Paint that won't chip?

[djamieson]

I was wondering if anyone could recommend some inexpensive paints for fly-tying that won't chip once they hit the water. Sometimes I like to use paints on heavier flies or saltwater flies--usually painting dumbbell eyes or bead chain, for instance--but the paints I've used have come off after a day's fishing. I've seen a couple of vinyl paints marketed at fly-fishing sites online, but they're very expensive. (Around $10 for a little bottle, one color.) Is there anything at the craft stores like Michael's that would do the trick?

Best,

Dave

[rookie]

Try your powdered paints or even epoxy paints. Powdered paint is very easy to use and very durable. Epoxy paint is a little messier to use but very durable.

[Buddy Sanders]

Dave,

What makes the stuff come off of the lead is a lack of adhesion. Lead oxidizes quickly, and those dumbell eyes you are buying are not close to 'newly made'. If they look a dull gray, rather than a shiny appearance, they have oxidized and paint doesn't stick very well.

First, CLEAN the lead BEFORE you paint it. Some very fine (600 grit) wet/dry paper will work well, THEN wipe the lead with some white vinegar. This will let the paint stick to it properly.

Testors Enamel, the solvent based stuff you can buy in the model sections at any place that sells plastic models, is good stuff and is cheap. Acrylic paint that is sold in any hobby or craft store, will work just fine too. The vinyl 'lure and jig' paint is good stuff, but it is expensive and it's a pain in the tail to work with.

A couple of other tips:

You should go by a dollar store and pick up a 'set' of cheap drill bits, the ones that come in that little plastic case for a buck-not worth a darn for actually drilling anything, but they make great eye markers with a good size graduation and can be kept together in that handy little case....

Paint your lead eyes in bunches, not one at a time 'on the fly'. You can stick them into a cheap plastic comb to hold them while you do this. I drilled a hole in one end of the comb, so I can stick a paper clip through it to hang it up while the eyes dry.

To get a really nice effect and make the eyes even more durable, put a drop of clear epoxy over them once the paint has dried. DevCon '2-ton' epoxy, sold at grocery, discount, and hardwarer stores all over the place (looks like a double barrelled syringe), is only a couple of bucks per package and makes a good, storng, overcoat for such things...looks really good too.

If you want to do a bunch of eyes at a time, to speed things up try a spray enemel for the 'base coat'. That 96 cent a can WalMart spray is actually prety good paint. I like to prespray all my lead eyes with a coat of white before I do anything else to them-I can store them in the white without them oxidizing so if I need to paint some in a particular color, I just go to it without having to clean them first. Just lay them on some wax paper, or any thing you don't care about getting paint on, spray, ley that dry a couple of minutes, shake them to 'roll them over, and do the other side-if you do this a couple-three times, it covers and you aren't having to 'handle' each one...it's the 'ends' that really matter here...

Good Luck!

Buddy

[Joe Valencic]

Buddy nailed it with the surface prep being the most crucial step in ANY painting job. This includes what you do around the house as well. As for flies, I buy cheap nail polish from the Dollar Store and follow them up with a coat of clear coat like Sally Hansen's Hard As Nails or any clear coat nail polish. This really increases the durability of the finish, and is compatible with the other finger nail polish as well. You want to stay away from dissimilar coatings like enamel base coat with lacquer clear coat, as you may experience a "wrinkle finish" from the solvents in the dissimilar coatings.

Have fun, and as Buddy said, if you do batch jobs of painting eyes followed with a clear finish, then your tying won't be interrupted waiting for coatings to dry. The eyes will be ready when you are.

Joe

[ducksterman]

I had to learn the hard way...what Joe said about incompatability....

The acrylic paints are compatible with fingernail polish...learned from a fellow FAOL person....thanks.

[djamieson]

Hey guys,

Thanks for everyone's advice--and thanks especially to Buddy for explaining why the paint hasn't been holding. Our shad will be arriving here in Washington DC in about two months, so I'm going to be tying up some heavier shad flies, as well as some shad darts and spoons for the spin rod. I think I'll swing by the dollar store and pick up some nail polishes and clear coat and give that a try. Sounds like putting on a finish is crucial. (If I can get to a craft store I'll pick up some acrylics.) I knew my fellow FAOL'ers would have some thrifty solutions! I just didn't want to plunk down $6 apiece for tiny bottles of lure paint when that hard-earned money could eventually go toward a beautiful new 5 weight that I don't need at all. Best,

Dave

[William Fitzgerald]

Henry Ford used to say "You can have any color paint on your car as long as it's black". Going back a few years all we had was black thread and if we wished to have a color we painted red yellow etc. I use the Testors and Sally Hansen black or red adding a clear coat of polish. HM----one Testor cap has 15 cents on the cap and another over $1---prices must have gone up thru the years. BILL

[Ray Kunz]

Try using a toothbrush to scrub the lead eyes in vinegar, painting with TESTOR'S PLA and then coating with epoxy. They'll be bulletproof.