CARBON HYDRO GRAPHICS

Wheeler Dealers is a popular cable TV show featuring Mike Brewer and Edd China. In the offshoot show Wheeler Dealers Trading Up, Mike acquires a 1983 Vespa Primavera ET3 in Italy. As part of the March 2013 Wheeler Dealers show, a process known as Carbon Hydro Graphic Dipping was featured. Hydro Graphic equipment had its first American patent applied for in July 1982 and is a process which can be used on many surfaces.

If a specific item or part can be painted using established techniques and is able to be immersed in water, it will generally be suitable for having Hydro Graphics applied. Application commences once a part has been painted and before coats of lacquer are added. PAH-film which has had graphics printed onto is placed on the surface of the water in the dipping tank. Clear film carrying the graphic image(s) is water soluble, and after an activator is added the film dissolves.

After the dipping process has commenced the surface tension of the water allows the graphics to adhere to any shape of the item being processed. Bonding printed graphics is via a chemical reaction triggered by an activator. There are a growing number of specialised outlets that offer Hydro Graphic Print Transfer in the UK. There are even Hydro Graphic home kits available online for the more adventurous, though without a physics A-level or extensive Health and Safety qualifications, personally I’d leave it to the experts.