type of paint used for flies or jigs

Hello there!

I was wondering - if you paint your own poppers or jigs what type of paint do you use? I am looking for something to paint by hand, not airbrushing it. I want it to be lightweight and also non-toxic of course. I don’t really know the difference between acrylic, enamel, tempura, etc and I was wondering if someone could enlighten me and perhaps recommend a type or brand.

Thanks!

Karli-Rae

Cabelas has some stuff for lead headed crappie jigs called “Powder Paint”.
Really easy to use

Karli-Rae,
Tempura is the paint they used for all of the banners in high school. Water-based, not real durable, and the colors fade quickly.
The powder paint jeffro mentions requires heat to set, and may not work well with non-metallic fly tying type stuff.
Acrylic and enamel are both good choices, as is nail polish. Just test them on a scrap piece of foam, if you want to use it on foam popper bodies. I know nail polish will melt polystyrene plastics. (Don’t ask)

Good luck.

Kirk

If you’re painting jigs, look into powder paint. It’s SO easy to get a professional-looking paint job it’s ridiculous.

If you want to brush it on, I use latex.

I use powder paint on my jigs and it is non toxic and really hard when cured in the oven. I even saw someone not long ago use some of a fly, but I will have to think about where that was. Need to dig deep for that one. I forget how he controlled the heat and not burn the thread, but he did.

On and on my poppers I use Acrylic outdoor paint from the craft part of Walmart. I use mostly Sally’s clear to over coat unless it’s FL Yellow or Chartreuse and then I use clear vinyl to over coat.

Will try to find that.

Skip

you CAN powder paint mono for eyes. doesnt require an oven for curing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1p6MH4bhaHo

it just another method to use, thats all.

Depend upon what you want to do and what you want to buy the options are length. Fingernail polish with a light coat of an epoxy afterward is very durable; fingnail polish with a coat of clear Sally Hanson over it usually last the life of the fly for me but I sacrifice frequently to the tree and log spirits.

That is cool normand - thanks

I’m with Uncle Jesse on this one. Keep it simple and don’t over-think it. When I’m making poppers, I usually start with a base color foam of either white, yellow, chartruese or black. Then if I want to add a contrasting color, I slip the popper bodies onto a piece of thin wire and give them a light spritz with another color, dark green or gray etc. I then move to fingernail polish if I want specific markings. I have never used a popper or jig that had the paint come off and that the fish cared one way or the other. A coat of epoxy makes them almost indestructible. That being said, I suggest you try an experiement. Some time when the fish are hitting good on top, switch to the same popper that is unpainted and see if it makes a difference. There may be times when popper color draws a strike or two but as an overall rule, it more for the fisherman or fly tier than the fish. They sure are fun to tie and fish with though. Just my opinion.

Sorry for the bad photography. I’m photograohically challenged, both in front of and behind the camera.

Jim Smith

I think this is the video I was thing of.
Skip

Those are some good looking fies there neighbor. That last one looks a lot like a hula popper but I really like the streamer with the wabble lip on it. As for the photography, my flies look better when they are shot out of focus, unlike yours.

Please try Floquil brand model paint called POLYSCALE. It is great(and expensive) but has very high pigment content so white will cover black in one coat, it’s thinner is rubbing alcohol or water, never, never any brush marks and blends flawlessly.

Thanks everyone for all of the information and helpful ideas!
I love this forum and it’s so awesome that people do things in so many different ways!

Cheers!

Karli-Rae

Karli,

You can tell from the various replies there that just about any type of coloring medium will work. One thing I didn’t see mentioned, maybe I missed it, was plain old permanent markers. They work fine too.

I’ve used just about everything. Two part epoxie paint (aircraft stuff, pretty, incredibly durable, pain in the tail to use), acrylics, lacquers, enamels (plain old spray paint, <$1 at the Wally World, as well as model paints), nail polish, markers, and even feathers. All will color a foam or wood or cork body.

Whichever type of coloring agent you choose, a good top coat is always a good idea. I prefer epoxy, but some of the clear acrylics are good too. Clear nail enamel works, lots of folks swear by Sally Hansen, and even clear wood finishes can be used as long as they are outdoor finishes.

The important thing is to have fun and use what you have. The fish won’t care even a little bit what you colored the lure with. And if it chips, or fades, or even if it runs a bit, it will still catch fish and you can always make another one.

Good Luck,

Buddy

Hi Albasurf,

I used CHEAP finger nail polish and have also used model paint like boys use on model cars. Both work great and are reasonably priced.

Regards,

Gandolf

if you want to try markers, check out the copic airbrush

http://copicmarker.com/

//youtu.be/ba7zcbFkxvE

just another idea, thats all

I use either, Sally Hansen’s Hard As Nails in the appropriate colors, Testors model paint (I thiink it is an enamel), or my favorite, Prismacolor markers (they make some really good Paint Markers as well, for metal heads).