Tag: Hydro Dip

Hydro Dipping – A little trial and error…

Hydro Dip

First and foremost, I am not an expert in the topics discussed below, I’m an enthusiast who is learning along the way…
 
I recently took up some interest in doing some hydro dipping of some guns, firearm accessories, and various other gizmos and gadgets I have laying around the house…
 

If you are unsure of what hydro dipping is, it is a process where a complex pattern is transferred to an object. This process can be used to decorate many types of surfaces including plastic, fiberglass, wood, ceramics, and metal using 100s of different patterns; everything from complex camouflage to geometrical designs. The basic process involves the cleaning and prepping of the surface of the object to be coated, the application of a base coat followed by the dipping process where the product is literally dipped into a tank of water with the pattern floating on top of it, followed by a thorough cleaning and then the application of a clear coat.
 
Hydro dipping is also called hydrodip, water transfer printing, water immersion printing, hydrograghic printing, hydro imaging and fluid imaging. All of these things refer to the same processes.

 
One thing I quickly noticed is that all of the at-home DIY kits (that I could find) used funky generic versions of patterns, and just were too small scale for what I was really looking to do…
 
So, what did I do? I opened up a business account with the main company that is licensed for patterns such as MultiCam and Kryptek and placed some orders for the basic materials to get started. It wasn’t a huge investment, but it definitely was a lot more than a DIY kit; and it required things like automotive paint guns, an air compressor and of course space to actually paint things with a large volume paint gun, etc. Fortunately, I have or have access to most of the required space and materials; but I definitely had to make some investments in the painting and chemical department ($300.00 and growing daily).
 

Bottom line, if you have one thing you want to hydrodip, take it to a shop that does it. It will be expensive, but much cheaper in the long run!

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