Hydrographics

I've just looked at the price of the DP carbon air conveyors and now I am seriously considering taking the current plastic ones to a hydrographics shop and having them transfer a carbon pattern.
Has anyone had any hydrographics done? Does the transfer last the test of time . . . I can't imagine the air conveyors getting scuffed to any degree so it wouldn't necessarily have to be that durable.
And before you all call me a cheapskate . . . i'd prefer the term canny with my money.
If the end result is not at all durable then I may suck it up and blow over $500 on the DP ones.
I just want it because I think it would look nice. I don't race. I don't need to save any weight on the bike . . . in fact me giving up beer and good food will have a much more beneficial effect than saving an ounce or two on DP CF conveyors.
I first saw the process on Wheeler Dealers:-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Y-qdsiwdX4

a friend of mine did this waste of money

That's kind of my worry, Mark. What makes you say it was a waste of money? Was the result just really poor quality? Did the transfer just scratch off/fall off?

Must depend on the applicator. It's cheap and durable if you clearcoat over it. If my gun parts can survive a few thousand rounds, I'm sure aircovers won't be a problem.

I should point out the carbon is something of a transparant pattern. Meaning, base color is going to show through, just with a carbon weave overlaid into it. The applicator will have to play around with the pattern, and some colors won't look very good if carbon is what you are going for.

Trying to match the DP carbon colour and weave pattern could well be the main challenge.

<shrug>

I'd just save the money. Nothing more tacky-looking than fake carbon fiber.

Charliem90 said:

<shrug>

I'd just save the money. Nothing more tacky-looking than fake carbon fiber.

Click to expand...

I would agree but i'd like to know how fake it actually looks once its clear coated.

Dude don't pay Ducati $500 for carbon fiber ..It is great quality but lets face it all it is for is looks.. If you add the name Ducati on to it it automatically costs two to three times as much..! When it comes to Bling bBing I shop around..
Look up Bestem Carbon fiber. They make a decent product ( While not the very best quality, they are much better than what you are going to do) The air ducts would run you about $159.00 Also the Key guard looks nice I got the Glossy version * I had to modify the holes a bit to get the fit I wanted but they look real nice..! I also ordered the rear hugger however the heat caused it to bubble up but I called them and talked to a guy named John and he was very nice and helped me out.. I ended up trading out for some other items that ended up being a little more total cost (Dash surround , Lower shark guard and upper chain guard. But they gave it to me for the same price and they even sent me a post paid slip to return the rear fender..
They are pretty easy to deal with (and much better service than I expected from a typical E bay dealer). All the stuff I ordered was shipped the next day and got to my house within three days..

I read negative comments about them from others but I had a great experience with them and will order more stuff later.
Speedy..

I would consider 3M nyloc carbon vinyl. It has a little bit of a sheen, 3d effect, not too glossy or too dull, looks really nice. A one off hydrographic job will cost much more, doesn't have that 3-d look of the real thing, just look out right cheap.

Beware of cheap chinese wrap though, looks like the 3M carbon but you dont know how good the adhesive is, would be a waste of time if they came off after a couple months. You can check them out at the local AutoZone.

My buddy did it on his lower fairings, said it was pretty easy to do, just need a heat gun or a lighter to help warming it up around tight corners and edges so that it stretches, adheres faster and doesn't leave bubbles.