Cupcake — Hydrodip Finish

[Aleph Null]

The circuit came together easily, but I couldn't get it to bias properly with default values. After some experimentation, I ended up changing R11 from 2.4k to 1.2k.





I got some help from my daughters (3 and 7) with the finish. It's a dark blue powder coat with light blue and black hydro dip on top. We actually dipped twice to get better coverage, which gives the finish some extra depth.





It's a nice squishy compressor, fairly transparent, very little distortion.

[blackhatboojum]

That finish is awesome looking.  It like the enclosure was chiseled out of a block of marble.

[Aleph Null]

Thanks! Hydro dipping is a lot of fun once you get the technique down.

[jimilee]

Thanks! Hydro dipping is a lot of fun once you get the technique down.

Got anything you could share?


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[cooder]

Great build, looking trippy!

Thanks! Hydro dipping is a lot of fun once you get the technique down.

Got anything you could share?


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I did years ago a number of swirl finishes not with hydro dipping but with splatting into acrylic paint,
tutorial here:
https://www.madbeanpedals.com/forum/index.php?topic=20462.0

[Aleph Null]

Thanks! Hydro dipping is a lot of fun once you get the technique down.

Got anything you could share?


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A lot of the tutorials I could find recommend using special enamels and putting some amount of borax in warm water to get the paints to float. I didn't have any success with that approach.

I had better luck using spray paint. I'd recommend starting with a larger bucket than you think you need. Water temperature doesn't seem to matter. Spray in small bursts at a low angle to the surface of the water. Pause in between bursts and build up a film on the surface slowly. The force from the propellant is usually enough to swirl the paints, but you could also get swirls by stirring the water to get it moving before adding paint. You can stir with a stick afterwards, but I found this made it harder to get even coverage as the paint would clump to itself.

It doesn't actually take much paint. Too much results in lumpy texture and slow dry times. You might also get bubbles that pop and leave pock marks. I'd also recommend drying with a hair dryer to remove excess water once the paint is applied.

The paint will stick to everything, so wearing gloves is a good idea. I held the enclosure by sticking a loop of masking tape to the inside, then grabbing that. Plan your course before starting. Leading with an edge tends to get the best results. You can move the enclosure around at the surface to pick up more paint, but moving up and down, in and out of the water usually results in smudges where you get two layers of paint.

Clear coat goes on normally. I tried to use a water slide decal over a hydro dip once, but there was too much texture to get adhesion.

Cheers!

[jimilee]

Hey thank you. That's the easiest method I've seen yet. I don't have time for all that borax stuff.


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[Paradox916]

Looks good! That has really nice marbling!.... Idea someone need to do this and make it look a rib-eye!
 


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[nzCdog]

Beautiful. Congrats

[Aleph Null]

Looks good! That has really nice marbling!.... Idea someone need to do this and make it look a rib-eye!

Maybe put a DOD Meatbox inside?