project of a different sort :)

[in2fords]

Many have seen the numerous pics I post on facebook but I like to post pics so heres some over here

I am fortunate to have a few months a year off and like to tinker, I am also fortunate to have family that own body shop and a powdercoating shop. I started thinking about wanting to do my sails in carbon fiber and thought about hydrographic dipping and thought, "hmm, I can do that"

So I am still playing around with it, investment is really not bad, I picked up a cheap harbor freight detail sprayer with regulator and filter, a rubbermaid tote, a roll of masking tape, a cheap roll of hydrographic film from ebay and called express chem to get a free sample of hydrovator activator, seriously, under $40 or so.

The big secret to dipping parts? Consistency, by doing lots of practice I am slowly becoming consistent. I've read and watched hours of instructions, I really can't advise how to dip parts, there are many videos on youtube that are so much better then I am.

So far I think I am one of the few of not the only getting it to work with powdercoat, people have said that it wont stick or will burn off when getting a clear coat over it but I get to play with the oven and my uncle has 30 years experience to guide me while we both learn how to powdercoat these parts together. I have only done one part that wasnt powdercoated, a wireless mouse cover, had my father in law shoot it in clear at his body shop, seems fine but I'm mainly focusing on pc parts

Onto the pics, so far the only real item that I have done is the valve cover in carbon fiber, the rest has been sample pieces, my uncle uses steel framing studs for his samples and I have been practicing on the ones he no longer uses , while cheap and easy it does mean I cant replicate the effect with the same color since we no longer have it.

First piece was supposed to be carbon fiber but looks more like snake skin. I am slowly getting better and buying more films to play with.

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i189/in2fords/powdercoat%20and%20hydrographic%20dipping/20131231_115728_zpsgou7u8xb.jpg (http://s72.photobucket.com/user/in2fords/media/powdercoat%20and%20hydrographic%20dipping/20131231_115728_zpsgou7u8xb.jpg.html)

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i189/in2fords/powdercoat%20and%20hydrographic%20dipping/20140317_184547_zpsa6nyxbjy.jpg (http://s72.photobucket.com/user/in2fords/media/powdercoat%20and%20hydrographic%20dipping/20140317_184547_zpsa6nyxbjy.jpg.html)

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i189/in2fords/powdercoat%20and%20hydrographic%20dipping/20140425_160451_zpsp94vbupr.jpg (http://s72.photobucket.com/user/in2fords/media/powdercoat%20and%20hydrographic%20dipping/20140425_160451_zpsp94vbupr.jpg.html)

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i189/in2fords/powdercoat%20and%20hydrographic%20dipping/20140425_160501_zpsdjsdn3pr.jpg (http://s72.photobucket.com/user/in2fords/media/powdercoat%20and%20hydrographic%20dipping/20140425_160501_zpsdjsdn3pr.jpg.html)

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i189/in2fords/powdercoat%20and%20hydrographic%20dipping/20140425_160512_zps6stfsye3.jpg (http://s72.photobucket.com/user/in2fords/media/powdercoat%20and%20hydrographic%20dipping/20140425_160512_zps6stfsye3.jpg.html)

[in2fords]

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i189/in2fords/powdercoat%20and%20hydrographic%20dipping/20140427_163528_zps6g0cdxyz.jpg (http://s72.photobucket.com/user/in2fords/media/powdercoat%20and%20hydrographic%20dipping/20140427_163528_zps6g0cdxyz.jpg.html)

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i189/in2fords/powdercoat%20and%20hydrographic%20dipping/20140430_144407_zpsyu4c52w6.jpg (http://s72.photobucket.com/user/in2fords/media/powdercoat%20and%20hydrographic%20dipping/20140430_144407_zpsyu4c52w6.jpg.html)

pile of parts to practice on :)

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i189/in2fords/powdercoat%20and%20hydrographic%20dipping/20140430_220348_zpstqzz4dkt.jpg (http://s72.photobucket.com/user/in2fords/media/powdercoat%20and%20hydrographic%20dipping/20140430_220348_zpstqzz4dkt.jpg.html)

[grntRUDD13]

That carbon fiber valve cover sure looks like it turned out nice.

[SVO4PWR2]

Cool.....i was thinking about getting some of my engine parts dipped.

I'm all about having something different under the hood....OEM is nice but :avatarbeat-dead-hor

-RICH-

[in2fords]

thanks guys, its pretty easy to do the dipping but Im lucky to have a pc shop on hand :)
I really like the valve cover, I have the metal timing cover in chrome and will do the same carbon fiber on that, I have a script cover I chromed that Im thinking of doing the same thing. I have some skull patterns I want to do on the orange and a flame pattern for the yellow.
This weekend Ill be doing more dipping :) I have to order more film next week and I think im going to try some wood patterns :) A wood valve cover sounds fun :)

[baltimucho]

Work out some pricing so I can send you a valve cover.

::m::

[in2fords]

sounds like a plan, right now the biggest expense is the sand blasting, if valve covers were ready to be coated when I got them it would make it a lot easier, I cant run parts in the blaster and work the oven at the same time and some of the original coating on our VC's are a pain to get off. with the powdercoating, im still learning the pricing, being that it needs another coat of clear after I dip it only makes it more expensive. If I got a part ready to shoot, it was getting a single stage color it would be $70 alone in powdercoating with coating base color, dipping it then doing a clearcoat over it, the dipping on the other hand is cheaper, the chrome, silver and candy colors require 3 coats so they cost more.
Im hoping to have a bunch of parts ready for Bellevue for display and while doing them I get a hang of how to price them.

[65ShelbyClone]

This is really cool and I wouldn't mind trying it myself. A few questions, though:

1.) How tough is the dipped coating? Heat resistance?

2.) How did you do the silver reliefs on the Merk valve cover? Did you dip the whole thing in carbon fiber and add the silver afterward or is there a way to mask areas where you don't want the dip pattern?

[SVOfish]

hydro graphics are fine under the hood. I have a co worker ford tech that does my hydro graphics work. I am getting my merk valve cover in carbon fiber with red inserts. if you are interested here is his business site, http://www.midwesth2ographix.com/

[in2fords]

The dipping process is "easy", that is its pretty basic, you have film, lay it on water, spray activator on it, dip your part at an angle into the floating film of ink.

In reality, you have to know to tape off the borders of the film, certain way to cut slits around the border that works, certain way to lay the film on the water so it doesnt get air bubbles under it, certain amount of activator, certain amount of time before you spray the activator, determine how to watch the film to know when its ready for you to dip your part and know how to prepare your part for the image to adhere. Thats just to get it ready, then you have to look at your part, dip it so no air is trapped, know how to delicately rinse it off without damaging the print and then be able to put a clear coat on it.
All in all its not that hard, just takes practice to learn how you and your materials get along.
The materials are cheap, 21 foot by 3 foot roll of film can be had for under $40, the activator in liqued form is cheap, I think I paid $20 for a quart, I've used less then half a quart in all the spraying I have done but it requires a spray gun and compressor. You can buy it in spray cans but they look expensive to me.

As far as how I got the Merk valve cover that way, I masked it off is the short answer I taped it off, the long answer? I sandblasted and stripped it, powdercoated it "chrome" and then a coat of clear, I taped it all off, dipped it and did another coat of clear powdercoat.

As far as it handling the heat? I do it on and under powdercoat, it survives 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Hope this helps, Jeremy

[65ShelbyClone]

Great info, thanks. :like3: