7 replies to this topic

[cobraman]

Has anyone tried any of the Hydro Graphics on a model ? Do they even have any designs that would work in scale ? I have seen real car parts and bike parts done as well as on some firearms and it looks pretty good. I think when dry it can be masked and painted so you would'nt have to have a whole car body with the graphic only.

[Danger]

I've never heard of Hydro Graphics. What do they look like and what makes them special?  
Decals for Firearms?

Danger

[BKcustoms]

From what I understand It's a process where a design is printed on film that dissolves in water and then the printed film is set on top of water To dissolve and leave the ink "floating" on top of the water. Then the piece getting painted is submerged into the water through the ink layer and the printed design sticks to the piece. I would assume it could work on a model but I've never seen it done before.

[CadillacPat]

Regardless of the scale of the design, the thickness of the medium might be an issue at scale sizes like 1/24 or smaller.
Clearcoating could require extra layers of Clear.

CadillacPat

[cobraman]

I think you have it about right. You have to have a water tank deep enough to submerge your item in. The water is sprayed with a chemical that will disolve the carrier for the film. The item is then dunked at an angle until it is all under water. You then use a stick or something to swirl up any remaining 'print' before you pull up your item. It then has to dry and be cleared. Not sure of the thickness but I believe it is very thin. My worry would not be the thickness depending on what type of body you were going but rather the scale of the print. Thats why I asked about scale. There are many, many different prints from skulls to camo to diamond print to carbon fiber. Looks interesting but may not work for a scale model to well. If interested do a search for Hydro Graphics and you will find a bunch of sites. Not sure how to place a link but I will try.

[cobraman]

Here is a link to one place. WWW.hydroimaging.com

[jeffs396]

My worry would not be the thickness depending on what type of body you were going but rather the scale of the print. Thats why I asked about scale. There are many, many different prints from skulls to camo to diamond print to carbon fiber. Looks interesting but may not work for a scale model to well.

This is the problem Ray...the SCALE of the graphics. I inquired about this some time ago, and the company I contacted was anxious to try a few 1/24 bodies (I'll have to see if I can find my emails back & forth) but the contact there said the print was too large for our needs (camo, carbon fiber, etc). It was pretty inexpensive I thought. They had a minimum, but I think it worked out to about $15 per body?

[cobraman]

There are some companies that off a do it yourself kit for around 100 bucks or so but the size would still be a issue. I think with the kit I saw you got 10 prints of your choice that were about 1 food square.