Removing Hook Eye Paint

[kyeilding]

I've been having an issue of the hook eyes filling in while in the curing process.  Is there a way to remove this paint without chipping?

Thanks.

[Muskygary]

That paint (after baking) is really tough to get out! I like to use a drill bit that fits through the hook eye (so as to not damage the wire) and drill it out.

[Kasilofchrisn]

Obviously you are putting your paint on to thick.
Try a fluid bed and hold the jig by the eye with forceps while powder coating.
The key is keeping the paint out of the eye to begin with.
Quality jigs do not have paint in the eyes!
I refuse to buy jigs with paint in the eyes as they are usually not the best quality anyways.
That is one of the many reasons for making your own jigs and that is quality.

[bassinfool]

Buy some hemostats off amazon or better yet, if you have a friend that works in health care get them to grab you some.

[Lamar]

When baking use jig clamps from here. It will save you a lot of headaches. http://www.tjstackle.com

[andrewlamberson]

I drilled a hole into the wood brush handle of the brush I use to tap other colors onto my jigs and mounted a large sewing needle.

If I clog an eye with paint I heat the needle in my heat gun or gas stove and melt the paint out of the hole. It's best if you do it before you heat cure the power bait...but will work with cured paint.

And I also recommend jig clamps from TJs. They are Really WELL worth the $$.

Watch their videos....excellent info.

[Denny Welch]

Ditto re Lamar and Andy's endorsement of TJ's clamps.  I used to use a block of wood, a mallet and an ice pick.  Now I use a pair of hemestats and TJ's clamps.  Much easier.

[Lines]

A dremel with the smallest carving bit works well. Lowest speed setting.

[smalljaw]

You need to be careful using anything with an edge on it inside the hook eye. I learned this by accident, I nicked the inside of a hook on a flipping jig using a 1/16" drill bit on my Dremel to clean the eye out. I didn't notice it but when I went to tie it on I could feel the spot that was nicked and it only took a couple strokes back and forth for it to cut the line, never did that again. Now I use a small scrap piece of .018" diameter wire and I heat it up and stick it through the paint, and I do this before I cure but when you use a fluid bed you don't get too much paint in the eyes.

[Kasilofchrisn]

Yes I also use TJ's clamps.
Another great suggestion as they do help the excess paint from clogging the eyes.
With the clamps the excess  paint runs down the hook shank where it is more easily removed.

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

[TDM]

Rapala jig buster from this set is awesome tool,works great!

or this one!

[ctom]

Or this.



Surgical towel clamp. Paint is nary an issue. That's a 1/64 ounce head there and 1/2 ouncers are no challenge whatever.

[Kasilofchrisn]

Iv'e used some of the tools pictured to remove hook eye paint.
I didn't like the process or the end result. Sometimes I would get a sharp edge of paint that concerned me.
What I have discovered is that keeping the paint out of the eye in the first place takes less time or the same amount of time as cleaning them afterwards.
So I do my best to keep the paint out in the first place.
To me that is a sign of quality a paint free eye or at least one that still allows the line to fit through.
To each his own as I know for some strange reason some people would just as soon clean their eyes afterwards.

[bassinfool]

Using the fluid bed I find I rarely ever have to clean out the eyes of my jigs. Then again, I only make bass jigs so my hook eyes are fairly large compared to the crappie jigs some of you guys make.