, the 4/0 VMC treble hooks start to scratch the finish after the first fish, and an errant cast that sends the lure crashing against the dam wall at 100MPH makes them look like sticks again.

[Moonlighter]

That's funny. I hope they built that dam tough as it sounds like you're giving it a workout with them jigs. If you reorder from TNT, get a couple white one's and see how they hold up. I've got some that have been abused quite hard and the paint is still like new. Never tried em at 100 mph into a dam though. Good luck to ya.