Water Printing
Senior Member
Back Marker
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 189
From: Winnipeg,MB,Canada
Don't know a lot about it, I know that an activating agent is sprayed on and it dissolves the backing, and the print floats in the water, then the part is dunked in. I remember seeing a old episode of "American Chopper" where they did a tank and such with a $100 bill print or something and they locked it in with a few coats of clear I believe. Super cool process though, there's only 1 place where I live that does it, not even sure on the cost of it.
Senior Member
MotoGP
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 3,871
From: Phoenix, AZ
This is how most of those mock "carbon fiber" parts you see floating around ebay are made. You know, mirrors, turn signals etc. To me the process always produces a super fake looking product and I haven't seen an application where I don't just like a nice coat of paint better. The image always stretches with curves and has that old school cgi texture mapping feel. It's pretty durable, though, and definitely not a temporary decal.
But I've never really been an image heavy graphics guy. Beautiful one off airbrushed ladies on a nice clean gas tank? I'll pass... save that stuff for a painting. I like my bikes to look like bikes, my plastic to look like plastic, my carbon fiber to look like carbon fiber, aluminum to look like aluminum, paint to look like paint, and none of those used to hide the natural engineering and shape of a product.
But I've never really been an image heavy graphics guy. Beautiful one off airbrushed ladies on a nice clean gas tank? I'll pass... save that stuff for a painting. I like my bikes to look like bikes, my plastic to look like plastic, my carbon fiber to look like carbon fiber, aluminum to look like aluminum, paint to look like paint, and none of those used to hide the natural engineering and shape of a product.
Senior Member
Superstock
Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 250
From: Seattle
There's a guy that does that local to me, I contacted him about visiting and seeing how it's done, and he extended an open invitation to me.
Prices seem very reasonable, based on size.
Sin City Hydrographics | Unleash Your Style Your Way at Sin City Hydrognaphics
Prices seem very reasonable, based on size.
Sin City Hydrographics | Unleash Your Style Your Way at Sin City Hydrognaphics
Moderator
MotoGP
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 5,221
From: Gettysburg, Pa
I've contacted a local place as well. I want to get the lower of a Glock dipped like this:
They quoted me 150 w/ disassembly & reassembly which I thought was high. Guys on the Glock forum say this stuff holds up very well. They also say if you holster and re holster a lot, it will wear off. Not and issue for the bike, but if it's an area that you constantly rub on it may become one.
They quoted me 150 w/ disassembly & reassembly which I thought was high. Guys on the Glock forum say this stuff holds up very well. They also say if you holster and re holster a lot, it will wear off. Not and issue for the bike, but if it's an area that you constantly rub on it may become one.
Thread Killer
SuperBike
Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 2,097
From: Geneseo, IL
My guess it's that they'll eventually use a robotic arm to dip and develop better transfers to help improve on the stretchy graphic problem. Then 7moore7 can get his whole bike carbon fiberized like we all know he covets.
Rex Kramer-Thrill Seeker
SuperBike
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 2,312
From: Brookfield, WI
Wolverine, to keep the lower part from wearing, couldn't you dip the part, and then top coat it with some satin clear? Digital camo looks super cool in my opinion 
Those guns come apart pretty easily, ya know.
Those guns come apart pretty easily, ya know.
Senior Member
MotoGP
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 3,871
From: Phoenix, AZ
Once this world has the revelation that carbon fiber only looks cool because of the properties that it conveys I will consider myself a success. Titanium is sweet because it's color means lightweight strength, not cause brushed shiny brown grey is appealing. Digital camo is cool because it has a functional attribute. And of course yellow circles are the fastest shape so they should be everywhere. Or maybe I need brushed yellow carbon texture circles instead?
Junior Member
Squid
Joined: Dec 2015
Posts: 5
My Hawks "Water" Paintjob
I am doing something sorta similar to the hawk I got a couple weeks ago. But its floating oil paint on the water then dipping the parts not floating graphics. Ok so its not that similar but I did get to say floating twice in one sentence. I painted it once last week then rashed it before the paint was even dry so I am going to take this "opportunity" to re-do it and include some gold paint to offset the black / white. Its not the slickest paint job out there, but for a redneck with 12 cans of beer and two cans of rustolium I would say it didnt turn out to awful bad. Better then the rattlecan flat black state I got her in.
. Well, that's if he ever shows up around here again some time soon. 
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