Lower temp curing time for PP

[fish_4_all]

I have a bunch of lead free jigs and was wondering if anyone knows how long to cure PP for at 250F. At 350, the lead free starts to melt so I have to cure lower. I have cured some at 250 for 30 minutes and it worked but I would really llike have some better info than my best guess on this

[GCD]

Have you tried 300*? I'd cure them for at least 30 min.... longer if it was me, prolly more like 45-1 hr.. It won't hurt anything.

I'm not even sure you'll get a good flash on the paint at 250*.

What possessed you to go lead free?... and what kind of alloy is melting at 350*??? If they were tin, it would take 450* for them to start melting. Do you have a thermometer in your oven?

[fish_4_all]

I am not sure the mixture but I know it has some alloys in it that melt at 200F. The mix I have I think is 300F but not sure. Will have to ask the one I get them from. Lead free is nice too because I can leave them plain and they stay shiny as well as not reacting with plastics.

As for why I am learning lead free, my state is in the process of making lead illegal, anything under 1/2 ounce at the least, maybe completely. Might happen this year, might be in a couple years but I would rather be ready when it happen.

[GCD]

I'm pretty sure what you have is tin, and the melting point for tin is 450*. Check your oven to make sure your temp is correct.

The 2 main lead free lead substitutes are tin and antimony... and antimony has a melting point of 1100*.

[skeetbum]

Antimony is one of the added metals in wheel weights, if my info is correct. I know pure wheel weight lead doesn't pour near as well as pure lead on the smaller jigs. My collars wouldn't fill before they chilled. And those molds were HOT. It makes good sinkers over an ounce, and I'm told that it mixes well with pure at 1 ingot of WW to 2 ingots of pure. Don't pour enough, or have enough experience with it to know more. My trimmed WW jig heads look good and shiny though.

[fish_4_all]

I love wheel weights for my pencil lead, hold their shape better than pure lead and stay straight longer especially when fishing rocks.

Part of the alloy is Tin and Bisthmus, not sure if anything else is in there yet, will know later. whatever it was I melted a small amount of it out of the jig head thorugh the PP when I cured it at 350 with my lead jig heads. It left a small bead of metal on the head. My stove runs right at 340-355 when I set it to 350 on the dial. Hard as hell to check but had to to make sure I didn't wind up with pools of metal instead of jigs. Maybe it matters more to get the head completely covered and remelt it to make sure the PP has a solid cover on the jig head to prevent and drips.

I hope to cure another set of the lead free tonight and will do them at 250 and see how it works out. Shouldn't have a problem but we will see. Have dine them at 250 before for 30 minutes and they seemed to be as hard as 350. Will test them once I get them done. I know the PP color changed like normal so who knows. Maybe I will just go longer on them and see if I can't go to 300. Hopefully the one who makes them for me will reply before I do the next batch. I do know if I am not careful I will melt them right off the hook with a candle. And I know they cool a lot faster than lead, maybe 3x faster or more.

[fish_4_all]

With all I have found it doesn't make any sense that any of the alloys used in the stuff should even be close to having a problem with 350F. All of them have melting points well above 350, tin 449, bismuth 520 and lead 622. I am not sure if the head is getting too hot or what but my stove is right on. I will admit I don't know diddily about the temp the jig heads get or their heating qualities so maybe they do hotter than 350 in the oven.

Oh well, will stick with cooler curing temps just to avoid any problems.

[Sandwich Maker]

A lot of arguments can be made about baking time. I've found that on my little toaster oven, I can cook for 7 or 8 minutes at 325-350 and then turn it off and leave the jigheads in there. (If no hurry) By the time they cool down, you can't beat the paint off with a hammer. Oven stays hot for a while, albeit at decreasing temps.

[GCD]

With all I have found it doesn't make any sense that any of the alloys used in the stuff should even be close to having a problem with 350F. All of them have melting points well above 350, tin 449, bismuth 520 and lead 622. I am not sure if the head is getting too hot or what but my stove is right on. I will admit I don't know diddily about the temp the jig heads get or their heating qualities so maybe they do hotter than 350 in the oven.

That's what I figured and why I suggested checking your oven temp.

I have an oven thermometer in my toaster oven ($4 at Wal-Mart). On initial start-up of my toaster oven on a 350* setting my little oven will heat up to 425* and then after about 15 min. it will drop down to 350* and hold steady for the rest of the time. I messed up a couple batches of jigs before I got a thermometer and figured out what was going on. Now I watch the thermometer and adjust the temp manually.

There's quite a bit of trial and error that goes with pouring and powder painting jigs, and every time you switch materials it seems like you have to start over.:rolleyes: Keep working with it and you'll get it figured out.

[sloedown]

A lot of arguments can be made about baking time. I've found that on my little toaster oven, I can cook for 7 or 8 minutes at 325-350 and then turn it off and leave the jigheads in there. (If no hurry) By the time they cool down, you can't beat the paint off with a hammer. Oven stays hot for a while, albeit at decreasing temps.

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