Coating lead weights

Maybe someone remembers I started a thread on this way back when on one of the other forums. Some ideas were floated including plasti-dip and plasti-dip spray. I have some experience with these materials. The spray is no good, the layer is too thin and weak. The liquid is better but it doesn't go on evenly and it's hard to fit the dive weight in the relatively thin container that the stuff comes in. Plus there's the problem of plugging the belt slot. If you start brushing it on it really goes on unevenly. The adhesion of plati-dip is also not the best so what keeps it on well is an encapsulating effect. Because of the slot and the relative thinness of the weight around one side of it, the encapsulating effect is lost.

I'm thinking that the best way is with Herculiner. I'm really amazed at this stuff, I use it on my speargun handles. It is brushed or sponged on, dries as thick as you can lay it on and has good adhesion. The textured finish may even add to the non slip effect which I'm looking for. I've only seen Herculiner in black color but I guess it could be worse. I'll do a couple of weights and post back.

No need to seal the slot as Herculiner can be sponged on. It has pretty good adhesion so I think I can do it without encapsulating the weight. The nice thing about Herculiner is that you can touch up as need be in the future, it adheres well to itself in a dry state.

Finally got around to doing this little project. I started with just one weight and coated it entirely. I then realized how much I like the retro look of the uncoated weights, it really makes me happy. So I gave up on the idea of coating the weights for aesthetic reasons. The other factor I wanted to deal with was the sliding action of the weight belt while diving. For this I figured that coating only the surface that comes in contact with my body will be enough so I went ahead with it.

The adhesion of the Herculiner to the lead is very good. Remember this stuff was designed to paint metal (truck beds). I know the adhesion is good becasue I tried to scrape some off and it was hard to get off. It remains to be seen whether exposure to salt water will loosen it up somewhat. I feel that the encapsulating effect may not be necessary and only one coated surface will hold.

The texture of the Herculine surface is probably more pronounced than what is apparent in the pic. I think this stuff should really dig into the wetsuit and hold it's place. I will update on this after I use the weights diving. A note: the texture is rough enough that it would be uncomfortable to wear the coated weights on bare skin, probably uncomfortable in rash guards too.

That can be achieved partly by letting the rough stuff sink to the bottom of the can. I always need to stir it real good to get the particles that create the texture.

I remember around $30 a can at Pep Boys. I forget what size can because I've used quite a bit since I bought it and transferred it to a new smaller can. You have to be careful and not let the stuff fall on the part where the can lid fits, you'll have to destroy the can to open it again after that.

I used the coated weights today. The Herculiner has a death grip around the wetsuit. The weights didn't shift position one centimeter from the time I put them on. I highly recommend this system. The only drawback is it would be uncomfortable against bare skin. I've yet to see how it feels with rashguards on.