Lead Coating Powder - Gravel Camo

Product detailed description

Gravel Camo is a speckled “gravel-style” camo tone made for hard bottoms – gravel, stones, coarse sand, and mixed bottom transitions. This rubberized coating creates a tough, abrasion-resistant surface that helps protect your weight when it constantly bumps and scrapes along the bottom.

In practice it’s most often used for heavy carp leads and casting weights (in-line leads, backleads, flat leads, lead hangers and other weights that take harder abuse). Compared to classic powder paint, this rubber coating powder is thicker and heavier, which you’ll notice especially in a fluid bed setup – for stable and even airflow we recommend the Hailea ACO 208 compressor, as it delivers consistent output with enough reserve for rubberized coatings.

Big advantage: you can mix shades together. Gravel Camo is a strong base for natural “dirty/stone” blends – it tones things down and makes the finish look more realistic on rough ground. Mix small batches first and always test one piece before doing a full run.

recommended coating process (field-proven):

1. prep: clean and degrease the lead (clean surface = better adhesion)

2. heat: heat the lead to approx. 160–200 °C (hot-air oven usually 10–15 min, heat gun only a few seconds – the lead must not start melting)

3. apply the coating:

   • fluid bed: best for batches; rubberized coating needs stable airflow (that’s why Hailea ACO 208)
   • quick dip into powder: dip the hot lead briefly and pull it out immediately; shake the powder container beforehand

4. tap off: gently tap off excess powder for an even layer

5. cure: for maximum durability, bake at about 180 °C for 10–20 min

6. cool down: let it cool in open air or hang it to cure fully

tip for a gravel camo finish: for a more broken “gravel” look, lightly dust a darker shade onto the hot base coat (or pre-mix shades) and then cure.