About the service
I hydro dip decorative parts made of plastic and metal — interior trim strips, covers, housings, handles, brackets, small panels and hardware that you want to read as carbon weave, wood grain, stone or a quiet geometric pattern. The first thing I do is look at the part itself, not at the picture you liked. Rigid ABS, polypropylene under an adhesion promoter, aluminium, steel, MDF and cast resin all take the process well. Anything that lives next to heat is a separate conversation: hot lamp housings, shrouds near an exhaust, covers sitting close to a manifold will yellow and haze the clear coat within a season, and I would rather say that before the job than explain it after.
The work starts with disassembly and surface preparation, and that stage decides how the finish will look in two years. Clips, screws, seals and emblems come off, the part is degreased, sanded through several grits, filled where the plastic has sink marks or old scratches, then primed. The base colour underneath is not decoration — it is the ground the pattern reads against. A carbon film over light grey looks nothing like the same film over black, and wood grain needs a warm base to stay believable rather than printed. I spray primer and base, let them cure properly, and only then go to the bath. The film floats on water held at a stable temperature, the activator turns the dried ink back into a wet layer, and the part enters at an angle so the ink wraps around curves instead of trapping air. Deep recesses and compound shapes need a slower entry, and sometimes a second dip on the reverse side.
After dipping the part is rinsed thoroughly so no film carrier stays in the texture, dried, inspected under raking light for stretch marks and seams, then cleared in several coats with a UV-resistant clear. That coat is what makes the finish survive sunlight, cleaning chemicals and daily handling. Honest limits: a large-scale motif on a small bracket shows only a fragment of the drawing, and heavy stretch over sharp compound curves distorts strict geometry — on such parts I recommend fine, dense patterns. All work with activator and clear is done in a ventilated booth with a respirator, and I expect the same from anyone helping at the bath. Patterns come from my own or properly licensed film stock; protected designs and brand logos are not copied.
What is included: intake and assessment of every part; disassembly and masking; sanding, filling and priming; base colour; dipping with wrapping of complex geometry; rinsing and drying; multi-layer UV clear; edge polishing; reassembly with new clips where the old ones are tired; photo report before shipment.
The work starts with disassembly and surface preparation, and that stage decides how the finish will look in two years. Clips, screws, seals and emblems come off, the part is degreased, sanded through several grits, filled where the plastic has sink marks or old scratches, then primed. The base colour underneath is not decoration — it is the ground the pattern reads against. A carbon film over light grey looks nothing like the same film over black, and wood grain needs a warm base to stay believable rather than printed. I spray primer and base, let them cure properly, and only then go to the bath. The film floats on water held at a stable temperature, the activator turns the dried ink back into a wet layer, and the part enters at an angle so the ink wraps around curves instead of trapping air. Deep recesses and compound shapes need a slower entry, and sometimes a second dip on the reverse side.
After dipping the part is rinsed thoroughly so no film carrier stays in the texture, dried, inspected under raking light for stretch marks and seams, then cleared in several coats with a UV-resistant clear. That coat is what makes the finish survive sunlight, cleaning chemicals and daily handling. Honest limits: a large-scale motif on a small bracket shows only a fragment of the drawing, and heavy stretch over sharp compound curves distorts strict geometry — on such parts I recommend fine, dense patterns. All work with activator and clear is done in a ventilated booth with a respirator, and I expect the same from anyone helping at the bath. Patterns come from my own or properly licensed film stock; protected designs and brand logos are not copied.
What is included: intake and assessment of every part; disassembly and masking; sanding, filling and priming; base colour; dipping with wrapping of complex geometry; rinsing and drying; multi-layer UV clear; edge polishing; reassembly with new clips where the old ones are tired; photo report before shipment.
