After a season or two of banging rocks and scraping the bottom of your favorite fishing hole, it's not unusual for jigs to start looking a little shop worn. However, that can be remedied if you know how to use powder paint.

Powder paint is a "no-muss, no-fuss" way of adding color to you jigs. It has absolutely no odor, is fast drying and gives a professional, high gloss finish to your lures. Once you start working working with powder paint, you'll wonder why you didn't do it sooner.

Any decent tackle store or anywhere you can purchase lure making materials should have powder paint. The first thing you'll notice upon opening a jar of powder paint is that it's completely dry--as dry as ash. No wonder it's called "powder paint!


Before you begin, put the lid back on the paint and give it a shake to break up any settling. If the jar is too full, use a spoon to give it a stir and you're ready to start.

To use powder paint, you'll need a heat source. Some manufacturers say to use a small torch. I totally disagree and this and this point kept me away from powder paint for several years. A torch gets things too hot too quickly. I prefer to use a candle and simply hold the jig by the hook to wave it through the candle's heat. What you don't want to do is hold the jig directly in the flame and blacken it. Another reason I prefer a candle is that you can feel the heat starting to rise in the jig. If the jig becomes uncomfortable to hold, it's probably getting too hot. How long should you hold it in the fire? That will depend on the size of the jig. I usually go with 5-10 seconds on the top, bottom, and both sides for a total of 20-40 seconds. Another reason the length varies is because of the metal involved. In most jigs, heat travels fast because they are often lead. However, some non-lead products such as bismuth also allow quick heat transfer but be careful because bismuth melts at and even lower temperature than lead!


After the jig is heated, swish it through the powder paint with a side to side motion and cover the entire lure. Never jam your jig into the paint! This makes the paint cake up and it gets hard to work with. Afterward, remove the jig immediately and tap off and loose powder.

Right about now, you'll probably see the paint start to melt. If this happens, you're close to the right heat. If it remains powdery, hold it over the flame until the paint begins to melt. If the paint is smoking, things are too hot.

Right now, your jigs can be used as they are. However, there's still one more step some instructions leave out.

Although you can use the lure at this point, I suggest baking the lure for around 20-25 minutes at 250 degrees which comes out to 120 C. You can speed things along and use 350 degrees for 15 minutes but you run the risk of the powder paint running and IF you touch up jigs you already have and they may have a fiber weed guard on them there's always the chance of your weed guard melting. You may get around this problem by wrapping some aluminum foil around guard but, I prefer doing this AND using the lower temperature. This is also a reason I use a candle rather than a torch.

You can use the hook and hang your jigs from the oven rack or use a rack for baking. At any rate, you don't want to lay the jigs on one side and heat won't cover the area properly and creates a visual flaw. I don't usually worry about details such as this but, powder paint is so easy to use that you'll hate yourself if you try and cut corners or rush things..