How to make aquaprint by yourself at home

Any surface needs decoration. So owners of expensive foreign cars and other prestigious equipment can decide. Even a complex form can be covered with an exquisite pattern, to give things an individuality. This purpose is the technology of aquaprint. This is not only a design technique, but also an opportunity to open your own small business. The more so that aquaprint at home is quite feasible.

How to create a drawing

The image, put on this technology, can give an expensive and prestigious car an even more elegant look. Of course, in order to get such a service, it is enough to apply to masters in technical centers. But, having become acquainted with the material below, you conclude that the whole process is quite feasible at home. The choice of colors and images is large enough. For example, you can make a cover under the skin of reptiles, fur and camouflage. Very popular imitations of wood, steel, stone, aluminum and titanium. To create an aquaprint with your own hands, you need a spacious room. Its area should be no less than twenty meters. It must separate the place where all materials will be stored. It is necessary to have all engineering communications in the work area: water supply, ventilation, sewerage. It is necessary to ensure that there is no dust in the room, and the temperature is maintained at 18 to 24 degrees Celsius. The humidity of air should be from forty to seventy percent.

Feature of technology

The method of coating the most complex surfaces, called Aqua Print (or immersion seal), was invented by the Japanese in the 80s of the twentieth century. As the name implies, water is required, it is poured into a special container and brought to a temperature of twenty degrees. The process is based on the application of a special film to almost any surface. It immediately performs two functions: it serves as a decoration and protection against the influence of temperatures (ranging from minus forty-five to plus one hundred and fifty degrees Celsius), cracking, vibration. In addition, the decorative coating helps to prevent the negative effects of various solvents, seawater and ultraviolet radiation. And thus you can decorate metal, plastic, glass, porcelain, wood, ceramics.

Required material

To make aquaprint by yourself at home, you will need the following: a large bath with water, a boiler, a film, an atomizer, a thermometer, an air compressor and a timer. For beginners who are going to deal with immersion printing at home, there are special sets on sale. If you intend to turn this occupation into your own business, it is better to purchase special equipment for aquaprinting. To work with paints, varnishes and activator, you will need a compressor and spray guns.

Surface preparation for painting

Before creating an aquaprint with your own hands, you need to process the object, which is supposed to decorate. First, it is wiped with a solvent to degrease. If you are going to decorate the interior of the car, you must first remove the rubberized compound. They are covered with plastic surfaces. If the item is polished, then it is enough to simply rub it. The next step is sandpaper processing to remove all the roughness and make the thing perfectly smooth. To prepare the surface of the object to apply soil, you need a primer for plastic. It can be purchased at a specialized store. Then apply the car primer and expect it to dry completely. Only after this the surface is sanded once more. Then the part is painted in the basic, basic color.

Step-by-step instruction

To get a bath for aquaprint, you can create a special tank with your own hands. For small details at the initial stage of activity it is enough to take a basin or a bucket. In the tank you need to collect water and heat it. The temperature can range from twenty-nine to thirty-one degrees. Now you need a special film for aquaprint, you can buy it in stores. It carries the future drawing. It must be cut and made at the edges of notches two centimeters. Now you need to determine the sticky edge of it. This can be learned with a simple manipulation: you need to moisten your index and thumbs and pinch them with a film. Then it will need to be immersed in water with the side that is sticky. After drawing, you need to fix it, and remove all bubbles from the surface of the film (you can use a hairdryer for this). From above on it it is necessary to put a spray-activator, under its influence the material becomes liquid and will spread to the edge of the container. Now you need a detail that you plan to decorate, dip into the resulting composition. After that, the surface to be decorated must be rinsed and dried. Then the decorated object should be covered with a protective varnish. In this way, aquaprint is produced with your own hands. This is a matter with which a novice can cope. As a result, you get a very beautiful and high-quality thing.