Hydro-Dip Reflection
During this quarter I worked with a technique called hydro-dipping. I researched on YouTube how to get a marble painted look on a guitar, without hand painting. I came across hydro-dipping which involves painting the surface of water wiht Magic Marble Paint, swirling it, then proceding to dip and item in the water to pick up the paint. However, I found that Magic Marble Paint was very expensive, so I found a way to reduce cost. After more research, I found that acrylic spray paint could be used for hydr-dipping. My first item was an acoustic guitar I found beat up without strings. I stripped, sanded, and masked the guitar before priming it. I then used the hydro-dipping technique on the guitar. At first, the guitar was heavy in the water because of the air inside the instrument. I did not anticipate this, so I had to do multiple dips with the guitar. I used polycrylic as my top-coat and hand detail-painted the middle of the guitar. Overall I was very happy with my first hydro-dipped guitar.
After painting my guitar I did a few phone cases, a rock, a water bottle, and a bench. I did not plan on painting a bench, but a fellow artist had just made the bench and asked me to paint it. I did my own phone case and some others for friends. After practicing with smaller items, I hydro-dipped my second guitar. This guitar was difficult to strip because of it’s condition and the fact that it was a classical guitar. I decided not to prime this guitar because the wood work was so beautiful. The outcome was not what I expected and I am not as satified with this guitar as I was the first. In hindsight I would have forgone the woodwork and primed the guitar so I could see the marble pattern more clearly. However, with my second guitar I learned an easier way to prime the hole in the middle of the acoustic guitar, which will be helpful in the future.
Since I am a softball player and artist, I decided to combine my interests by hydro-dipping a softball, a bat, and a helmet. I was very happy with the way all three items came out, especially the helmet. I am going to make more helmets for the end of my senior softball season. I’m excited I was able to master this technique because I can now use it as functional art in my life.
Mystic Arts and Music 