Hydrographics

When my mother turned 90 the entire family got together to celebrate this happy occasion. Everyone in the family knows that I am a "gun guy" so it was only natural that my 22-year old nephew, Nathan, came to me with a gun question. He wanted to go duck hunting with some of his friends in the fall and asked me what shotgun to buy. My somewhat glib response was to get something that would go bang and kill a duck! After a brief moment of confusion he then asked me what brand of shotgun I would recommend.

I told him Remington, Mossberg, Browning, Winchester—just to name a few—all made fine shotguns; it would really depend on what he could afford. I made it clear to him, however, that it’s The forearm has been painted with the primer and base coat and is ready to be dipped. The dowel in the forearm helped me hold it for dipping without having to touch the part. not the gun that’s important; it’s the man behind the gun that counts. At the time, I owned three 12 gauge Winchester Model 1300 shotguns.

One was a Defender model that I use for 3 Gun competition and the other two were field grade. I decided to gift one of these field-grade guns to Nathan (how many of us received our first gun as a gift from a father, uncle, or mentor?) but I wanted to prepare it for him for duck hunting by adding camouflage. There are a number of methods to camouflage a gun; some good and others not so good. The easiest method is to paint a camouflage pattern onto the gun.

Watch the movie Shooter with Mark Wahlberg and notice how he uses camouflage paint with natural leaves and sticks as stencils to apply a camouflage pattern to a sniper rifle. Pre-cut stencils make the patterns look more realistic but painting can be messy. Unless you use a stencil, the pattern is not very realistic. Paint can also build up, changing tolerances of close-fit parts.

Slip-on covers, tape, and heatshrink wrap are more realistic and temporary but they can get in the way of moving parts, sights, and the ejection port. Hydrographics A very popular method for adding camouflage to a gun is using hydrographics, sometimes called liquid printing, water printing, or water transfer imaging. Many firearms manufacturers are using this method to enhance their factory guns.

Apiece of film is produced by printing a camouflage pattern onto a watersoluble backing, cut to the desired size, and placed into a tank of water. This causes the backing to dissolve, leaving the pattern floating on top of the water. A chemical activator is sprayed onto the pattern which causes the ink to turn to liquid. The prepared part is then dipped into the liquefied pattern, causing it to wrap

The masking tape frame prevents the film from curling when it is laid in the water. The masking tape floating on top of the water prevents the wet film from expanding too far and destroying the pattern. itself around the part. After the nowcamouflaged part is dried it is coated with a clear coat to protect the finish. This camouflage method is permanent, the patterns are very realistic, and the clear coat protects the gun so you never have to keep the outside oiled or worry about rust.

I did some research on the Internet and found a company that sells a do- No water should be allowed to sit on top of the film or it will not adhere to the part. Notice how the slits are separated. The film is ready for apart to be dipped. it-yourself hydrographics kit called My Dip Kit (mydipkit.com). They have many different patterns to choose from including 58 camouflage patterns.

The complete kit comes with four spray cans (primer, base coat color, activator, and clear coat finish), latex gloves, a brown coarse scrub pad, mask, and a sheet of the pattern film. They have three different kits to choose from. I chose the "designer" kit which comes with 2.5 square meters of film. This provided plenty of film to cover the gun and enough to practice, learn, and make mistakes.

For duck hunting in a marsh environment I chose the Vzion Outdoors Boggy Vision pattern because duck hunting usually takes place in a marshland environment. This particular pattern had a rightside-up, which meant I couldn’t cover both sides of apart with one dip as one side would have the pattern upside down. Would ducks notice the difference? Of course not, but I would. This meant I would do half of each part at a time. Preparation I completely disassembled the gun into the major components I planned to dip.

I used 120-grit sand paper to

Although the kit came with one pair of latex gloves I purchased a box of vinyl gloves because I was doing multiple dips. Without the gloves my hands would have become "camouflaged" by the liquid ink. roughen all of the areas to be covered. Any rust needs to be completely removed as rust will continue to corrode the metal even under the paint. Before masking the parts I made sure the inside of all parts to be dipped in water were well coated with oil.

