Skeet6 0 Report post Posted September 14, 2019 I always painted them once on the fly - I thought about how to hold multiples to paint ahead of time... ask the lady of the house for some old-style bobby pins. The ones my wife had will hold 4 each. Hope this helps. Mike B Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
flytire 0 Report post Posted September 14, 2019 old trick Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rocco 0 Report post Posted September 15, 2019 How do you paint them, so hat the colors don't chip off? Rocco Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Skeet6 0 Report post Posted September 15, 2019 old trick Neat! I didn't know. I was thinking and thinking and was going to bend a paper clip when the light bulb went on. Hope this helps anyway. Rocco, I haven't found anything that stops them from chipping with heavy use. I usually have them bitten off by pickerel eventually anyway. Mike B Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bryon Anderson 0 Report post Posted January 15, 2020 I use a plastic comb - slide the stems of the eyes down between the teeth if the comb and paint away. I can do a whole package at one time this way. After the base color dries, leave them in the comb and come back with a piece of small dowel dipped in plack paint and go down the line doing the pupils. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mike West 0 Report post Posted January 15, 2020 How do you paint them, so hat the colors don't chip off? Rocco This helps but they still chip if smacked into the rocks.Scuff them up a little bit with sandpaper then paint and coat with epoxy or UV glue. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
vicrider 0 Report post Posted February 26, 2020 Mike, if I was after a minimum of chipped paint I go with the epoxy you suggested. As UV gets good and hard it seems to not only chip easily but the entire coating gets knocked off. Over the years I've had almost all good luck with epoxy for everything I've used it for. UV and CA I use a lot but neither is as good as epoxy for many purposes. And Mike, I was looking at some of the lies of yours I have and you sure do great work. edit...That would be FLIES Mike, not lies. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
flytire 0 Report post Posted February 26, 2020 anybody try powder coating them? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
vicrider 0 Report post Posted February 27, 2020 flytire, I never tried it on dumbell eyes since the ones I use are either painted or aluminum with a recess to put in an eye and UV over. I have used a lot of powder coat though and still have a bunch of jars out in the shed and just may have to give it a try on the ones I have not painted. I used to pour, paint and sell hundreds of jigs of various kinds and used everything from Herters Model Perfect Paint to sprays and Cabela's and Bass Pro paints. The only ones that really held up to banging rocks for any length of time were the powder coated ones. Nothing holds up to constant rock pounding though. If you'd be interested in trying it out I would be glad to see which ones I have left and sent you a couple of small vials of it to play with. Nick Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
flytire 0 Report post Posted February 27, 2020 thats okay i'll let it be yours or someone elses experiment if they are overly concerned about the paint cracking on their dumbbell eyes i had enough problems trying to powder coat jig heads for a previous swap. dont need that headache again Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Poopdeck 0 Report post Posted February 27, 2020 I have but it's more a pain in the arse then it's worth. I have also been powder painting jigs and things for many many years. I found rocks chip everything including powder paint rather easily and quickly. Powder painting them is easy enough but then you have to cure them. Without curing, powder paint is no harder then any other paint. With curing it is tougher but no where near rock proof. Rigging dumbbell eyes to cure in a toaster oven makes it a no go for me. Fortunately chipped paint or no paint isn't a deal breaker for a fish so I won't waste the effort to paint dumbbell eyes with any type paint. The notion that powder paint is some kind of super paint is just a notion or a sales pitch. I fish in a notoriously rocky area and I can tell you no matter what I drag across the rocks it comes back chipped after the first drift. The only way to prevent chips is to not drag stuff over rocks. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
vicrider 0 Report post Posted February 28, 2020 Norm, that is LOL. Did you also burn your finger jerking it back from the tipping bottle? Poopdeck, you are right. Like I said, I've used every paint and powder coating and nothing stands up to rock bumping a jig. I have even tried Magic Marker and UV coating but that doesn't stand up for long either but does give a nice shiny head. Maybe try that on dumbbell eyes if you feel it's necessary to paint them. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
flytire 0 Report post Posted February 28, 2020 Norm, that is LOL. Did you also burn your finger jerking it back from the tipping bottle? nope! didnt even get the chance to light the lighter (i'm smarter than most people on here think i am) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tidewaterfly 0 Report post Posted February 28, 2020 I have but it's more a pain in the arse then it's worth. I have also been powder painting jigs and things for many many years. I found rocks chip everything including powder paint rather easily and quickly. Powder painting them is easy enough but then you have to cure them. Without curing, powder paint is no harder then any other paint. With curing it is tougher but no where near rock proof. Rigging dumbbell eyes to cure in a toaster oven makes it a no go for me. Fortunately chipped paint or no paint isn't a deal breaker for a fish so I won't waste the effort to paint dumbbell eyes with any type paint. The notion that powder paint is some kind of super paint is just a notion or a sales pitch. I fish in a notoriously rocky area and I can tell you no matter what I drag across the rocks it comes back chipped after the first drift. The only way to prevent chips is to not drag stuff over rocks. I powder paint a lot of jigs now, and agree with everything you've said. I've thought about trying it with barbells, but the fact is it would take more time in prep to make it worthwhile, it's not worth the time. They'll still chip. I follow several tackle making groups, and there's folks who claim, that they beat their jigs with a hammer, blah, blah, blah, and they don't chip. I coat everything using an oven to heat for dipping in the powder and for curing. I follow the recommended temperatures as close as I can, and have a thermometer for setting the temperatures. I get a good result and it's durable, but not indestructible. Anyone who claims it is, is lying or never uses them around anything that might chip them. I have a couple of wood "jigs" for holding barbells to paint them. They hold various numbers, and one will handle almost 100 in any size. Here's what one looks like. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
flytire 0 Report post Posted February 29, 2020 heres tht captains method of painting eyes. post #13 http://www.flytyingforum.com/index.php?showtopic=78742&p=595338 i have no idea of its durability. probably the same as most other methods Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites