powder painting jig heads

I have had several folks ask me about the jig heads I paint. the process I use and the how to's of it all. so I thought I would put a post on here and show yall what I do.

first here is the items you will need before you start.
a heat source--I like the sterno brand of canned heat. you can get it at the walmarts. it is the little can of pink jelly that is very flammable and you put it under a casserole dish to keep it hot.
a pair of forceps. academy has these in a two pack for 6$. I like the curved tipped one.
a separate pair of needle nose pliers to grab the jig head by the shaft of the hook after you dip it in the powder paint. this is so you can hang it on your oven rack.
an old towel. you will build up paint excess on your forceps. just heat up the forceps and wipe it on an old towel.
powder paint. bass pro sells this, but a brand I like better is TJ's tackle pro-tec powder paint.
your oven rack suspended on 4 cans of beans or soup, etc. one under each corner.

the steps are fairly easy. light your sterno and let it get hot for about a minute. make sure you place the sterno can on a trivet or a thick towel so it won't burn your table. then grab the jig head with the forceps and grab the eye of the jig. this helps keep paint from clogging up your eye on the jig. heat the jig head, turning it from one side to the other, for about 10 seconds. you will find out the right length of time to heat it. if when you paint the jig the paint looks dull and rough,, you didn't heat it long enough. if the paint wants to run and drip off the jig, you heated it too long. immediately after heating the jig, brush it back and forth in the paint and then pull it out and tap the forceps on the side of the jar to remove excess powder paint. then grab the shaft of the hook with you other pair of needle nose pliers and hang it on your oven rack. be sure not to let the jigs touch when they are hot or they will stick together. I have been told that to make the paint extra hard and durable, place them in your oven for 15 minutes at 350*. I have never done this. before my jig heads look grungy I normally lose them in a tree top. LOL

here are some pic so you can see what I am talking about.

sterno
http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q...ps1dc14957.jpg

this is how I hold the jig to heat and paint it.
http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q...ps482a0f68.jpg

this is my favorite paint. here is their website Welcome to TJ's Tackle
http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q...ps885bfb8e.jpg

here is the two pack of forceps. I like these because they will lock when closed and it is easier on my fingers.
http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q...ps94341cab.jpg

hope this helps anyone that has been thinking about painting jig heads.

doc :)

Hey doc, I've been wanting to try painting some jigs but had not figured out the heat source yet. This is awesome, thanks for the post. Now I will have to get me and oven rack, the wife is not going to be to happy, happy, happy if I use her new oven rack to fish with.LOL

hey PG, I didn't discover this sterno as a heat source til after I painted several batches. it is the bomb. a can of sterno only costs about 4$ and it will burn for about three hours. that's enough time to paint a BUNCH of jigs. I actually found some larger cans at a garage sale that are a different brand. hadn't tried them yet but I will and give everyone a report. good luck.. and the jigs don't get the oven rack dirty as long as you only hang the hook on them and don't touch the actually jig head part to the rack. it's not hard to do and I actually like to spend a couple of hours painting when it is doo darn hot to go fishing. GOOD LUCK!!

Where you get your jigs at?

the best and cheapest source I have found for getting my jig heads is simplycrappie. they have everything I need. here is their link Simply Crappie...Your one stop source for all your crappie fishing needs!

I ONLY use sickle hooks with my jigs. they are crazy sharp and they normally will bend before they break your line. best of both worlds.

doc :)

That's pretty cool Mark. How would you do eyes?

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Originally Posted by Professor Gadget

Hey doc, I've been wanting to try painting some jigs but had not figured out the heat source yet. This is awesome, thanks for the post. Now I will have to get me and oven rack, the wife is not going to be to happy, happy, happy if I use her new oven rack to fish with.LOL

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Gadget from experience, if your oven has two racks spread you a piece of tin foil on bottom rack and jigs on top. When you first start you may get a few drips and I promise you don't need to try and explain that one:yikes it alll worked out for the good though next trip to Walley world produced a new toaster oven for the shop:Rofl

I removed a rack from the Barbecue and cleaned it up to hang the jigs on in the oven. I used two bricks to support it. I use a propane torch with the heat turned way down. if it gets too hot the lead melts off the hook

Actually to really cure properly you should put them in the oven at about 392 for 15 minutes. They say 400 for 10 minutes, but I find that not as good plus you have to have the surface of the jig head at that temp and not just the oven. Now one difference is a Pearl Head and that is 325 for 15 minutes. If you want to use 350 it needs something like 25 minutes in the oven. I cure every head I paint unless I use Vinyl which I do on some things. If you don't cure your paint even if just keeping them in a box that gets shook up some the paint will chip off. However Vinyl is even tougher then power paint, but the powder paint cured is very hard. Too many jig head you see in stores are not cured and why the paint chips off. Many guys fish jig that have no paint at all and I think color only matters in some cases and most of the time a unpainted head is just fine.

Well that is my 2 cents!

Skip

Thanks Doc I use a heat gun set on 1 and a pair of hemostats locked on the hook portion. I hold the head over the heat for 4 seconds and dip in paint then flip head from side to side over heat gun to even out paint for 1 second and dip in water it works great and it is fast. I skip the heat treatment because I don't feel it's worth the time the jigs don't last that long anyway.