I didn’t want any rust to appear inside the gun where I wouldn’t be able to reach it. I used masking tape to mask off any areas I didn’t want to get covered, such as the magazine tube. Because I planned to dip only half of the receiver, butt stock, and barrel at a time I masked off the half not being covered. I added Each part to be covered needs to be painted first with the gray etch primer, then with the base coat color. Painting should be done in a well-ventilated area.

The kit comes with a mask to prevent breathing in paint fumes. I used multiple light coats to cover each part and allowed the paint to dry for one hour before applying a second coat. Multiple light coats of paint are better than one heavy coat which could run. The base coat color provided was labeled tan, but it was really light beige. Much of the pattern film is clear which allows the base coat color to come through. By changing the base coat color you can change the overall color of the result.

I cut out the sheets I needed to cover each part of the gun. There needed to be enough film to cover The butt stock and receiver I dipped one side at a time. The forearm I dipped and rolled to get the pattern to cover the top. Happy birthday, Nathan! wooden dowels used as handles for dipping, and used modeling clay to plug any holes to prevent paint spray or ink from penetrating inside the part. the piece with some leftover. More is better.

Following the instructions, I laid masking tape on the film to create a frame, and then cut out around the frame. The film was not wide enough to cover the entire barrel so I laid the barrel onto the film at an angle so I could cut one long piece. I put apiece of white poster board behind the film when laying it out for cutting to make it easier to see. My cutting table is brown which made the film very difficult to see. It is camouflage after all!

The Process Any container that will hold water can serve as a dipping tank. It has to be long and wide enough to allow about one inch of clearance around the film to allow it to expand and deep enough to be able to submerge the entire part at a 30-degree angle. I borrowed one of my wife’s plastic storage bins and filled it with 80-degree water, checked with a cooking thermometer to ensure the water coming out of the tap was at proper temperature.

If the tank is too large the instructions advised laying a masking tape frame on top of the water to prevent the film from expanding too far. I was careful not to fill the tank too much to prevent spills when dipping the part and possibly ruining the film. The next step is to cut slits through the masking tape border around the sheet of film to be used. I cut the slits completely through the masking tape. These slits allow the film to expand once sprayed with the activator.

Holding two opposite corners of the film together like a sling, I carefully laid the film on top of the water. I was careful not to get any water onto the top of the film or it would not adhere to the part. I left the film (Continued on page 21)

on top of the water for exactly 60 seconds. This softens the backing and turns it into a jelly-like liquid. Now it’s time to turn the ink into liquid. I sprayed a thin, even layer of the activator onto the film and it immediately started to expand. The tank and/or masking-tape border prevents the film from expanding too far. If the film expands too much, the pattern will become distorted or completely dissolve. After about 20 seconds the film became shiny indicating it was ready for dipping.

With the part properly prepared and painted, I held it at a 30-degree angle and slowly dipped it into the liquid ink. This prevents air bubbles from forming. Where air bubbles form the ink will not stick to the part and will wash off during the rinse process, leaving base-color dots throughout the pattern. With the part completely submerged I gave it a gentle shake to separate it from any unused film. I had to be careful not to touch the newly covered part or to allow the part to touch the bottom of the tank.

The ink is still liquid at this point and can be rubbed off. After removing the part from the tank I rinsed it off with warm running water until the part was no longer shiny. This indicates that all of the jellied backing was removed. I allowed the part to air dry, then sprayed it with two coats of the provided matte clear coat. I performed the same process to the other half of the parts after masking the newly camouflaged half.

I removed all masking and plugs, made sure all the parts were properly lubricated, and reassembled the gun. I presented the completed shotgun to Nathan for his birthday and everyone was amazed at the camouflage. I warned him not to set it down and walk away or he might not be able to find it again! Pretty good considering I performed all of the dipping in my bathroom. The process doesn’t require much space, just a source of running water.

One major advantage of hydrographics is that you are not limited to camouflage patterns. I’ve seen guns finished with skulls, flames, carbon fiber, wood grain, or pretty much any pattern you can think of. This provides a great alternative to paint for aluminum receivers that may need an original finish or refinishing. There are many professional companies providing hydrographics services but even the small shop owner can add this to his repertoire of services. AG