# Sublimation Coating/Liquid?



## 8littlefoot8

Hello, 

I'm new to this... I'm looking for supply or process or a site which as steps on how to create a sublimation product such as coated mugs, shirts, plates, tiles, mouse pads, or any other flat products which we can personalized. 

I searched on this and the solution is called subliation coat or sublimation liquid. This is the one use so the sublimation ink will be printed on a sublimated or a coated material such as mugs/tiles etc. 

If you know anything about this process, could you post it here or send me an e-mail at [email protected]

I'm located in philippines... I hope you'll be able to help guys. 

Thanks very much! 

don


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## charles95405

I have been doing sublimation for years and I do not know of a readily available coating for do it your self sublimation....you have to buy the products that already coated or use polyester garments and use the special sublimation ink/paper/paper and...also remember this is only on white/ash garments, with some exceptions on pastels from vapor apparel


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## cagwatson

you can buy some sublimation coatings, do a search for goose juice and you will find a few products. ive literally just tried the fabric coating on 100% cotton and it 'sublimates' pretty good, however i still dont like the feeling it leaves on the t shirt compared with 100% poly shirts


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## rrc62

I've been thinking of trying this stuff for hard surfaces...

sublimation blanks polyester liquid sublimation coating for sublimation transfers create your own blanks

The coating for fabrics leaves a heavy hand which IMO defeats the biggest advantage of sublimation.


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## imeccentric

I've tried goose juice on tiles and it doesn't work well at all. At least IMHO. I've tried all kinds of layers, combos, etc and haven't been happy with any of it.

Jim
Embellishments in Thread.


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## rrc62

imeccentric said:


> I've tried goose juice on tiles and it doesn't work well at all. At least IMHO. I've tried all kinds of layers, combos, etc and haven't been happy with any of it.
> 
> Jim
> Embellishments in Thread.


Well then...That saves me $76.  I had my doubts, which is why I was procrastinating.


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## cagwatson

it does work on fabrics, but you really need to use a HVLP sprayer to get good coverage. it works v well if you want a kinda vintage look too

but i think im gonna pass on it, going forward. gonna stick with plastisols for my cotton t's and just use dye sub on blends & poly shirts


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## mystysue

I know that this place has some..Sublimation Coating - Poly Coating and 
CYO, Coat Your Our Sublimation Coating Gloss, Respirator, Replacement Cartridge for Respirator

donno how good it is.. I know with many of them on the market.. they are expensive.. and toxic.. to some extent.. as in you have to wear a mask (the good kind not the cheapo ones) and not breath any.. Plus you have to have a completely clean room.. no dust at all.. Its not an easy process from what i understand.. I myself.. just prefer to buy my products already coated.. lol.


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## charles95405

I guess I should have edited my post when I said there was not a good sublimation coating for do it yourself...I should have added there are none that I am aware of that I would personally approve or offer commercially


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## howrdstern

Laser Reproductions, Inc.


works very well ... spray can eaze...


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## charles95405

Know about LRI...used it ...didn't like it...besides you need too much gear if you read their posting. But I guess some use it


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## EnchantedMirror

I am wondering if any of these work on metal, like plain dog tags for jewelry, or do they all have to be used on "breathable" items, like wood, leather, etc? How does the wood look when used with this stuff? Thanks!


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## plan b

here is the trouble in coating yourself,,, dust will kill you, it can be done but you have to have a dust free enviroment to do this,, one speck of dust or lent will realy mess you up.


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## EnchantedMirror

plan b said:


> here is the trouble in coating yourself,,, dust will kill you, it can be done but you have to have a dust free enviroment to do this,, one speck of dust or lent will realy mess you up.


Uh oh, I am in trouble! LOL!
5 cats, and lots of glitter and fabrics and stuff.
Oh well, I guess I can try a small bottle for $11 and see how horrible it is.
I was thinking put in my Polymer Clay toaster oven to set/dry after coating, less chance of lint or dust in there while drying. I will post pics if I have any success.
What about the metals, will work, or won't?
Thanks for your reply!


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## plan b

I know of a person here on the forum that coats metal for their own use,, I think its done with powder coating, I think the success rate is good but i also think its a close held secret.


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## EnchantedMirror

plan b said:


> I know of a person here on the forum that coats metal for their own use,, I think its done with powder coating, I think the success rate is good but i also think its a close held secret.


Ah, I would love to know this secret, if they wish to PM me  If not, I understand!


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## vescera

plan b said:


> I know of a person here on the forum that coats metal for their own use,, I think its done with powder coating, I think the success rate is good but i also think its a close held secret.


I done this but with mugs, its powder coating epoxy polyester. This is dirty tehnology so for some serious bussines you must have clean environment or you will end with 300 ugly,dirty mugs for trash


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## EnchantedMirror

vescera said:


> I done this but with mugs, its powder coating epoxy polyester. This is dirty tehnology so for some serious bussines you must have clean environment or you will end with 300 ugly,dirty mugs for trash



oH, that sounds like it won't work here, then, thank you!


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## mrdavid

if any one wants some free just pay for shipping Monster Coating send me PM will send out please note that I only have 4 samples thanks


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## rrc62

mrdavid said:


> if any one wants some free just pay for shipping Monster Coating


No offense, but that stuff is a waste of time. I spent a week trying it on a variety of different substrates and it just doesn't work. I will say that if you want to try it for yourself, getting it for free is the best way. You'll be glad you didn't pay for it after you try it.


