Powder Paint trays

I had mentioned this in a previous thread on powder painting. I didn't want to make a wire rack and I've always used the oven as long as I can keep it clean!!!

Well I bought some old cookie sheets that are MINE!! and use the following trays on top of them.

http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/c...intTray001.jpg

their just aluminum bread pans that I straigten the top on then I use a hand held punch and poke holes around the edge, then fold over. Put them on the cookie trays, put jigs in all the holes and put in the oven to warm up.

I take another batch of these trays and leave them out on the counter and after dipping you put the jigs in the holes in the cold ones. Any jigs you didn't get go back in the oven and while you wait for them to reheat you clean the eyes on the ones in the hold racks.

Works pretty good, and the aluminum bread pans can keep being re-used.

Fatman

Pretty good idea and sound pretty cost effective at the same time

Fatman, I sent you a pm but I think I figured it out. The hooks hang in holes and inside the pans. Very good idea. I am going to try it this evening! Thanks for the great tip.

great tip....wish I had known it before I spent two hours cutting and bending some pegboard hooks and making a wire rack. I need to learn the Keep It Simple Stupid approach sometimes. Thanks for sharing.

Been using the little baking pans for a coupls of years now, got mine riged just like yours, fit right in the toaster oven, i got from Odd Lots, for like 25 bucks.

I do 2-3 hundred at a time I've got a turkey baking pan and took some bailing wire 3 strands and twisted them together and lay them across the pan then hang the jig heads on the twisted wire you can do a couple hundred at a time. I have the wire ropes about an inch apart. and by having 3 strands twisted they don't bend and the jigs don't slide together.

Okay, I do have a question. How much time do you have to dip the heads once you take them out of the oven? My heat one at a time method is ok for small batches , but even then not much time before the lead cools and paint does not dry evenly.

Looks like that would work well.

I find if I'm doing jigs with collars I can get 6 or 7 before they need to go back in the oven. Now if you have a fluid bed it might go quicker. Ballhead no collar go quick.

Fatman

here are my jig racks for powder coating/ drying/ jig tying/ ect...
my racks can hold up to 37 jigs at once and i have 6 racks so i can bake or what ever i need to do to 222 jigs all at once they hang right in the oven :D :)

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/f...21/jigrack.jpg

Crappie Josh
Nice hangers - hopefully you are not using the same oven you prepare food in!!

Been using the regular oven for years!!! Never had a problem as long as I used the cookie sheets and aluminum bread pans.

Fatman

I just posted this on the main page but thought it may be something for this thread too: It took a while for me to figure how to heat the jigheads that worked well for me. My aim was to heat them all to the same temperature, so that I could get an even coat of powder to stick. I wound up using an old steam iron. I clamped it upside down on my bench. I set the temp to linen (high) and place the jigs on the hot surface (the steam holes can hold the smaller jigs in place quite nicely). When they are hot, I use a pair of needle nose pliers to pick them up by the curve of the hook (eye up) and give them a quick dip. A couple of taps on the side of the jar knocks off the excess. At this point they are dull as the paint is only partly melted. Now is the time to clean off any excess on the eye and hook.

For the next step hang them in the (cold) oven, set the temp. to 350. As soon as it hits 350 I turn off the oven and allow the jigs to cool. They are fully cured and the eyes and hook are clean.

I like the iron because it gives me good temp. control and all of the jigs are the same temp when dipped. I have noticed that some of the paint colors melt at different temperatures. I have not done enough to figure out the precise temp. settings needed for each color, but the iron gives me good control.

BTW the paint tray is a great idea!

Good luck.

I'll tell you I'm far from being even an intermediate powder painter, solid colors is it for me at this point. I learned alot of what I know from the folks over at Tackleunderground Home the guys there are GOOD!!!!!!!!

I've been playing with the idea of using a heat gun, after reading some of the threads about the guys using them, but you can buy alot of hooks and blades and tying materials for what one costs.

I also recommended the site at TU because of the folks here who have talked about making their own plastic baits, the folks there in the soft plastics section know what they're doing and can take alot of guesswork out of it.

Fatman

There are two main types of powder paint used by hobbyists for a surface finish;
Thermoplastic powders that will re-melt when heated
Thermosetting powders that will not re-melt upon reheating
Powder paint finishes include and not limited to:
Epoxy
Polyester
Epoxy Poly
Low Bake Polyester
Textures
Metallic’s
Lacquers
You should know what type of paint you are using before you use it. The majority of the finishes is environmentally friendly and as part of the curing process emit zero to negligible levels of VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds), unlike those required of wet-sprayed finishes. During the curing process a chemical cross-linking reaction is triggered (at the curing temperature). This chemical reaction gives the powder coating its desirable properties and it is when the VOC released.

One problem is when you cure the powder paint, at a specified temperature; the paint off gasses and VOC builds up in the oven after continuous use. When you crank up the temperature (higher than the cure temp), to bake something, the VOC is re-released into the chamber.

Another problem, using the kitchen oven, is bringing lead jigs or powder paint into area where you prepare food. Get a dedicated toaster oven for curing – you can find them at flea markets or swap meets for next to nothing.

You should always be thinking safety - if not for yourself for the people around you….

no, i use thoes for my drying racks i have small ones that i use in a little microwave oven my smaller ones are about half that size we have a strippit punch turret at work so i can make them any size i need :p :)