Clear coat over nail polish?

[Shoemoo]

I powder coat my jigs, but recently I've been experimenting with dipping the painted heads in glitter nail polish for added effects. Nail polish has a bad reaction with some plastics, but I keep my hand tied jigs separate so it's never been that big of a deal. However, I've been asked to make some of the nail polished jigs to sell. I don't want people who buy my jigs to end up with a melted mess in their tackle box. What's the best way to seal them?

I know CS sells clear coat powder, but I need something that doesn't require high heat to cure. Baking nail polish does not work well.

 

[CrappieHappy]

I think a clear vinyl would be your only option...

 

[Jig Man]

I deffer all questions concerning powder paint to Radtexan or wtex.....Rad also claims to know a good deal about white bou!!!

 

[LedHed]

Thinned out devcon epoxy (30 min.). You will have to rotate the jigs while drying. Rod wrapping epoxy will work also.

 

[blt]

I have an issue with powder paint clear coats leaving green specs on the white jigs. Have seen on other forums people seeing the same issue. Now I paint, then bake, then powder clear coat and hold over air gun to smooth out. Have no iisues with any other color, only white.

 

[cadman]

I will have to agree with LedHed, that is my first choice of clearcoat. My second choice is E-tex. Both dry clear and are very hard when cured. I on the other hand do not rotate my jigs. I stand them up on end and let it dry that way. Both are self leveling epoxies and if you don't apply too much it will never run. If it does, the first half hour you can wipe the excess off with your paint brush. It will only slide down your hook shank so no big deal.

 

[toadfrog]

Beware Vinyl paint and plastics do not mix . Looks ok at the start but left in the package or mixed in the box and the plastic will cause the vinyl to become a gooie mess .

 

[Fatman]

Shoe

I usually use a two part epoxy from Component Systems but they have a one part that isn't supposed to smell to bad and it's ready to go out of the jar.

http://www.csipaint.com/products/liquid-coatings/epoxy-top-coat-lure-jig-paint.asp

 

[AtticaFish]

Used to paint with nothing but nail polish - would paint the colors as i wanted then top coat with at least 2 coats of Sally Hansen Hard As Nails clear polish. Seemed that only certain plastics re-acted with it. Some would melt to goo, others would not melt but give the jig head color a hazy/cloudy look and others would not have any effect at all. The nail polish WILL EAT THROUGH styrafoam too. :beat-up: Lesson learned.

Think that epoxy would be the best bet, but there is drying time and posibility of drips if you use too much...... what color effect are you trying to get with the nail polish? May be something that can be re-created using powder paint and solve your problem.

 

[LedHed]

Cadman - what is the dry time on the etex? do you thin your Devcon? with alcohol?

 

[toadfrog]

Have used acetone mostly for thinning epoxy . Never tried alcohol . That would be less toxic .

 

[Pup]

I'm on board with LedHed and Cadman. Devcon 2 Ton 30-minute Epoxy (D2T) is my choice.

I don't choose to thin it. In my experience, it's unnecessary for my needs. Unless, I want to reduce the amount of air bubbles appearing in the mixture of resin and hardener. Normally, I see most air bubbles dissipating or traveling down to the collar and over the hook shank when my coated jig head is positioned vertically.

See this article. I believe it's a good writeup that applies to most two-part epoxies.

Thinning Epoxy

For those wanting to try D2T, you might read its technical data sheet.

D2T TDS

This document lists the epoxy's solvents. I chose to thin it with 99% isopropyl alcohol in the past. Nowadays, I'll only thin 5-minute epoxy when I have no other epoxy to use and I want to have additional working time before it begins to cure. However, that's a pain to me and really is not worth my effort. I travel to my local Ace Hardware to purchase D2T.

 

[Fatman]

Jig tying board turns to Chemistry 101!!!!!!!! I LIKE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Can you imagine our old chem teachers seeing how we talk about this stuff, Ya didn't want to know a thing about it in HS LOL

 

[cadman]

LedHed,
E-tex takers at least 2-3 dyas to fully cure and harden, which is the down side, however it is crystal clear when it dries. Unlike D2T. D2t has a slight amber tint to it. You don't see this on dark color, but if you take two white jigs painted the same white and you put D2T on one and E-tex on another, the E-tex will out shine the D2T. I love the sparkle of E-tex, but obviously the drying time is slow.

As far as thinning goes. I do not thin anything as I believe it weakens the epoxy and makes it molecularly unstable. Also I tried thinning it awhile back with acetone and the acetone reacted with my powder paint and ruined it. So no more thinning for me. Just me though, as many guys thin and it seems fine. What I rather do if it is too thick on the application, is to hit the jig with a heat gun, and the epoxy will thin out and drip down. Remember, not to burn the jig as you will melt it with a heat gun.

For those that want to thin, I do know that denatured alcohol works. Stay away from acetone.

 

[Lost Pole]

Excuse me if this is a dumb question but cldnt you just use a high gloss lacquer? Or does it not harden enough?

 

[LedHed]

LP - I think most FP is lacquer or enamel. The epoxies are a stronger cover.

Great info Ted. Any luck with rod wrapping epoxy? Have some old stuff that needs to be used up.

 

[Lost Pole]

Thx Led.
Would the lacquer be suitable for securing a whip finish under my last chenille wrap? I've been using it thinned so it sinks in and doesn't crust up the chenille. But if it's not Gon hold, I'm moving on.
Sounds like I need to go epoxy just wish it wasn't so expensive.