Everyone seems to have switched on to coloured weights for sea fishing these days. The two main options are powder coating and Plasti Dip.
Powder coating is effective but it can be time consuming and expensive if doing batches of weights. I have switched coating my home made weights with Plasti Dip as it gives a durable finish and is available in the colours I like.
The coating operation is fairly straight forward but can be a trifle messy so it’s not a job for the kitchen. Minimal tools and equipment are required:
- a pair of pliers;
- a stirring stick or old screwdriver;
- a drying rack;
- cardboard to catch the drips and over spray; and
- offcuts of wire bent into S shapes
The pliers are to hold the shafts of the weights when undercoating. I use an old grill pan wire rack supported by a couple of bricks to allow the painted weights to be suspended from the S bend wires.
Priming the Weights
The first stage is to prime the leads. Plasti Dip do have a primer which Dave Jolly recommends but I find it easier and more cost effective to use an acrylic spray white primer. This serves me well for painting pirks in addition to the weights. You can dip the weights without undercoating but the coverage is better when the surfaces are primed. I normally do a couple of coats to ensure decent coverage.
Once the primer has dried it’s time to move onto the actual dipping in the Plasti Dip. My preferred size of tin is the 750ml which is available in my favoured colours of Blaze Orange, Blaze Yellow and Blaze Pink. Various other colours are available either of the Blaze variety or a more muted range.
Plasti Dip Coating
The Plasti Dip keeps well when the tin is properly sealed but it does separate over time and will need vigorous stirring before each use. Loop the primed weights over one end of the S wire and dip into the mixed dip. Lift it to the surface after is has been submerged and hold in place, just touching until the runoff separates into a drip and the majority of the excess has fallen back into the tin.
Once it is mostly drip free hook the open end of the wire onto the rack. Use cardboard underneath as there will be some additional dripping as it dries. The mouths of the tins are wide enough to allow two weights to be dipped at one time.
Double Dipping
Depending upon how good the primer covering is an additional dunk into the Plasti Dip may be required for a deep finish. Leave about and hour between coats. Split colours can be produced by simply limiting the depth that the weight is submerged during the second colour coat. The split coat can be added as soon as the initial coat is touch dry.
The only down side that I have noted is that if multiple coating are used then the edges of the weights are smoothed off which can reduce seabed grip.
