Painting Jigs

I discovered way back in the ’70’s that jig heads with no eyes seem to outproduce for me when fishing crappies, the Fire Ball Minnow from Falls Bait Co. has been consistently the best non-live bait for crappies that I’ve ever used. They had no eyes, just a completely solid orange jig head. So I’ve been reproducing that look for a few years using Kalin’s Triple Threat (Crappie wire) silver jig heads which makes a perfect jig head IMO. The thin wire hook with a large for weight gap is perfect for crappies, and the occasional walleye, and the wire bait keeper holds plastics much better than most other manufacturers keepers made of molded lead. Plus with all the weight in the head, not part of the hook shank, they balance better. I would just like to make my knock-offs last longer.

What have you guys found that lasts the longest for painting lead jig heads? I have several of the Pro-Tec powder paint colors, and while they look good initially, the finish is not very durable. Is there a clear coat or clear nail polish that I should put over the jigs after the Pro-Tec to make it last longer, or is there a better way to color them altogether?

After powder coating are you baking the heads? Clean the eyes out after coating them, then hang them on the rack in your oven and set the oven at 275 degree and leave them in there for a half, 3/4 hour. Let cool on the rack. You’ll find a whole new meaning to durable. Be certain to clean the eyes out BEFORE baking them though or you’ll not be happy.

Is that with Pro Tec or with another powder coating method? I haven’t tried baking them after coating, maybe I was missing a step, but I didn’t know that was recommended.

toaster oven, 375 for 10 min and let cool. works with most powder paints.

Tom Sawvell wrote:

Be certain to clean the eyes out BEFORE baking them though or you’ll not be happy.

Be sure you follow this advise.
If your only concern is the durability that will change after baking them.

ProTec can be baked but the suggested heat range is way high. A little longer in a slightly cooler oven gets the same job done and you won’t have ballheads that look like eggheads and you won’t have any drips in the commander’s oven.

So once they’re baked they should be solid? No other overcoating is required?

I’ll try baking them at 275 for 30-45 minutes in the oven. I’ve never noticed any smell from Pro Tec coating, so the GF won’t even be too angry if I sneak a batch of jigs in the oven. Definitely a situation where asking forgiveness is better than asking permission though.

Once baked they’re good to go. Very hard surface.

Tom Sawvell wrote:

ProTec can be baked but the suggested heat range is way high. A little longer in a slightly cooler oven gets the same job done and you won’t have ballheads that look like eggheads and you won’t have any drips in the commander’s oven.

X2!

Personally would never bake lead in an oven food gets cooked in.

Uncured powder paint is not durable,it will chip very easily.But once properly cured it is virtually indestructible.Best if you find a used toaster oven,they are cheap at rummage sales.And you don’t need much of a top coat,and I find it best if top coat is cured before any secondary colors are applied.Much less of a chance of secondary colors melting into the top coat,especially glow colors.

It takes a bit of practice to get it dialed-in,but well worth it and no stink/odors like other paints.Plus powder paint has a very long shelf life,unlike the vinyl paint of old.

“Personally would never bake lead in an oven food gets cooked in”

As long as all of the lead is covered with the paint coat, there’s no issue in the oven in the kitchen. All of the jigs I make are collarless/cast on keeper barb-less so complete paint coverage is a non-issue.

Tom Sawvell wrote:

“Personally would never bake lead in an oven food gets cooked in”

As long as all of the lead is covered with the paint coat, there’s no issue in the oven in the kitchen. All of the jigs I make are collarless/cast on keeper barb-less so complete paint coverage is a non-issue.

Good to know. Bake my stuff in a little $20 cheap pizza oven that gets used a lot through the winter. Totally agree that baking longer at lower temps works great. Hot and short, even on jigs that aren’t over painted at all still have more issues than low and slow for me.

Lol. I put a rack full of 1/32 and 1/24 heads with keeper wires in them in the oven about 12:30, then went out to play in the garden. 275 degrees. I just remembered them and just got them out of the oven. Sure shiny. No drips. No sags. No egg heads.

For those who use the wired jigs in small sizes, here’s a tip for when smaller plastics are going to be used. Take a side cutter and snip the hook end of the wire down to just a tiny tag sticking up. Plastics will bite on this and not pull off the head like some plastics do on collarless heads. And doing this eliminates tears to the plastic when trying to thread it up on the hook’s barb, collar or wire.

I’ve fished a 2″ Kietech Swim Impact thru maybe 35 crappies before the plastic was beat up enough at the tail end I had to replace it to get hits, but it was still hanging onto the mini-barb on the wire keeper.

Definitely follow Tom and Scott’s advice.

Just a few things to add

Toaster ovens are a dime a dozen at estate sales. I’ve bought the larger convection toaster ovens new in the box at rummage sales for $10.

If your only using small amounts, then ProTec is Great also for sampling colors. I buy all my powders by the pound or more. Much cheaper that way.

Different powders have different cure rates and optimal temps. Some are 325 @ 10 minutes and some are 425 for 15minutes. I’ve had little to no issues with the higher temps on lower rated powders other than bleeding when using multiple colors. Additionally, the rating isn’t the paint or start to finish. The temp/time is for the object being painted. So reality is the lead or actual jig head needs to come up to temp then the time starts. For me, I generally bake all my jigs and blade baits for 20 to 25 minutes,, then shut off and let cool down without opening the door