Rocker cover - how was this done?

[Alyman]

Spotted this rocker cover for sale recently... I'm not a fan of the actual hundred dollar bill design, but I'm interested to know how it was acheived.

My guess is that the design is printed onto some kind of plastic, which is then stretched over the rocker cover (some of the bills near corners/edges look a bit stretched), then pulled flush against the metal (using a vacuum?) and finally heat cured or something.

All speculation though, as I can't find anything about such a technique online...

Anyone got any ideas?

[d6dph]

Vinyl wrap is my guess, Rocker covers don't get too hot so it should last ok.

In fact I'm going to try it on my spare cover, Just got to decide what to print tomorrow?

[JWaller360]

I guy I used to know when I had my 106 (from the owners club) used to work at a place that did a process where a printed design was sort of floated onto the part to be covered (If you think about model plane water slide transfers, I believe it was similar to that) and then lacquered. He had his whole engine bay done in some pretty funky designs at some of the shows I saw him at, like lemon and limes on the rocker covers, ECU covers etc etc.

[ImysE30]

That looks well cool, where did you find it?

[beardymat]

saw the floating technique on american chopper, its printed on a kind of plastic which when floated in the correct chemical becomes liquid and floats, the piece is then brought up through it and the design is transfered to it, they did a safari design on a bike and it looked good but even after watching it i couldnt understand how they got it so perfect.

That rocker cover looks hedious though.

[Rav335uk]

That rocker would be on a "Gangsta" ride in the Hood Bro'

[Alyman]

I've been doing some more digging... it looks to me like it's been done using the water transfer process that some have mentioned. Essentially, an image is printed onto a special film then floated onto a solution. An activator is sprayed on then the part is dipped "through" the image. Seems to be popular in the US for making rifle bits camolflaged and in Germany for making things look like they're carbon fibre

Here's a cool youtube clip of it in action:

[youtube][/youtube]

[johnt0709]

That's clever - I thought he was just going to dump it in.

[Blitz]

Thats some kind of voodoo witch craft.

[Duke137]

Thats some crazy sh1t right there

[a8dyc]

Thats impressive,I wonder how long it stays on for.

[tunnyx]

Do a search for garnish uk, theyre a company weve done work for, and do this stuff, even giving you mock tudor wood alloy wheels if you want. I bet its their system if not them themselves

[e30topless]

saw the floating technique on american chopper, its printed on a kind of plastic which when floated in the correct chemical becomes liquid and floats, the piece is then brought up through it and the design is transfered to it, they did a safari design on a bike and it looked good but even after watching it i couldnt understand how they got it so perfect.

That rocker cover looks hedious though.

I saw that too matt , amazing how it worked, isn't it sprayed with an activater after dipping?

[tomislav]

Thats fuckin awesome, really really magically awesome!!!!

Where does it and how much does it cost???

[Alyman]

The hundred dollar bill rocker cover and the youtube clip I've posted are both from Germany - I think the technique is more popular there.

On a side note, it turns out my original theory is possible too - a 'pictaflex' printer transfers images onto 3d objects using a vacuum and heat. I couldn't find any vids of the actual machine in operation, but the theory of it is explained here: http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Pictaflex

[320Touring]

Damn you aly with your witchcraft and seriously cool artsy stuff!

I expect to see a pimp'd rocker cover on your turd soon!

would be awesome to do one that was a picture of the pistons etc or valves!

[ImysE30]

This company does it, £500ish for a set of wheels. Wonder how long it lasts though?

http://www.garnishdip.co.uk/Prices.html

Group buy for some rocker covers?

[beardymat]

a pic of what you see with the rocker cover off would be cool, imagine the double takes as you start the engine with people thinking the cover was off and people expecting to get covered in engine oil

[bedumon]

That stuff looks really good.

After a bit of googling I came across this kit. http://www.mydipkit.com/

I would have given this a shot if the kit had a carbon print....