Frag Out! Magazine

an association. Why do I think like that? The reason is I had the same, either. But after getting familiar with water transfer printing it turned out that besides water used in the process of pattern application there are practically no other similarities… Water transfer – Explain please? According to an urban legend this technology was developed – of course – for the U.S. Army in order to cover with camouflage an army equipment. However, it is known that a technology is used to print over car parts. In this technology a selected pattern is applied on the element using water as a carrier of the foil with a pattern and an activator. A process of applying is multi-stage and rather labor- and time-intensive (about it further). It is not either cheap, but the final effects and a possibility to finish elements with complex shapes made it worth to decide for it. Certainly, if it is not enough for you to paint a firearm or helmet with a spray. Whole process begins from preparing a surface – it can be plastic, metal, composites, wood, etc. In practice, there is a few kinds of plastic on which one cannot apply a pattern. Preparing a surface comes down to even and prime it, as before an ordinary varnishing. It is understandable because the next stage is an appropriate preparing and priming by application of the priming paint which enables precise and permanent adhesion of the foil with a pattern. Unfortunately, all of these takes time… The next stage is to prepare a foil what comes down to cutting a suitable part of it. One must leave some periphery to be sure that an element will be exactly coated. The more skilled is a person who applies a pattern, the less periphery area is needed, but all the same, one always leaves a lot of it. All in all it is better to lose some foil than take a risk that a process should be conducted again from the beginning because one has only one attempt when it comes to its applying. When a priming paint dries out, an object is secured by a safeguard tape so that a foil does not adhere to places which should preserve a natural color. Then in the bathtub used 1. Surface preparation 2. Primed surface www.fragoutmag.com

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