# sublimation on stainless steel



## WasherTech (Mar 18, 2010)

Hi everyone, I have stainless steel part that looks like a key I would like to use the sublimation process on I know it needs to be coated. My question is what is used to coat (were can this be bought), or is there someone who coats metal. Any help will be helpful.


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## charles95405 (Feb 1, 2007)

aftermarket coatings do not work...I have been doing sublimation for over 9 years and the problems are:
1) it is hard to get an even, run less coating
2) on hard surfaces, it will scratch easily and rub off as the dye is only on the coating and will not hold up in normal use.

I have never found/tried any 3rd party coating that would give a commercially viable product


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## Conde_David (May 29, 2008)

Yes I agree and coatings must be prop 65 tested.
Best to buy precoated.


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## jpkevin (Oct 22, 2007)

Hi Garret,

If you give me a call, I can hook you up with someone that may be able to help you out. There are certainly a lot of ifs, but there is a good chance.


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## freebird1963 (Jan 21, 2007)

Check out Paul of octi-tech. He is on the Dyesub.org forum. He has some sprays for coating.
Its called digi coat. www.digicoat.com
There is one supplier here in the us. I can't recall their name.

Good luck
Mark


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## R2DS (Nov 15, 2007)

On the subject of coatings - has anyone tried the Pony Coat product that The Paper Ranch carries? They seem very hyped on it. My 'test' bottle for hard substrates should be arriving today ...


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## freebird1963 (Jan 21, 2007)

Reka
I am very interested in how it works for ya.
Please keep a post of your trial and tribulations with it. Think alot of people will be interested in hearing about it.

Good Luck
Mark


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## R2DS (Nov 15, 2007)

You bet! I've learned so much from people doing just that - it's the least I can do in return (... though I have to say, I was hoping to save a bit of tribulation by hearing from someone here who's used the stuff before!). 
To be continued ....


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## freebird1963 (Jan 21, 2007)

several guys on the dyesub.org have used this type of coating stuff before and most say its not worth the effort.
Results are sub par according to them.
But most of the posts are older and hopefully new advances have been made in this type of product.
One thing that most said was you had to have a very clean area to keep dust off the sprayed product till dry.

The Octi tech guy seems to be a sublimate forefather so I figure if someone like that was producing the product and come out with a new one some advances had to be made (or hoping they had). Why else risk the money, time and reputation on it.

Well keep me informed. I hope to buy some of the stuff. Money and the room I'd do this in is well not to well maintained in cleaniness.

Good Luck
Mark


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## Conde_David (May 29, 2008)

Get an MSDS and prop 65 sheet first.


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## cape-point (Mar 31, 2010)

Where do you get pre-treated 50/50 shirts to use for sublimation instead of using the sprays?


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## R2DS (Nov 15, 2007)

O.k., so here's the update on the Pony Coat for Hard Substrates from The Paper Ranch: IT WORKS! 

At least it does on the unglazed stone tiles supplied to us by a potential customer. Because these tiles are so porous, I thought it'd be better to be safe, so I applied 3 coats to tiles - letting it cure for about an hour before applying subsequent coat. After the third coat, we let the tiles cure for close to 16 hrs.

The Pony Coat is a very thin, sealant type milky looking liquid that dries clear - it does give a slight sheen to the unglazed tile.

I am attaching a photo of two tiles - one printed without the coating, and one after coating. Please bear in mind, this is the customer's chosen image - a very muted, grey photo of a clam shell, printed onto a grey stone tile (go figure!). It almost gives the illusion of a fossil - which I suppose is what they are going for. 

I will post another photo tomorrow after we print a more colorful image on a coated tile (waiting for image from customer - since these are his samples, we have to print his images).

Now I just need to figure out how to price this job (everyone cross your finger that we get it - heaven forbid they decide to go w/ screening these puppies). Normally we provide the substrate w/ all our jobs, so am a bit of a novice at pricing out this type of job - plus we've never had to coat anything before. Feel free to put your two cents in, folks!

Reka


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## R2DS (Nov 15, 2007)

Hi - I, personally, don't recommend using 50/50's for dye sub - someone on this forum just raved about how good the results are, that his customers don't see any great difference between 100% poly & the 50/50's, and of course they cost less. Well, I tried it - and forget it - my customers who are used to the Vapor Apparel shirts & the vibrant colors on them would NEVER accept these 50/50's, the colors are extremely muted and become even fainter after the first wash.

On the other hand, I have been using 35/65 blends in infant wear (that's 65% poly) - and the results are really really nice - only a slightly muted result (yes, even after washing).

Here is a photo of one of the 35/65 infant shirts.

Reka


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