Hydrographics, hydrodipping, whatever you call it. My engine cover looks cool anyway!

I went to a car show a few weeks ago with a friend, haven't been to one in awhile and this one promised festivities and vendors. One of the vendors was a place that did hydrographics, and it turned out to be 7 miles from where I work. We talked a bit and discussed $, and about a week ago I dropped this off.

I find myself looking at everything on the car now thinking "what about this?" I'm even contemplating the wheels over the winter (I love the white wheels, until a mile down the road and they are dirty again). The price for this was $80 and I had a 20% off coupon from the car show...

Anyone else try this? I had read about it, but didn't realize someone so close was available. (Now I'm seeing Youtube videos about how easy it is, I'm thinking about trying small parts myself)

My boss had a deer skull dipped with real tree camo. It was pretty crazy how well that technique works.

I've dealt with it on a hobbyist level. The ability to get some wicked multicolor paint swirls on anything with little more than some model paint and a bucket of water is intense. I've never tried it with sheet graphics, tho.

Is this the process that Wheeler Dealers used on the cool FD RX-7 snake skin pattern wheels?

Mazdax605 wrote: Is this the process that Wheeler Dealers used on the cool FD RX-7 snake skin pattern wheels?

Yes.

I've also seen it done with Spray Paints sprayed on water.

I thinks it's brilliant in its simplicity. Seems so obvious a procedure to be so relatively new to the scene.

dansxr2 wrote: I've also seen it done with Spray Paints sprayed on water.

Thats where i started. I was intent on dipping my Rotas. However, those got sold as part of the divorce.

Is this the process that Wheeler Dealers used on the horribly tacky FD RX-7 snake skin pattern wheels?

FTFY

If I understand correctly, you still need to shoot a layer of clear coat if you want it to be durable.

mblommel wrote:

Is this the process that Wheeler Dealers used on the horribly tacky FD RX-7 snake skin pattern wheels?

FTFY

Opinion not fact. I wouldn't do that to my car, but you can't deny they made that car better. All the snake stuff was reversible and I thought pretty cool. The process of doing the wheels was amazingly cool.

In reply to NOHOME:

The clear coat definitely makes it look more like real carbon fiber. They had 5-6 different cf patterns, this one looked the most "real" to me. And in person the clear really makes it.

A local powder coater started doing this process. Picked up some parts and watched them do a motorcycle gas tank in some skulls and cross bones from a sheet. They also do a fair amount of guns in camo. Not sure how it is cured or post treatments.

You can buy the blank clear sheets and color laser print your own graphics on them. I have been meaning to try this on an all white motorcycle helmet for about two years now but never actually got around to it.

Back in the 80's it was popular to just float a bunch of paint in a tub of water and dip stuff like dashboards, mc gas tanks and fenders, etc to make (IMO hideous) tiger stripes or goofy swirls. The idea that I can make a negative of an actual image/repeat and paint it on a 3D object is so much cooler.

Fake carbon makes me sad.

so how do you align anything? that would bug me.

bluej wrote: so how do you align anything? that would bug me.

sheet gets held in the tank by dividers you can orient the part that way. Hydro has been around for a long long time its just now easy enough that you can do it as a small business or in the garage. All it takes is a heated tank some spray gear and your as good as ready to go. You can do smaller parts on the bench with hot water and a HF airbrush gun.

Just like painting if the surface is smooth and prepped it looks good, on a poorly prepped surface it looks less good, but the camp designs can cover a multitude of injection marks sins.

wearymicrobe wrote:

bluej wrote: so how do you align anything? that would bug me.

sheet gets held in the tank by dividers you can orient the part that way. Hydro has been around for a long long time its just now easy enough that you can do it as a small business or in the garage. All it takes is a heated tank some spray gear and your as good as ready to go. You can do smaller parts on the bench with hot water and a HF airbrush gun. Just like painting if the surface is smooth and prepped it looks good, on a poorly prepped surface it looks less good, but the camp designs can cover a multitude of injection marks sins.

Its been used for camo on helmets and the like for quite a while as an example.