AllenOK
New member
I've been wondering how folks here paint their ice-fishing tungsten jigs. The few I've seen look like a basecoat of powderpaint, and then fine details with some kind of liquid paint over the pp. I've been thinking it was fingernail polish.
I did some for a friend, as he was wanting some powder-painted heads, but was rather insistent that the jigs have eyes. I got some fingernail polish, and some bamboo skewers, which I sanded the tips off. I did a nice dip into pp, then back over my oil lamp to melt the pp some (not a full cure). Painted the eyes on with the skewers.
View attachment 1
My plan was to reheat the jigs, then dip into 200% clear for a top-coat, then cure them in the oven. Here's what I got:
View attachment 2
That was weird. The "eyes" shrank in circumference, but puffed out, forming a weird 3D eye spot. I have not heard if my buddy likes these or not.
I've done a test by coating a similar jighead with Loon Flow UV Resin and hitting it with a UV torch. It works as a topcoat, but I'm not sure how durable it is. I may have to go with a clear epoxy of some kind, or just leave them without a topcoat. I may even buy a few vinyl paints and give that a go, but working in this basement that I'm renting, with no ventilation, is probably not a good idea.
I did some for a friend, as he was wanting some powder-painted heads, but was rather insistent that the jigs have eyes. I got some fingernail polish, and some bamboo skewers, which I sanded the tips off. I did a nice dip into pp, then back over my oil lamp to melt the pp some (not a full cure). Painted the eyes on with the skewers.
View attachment 1
My plan was to reheat the jigs, then dip into 200% clear for a top-coat, then cure them in the oven. Here's what I got:
View attachment 2
That was weird. The "eyes" shrank in circumference, but puffed out, forming a weird 3D eye spot. I have not heard if my buddy likes these or not.
I've done a test by coating a similar jighead with Loon Flow UV Resin and hitting it with a UV torch. It works as a topcoat, but I'm not sure how durable it is. I may have to go with a clear epoxy of some kind, or just leave them without a topcoat. I may even buy a few vinyl paints and give that a go, but working in this basement that I'm renting, with no ventilation, is probably not a good idea.