How to get a smooth finish

Costa

New member
Joined
Jul 17, 2018
Messages
4
I used protec powder paint for the first time and this os the result.

I used a heatgun, dipped, tapped the excess powder, run it on the heat fun again and I let it cool. 

Will baking smoothen this out or I did something wrong?


6AB73D69-E918-47C1-A8B0-D9133425815F_zps9n6mvmd4.jpg
 

duffy

Member
Joined
Oct 7, 2015
Messages
531
Location
Eastern WA.
Welcome to JigCraft. 
It almost looks like you could use a bit more paint. If you over heat they will bubble up and become rough. If your jig surface is not smooth it will also show through as being rough. If the paint is too thin and you don't melt it enough to flow it can be rough.  I also use a heat gun and depending on the output of yours it doesn't take long to pre-heat a jig. On mine it's usually only about a count of 4 an inch away from the end of the gun. I usually don't like them to be so hot that the powder completely melts right away on the first dip but rather just sticks to the jig because it can get rather thick and heavy. Different powders melt at different temperatures also. I then re-apply the heat carefully holding and rotating the jig about 4" away from the gun until it melts smoothly being careful to not over heat and keep it moving so it doesn't sag. Oven curing afterwards will make them more chip resistant and you could skip the second heating if your going to oven cure. Some of the fluorescent colors like orange will turn dark or brownish as you heat or melt them but will return to the original color as they cool. You can use pretty much anything metal to test colors on without messing up a bunch of jigs, (I use aluminum can pull tabs) Just keep playing with it and you'll get your method and timing figured out. Good luck and hope this helps.
 

AtticaFish

Administrator
Staff member
Joined
Mar 22, 2010
Messages
5,445
Location
Attica, OH
You've got the basic steps right. As duffy mentioned above, how hot you get the jig when you dip it in the jar is probably the most important thing. Practice on pop tabs, metal washers or screws will give you a chance to play with the paint and not mess up jig heads. You just want the head hot enough to get the powder to stick and then put the jig back in the heat to get it to smooth over. Some colors you may want to dip twice to get complete coverage. One other possibility could be impurities in the metal. I have had heads before that small bumps raise up from the head when you heat it up. That was mostly with lead free mixtures though.
 

Jig Man

Active member
Joined
May 19, 2010
Messages
5,523
Location
Out here...
Yep, heat control is the most important part of powder paint. If it were me I would heat it back up slowly turning and remove it from the source often too inspect. Looks like it has plenty of paint already. If you see a puff of smoke you went to far and burnt it...don't ask how I know :)
 
Back
Top