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## vescera

After one year of developing and trying I finaly have coating that can go in dishwash and that will hold for years. If someone trying to find perfect coating you must experimenting with diffrent suppliers.


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## CUSTOM UK

*Hi. I have experimented with sublimation coatings, with reasonable success. *

*An important aspect in the application to substrates, is that you thin the product down so it flows much easier. I have also experimented with polyster varnish and polyester resin, which also gave acceptable results.*

*The downside, is that all of these fluids are clear, which can be a problem if you have white in your design. For example if you apply the coating to aluminium, you will end up with silver where the white would be. Earlier posts have picked up on the need for a clean environment. I came back to one of my coatings, to find a fly stuck to it, another had one of my dog's hairs attached to it. There are clean environments and CLEAN environments. You do need a dedicated area set aside for coating, in a well ventilated area.*

*By all means experiment with it on a small scale, but don't lay out serious money unless you are sure it will be an advantage to you. It certainly gives you an opportunity to have unique products, but it isn't as convenient as buying ready made sublimation blanks.*


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## PRIMJET

mystysue said:


> I know that this place has some..Sublimation Coating - Poly Coating and
> CYO, Coat Your Our Sublimation Coating Gloss, Respirator, Replacement Cartridge for Respirator
> 
> donno how good it is.. I know with many of them on the market.. they are expensive.. and toxic.. to some extent.. as in you have to wear a mask (the good kind not the cheapo ones) and not breath any.. Plus you have to have a completely clean room.. no dust at all.. Its not an easy process from what i understand.. I myself.. just prefer to buy my products already coated.. lol.


It's a producer of pre-coats for sublimation transfer 100% without any solvent and no toxic at all.
The pre-coat for transfer on 100% cotton is with soft hand after washing and tested until 52 washings without fading or loosing parts


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## butlerjany

charles95405 said:


> Know about LRI...used it ...didn't like it...besides you need too much gear if you read their posting. But I guess some use it


 
I recently went to a workshop where the guest speaker was the owner of LRI. He mentioned that there is a coating sublimation spray available, but does not recommend using it. It does not work as well as the coating that is applied to the mugs via a heat process. He added that in the event someone received an imperfect mug from any supplier as there are many low quality suppliers out there, they may use the spray to cover up the blemished area. That is as far as he would recommend using the spray.


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## CUSTOM UK

The decent quality mugs out there, have their sublimation coating baked onto the surface during kiln firing.

The biggest advantage to most sublimation coating liquids is to produce non standard items, but the process isn't really suitable for mass production, as it becomes difficult to produce consistent results.

Spray cans are very limited in what they can do, as the problem always comes down to having a clean area in which to coat items. Plus aerosols tend to be very temperamental with indifferent spray patterns every time you pick the can up.

The sublimation coating fluid I used myself recently, only has a shelf life of about three months, which rather limits its usefulness.


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## jge

We used to manufacture and do our own sublimation coatings for many years, before we finally ended coating locally and just made a deal with a coating products supplier.

Mugs and metal can be powder coated, but it's a pain, and the wastage (especially on mugs) is high. 
With conventional spray coating, you have a number of disadvantages. 

1. If the coating is too thick, then the paper sticks to the coating during the transfer process, or the image ghosts after the transfer has been done.
2. If the coating is too thin is chips away during the transfer process.
3. If you don't add an "adhesion promoter" then the coating comes off in the wash. The adhesion promoter is extremely expensive, with a limited shelf life.
4. If you don't work in a positive pressure facility, then you get dust under the coating.
5. The mugs must be pre-washed for the coating to stick, and so on.

In the end, it wasn't worth the effort of doing our own coatings, to have a customer return 10 boxes of printed mugs, just because someone in the production line didn't wash their hands properly after having lunch, and got oil on the mugs before they were coated.

The only way to make money is by having a really good product to sell. If you waste all your efforts into trying to save a few bucks, by doing your own coatings, you will ultimately not have a lasting business. You need to decide if you want to be a coated products supplier, or a printer - you can't be both.


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## ino

One way to help stop the dust problem is to built a small tent with plastic tubes and wet the floor. Just a thought.


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## PressForProfit

plan b said:


> I know of a person here on the forum that coats metal for their own use,, I think its done with powder coating, I think the success rate is good but i also think its a close held secret.


Well cured polyester powdercoat. Sometimes just a clear powder or... clear on top of a white powder coat.

What is Powder Coating?
Powder coating is the process of coating a surface in which a powder material is applied using an electrostatic or compressed air method. The applied powder is then heated (cured) to its melting point, after which it flows to form a smooth film which dries to a firm, durable finish very resistent to scratches, cracking, peeling, UV rays and rust.

There are many types of Powder Coatings. A polyester powder should do the trick...as long as it is fully cured!

Here is an article on Sublimation and Powder Coating...
Dye Sublimation for Powder Coating - Feature Article - Finishing Today


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## jagojoli

hi all
I am looking for a supplier who can supply me with a coating liquid for 100% cotton.
I will get it in a big quantity. 
TX


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## corytrevor

I've been experimenting with applying the chemicals to metal and glass (They come in two parts that you mix before applying. Then you have a short window before it hardens.)

The image transfers well when you get it right. The problem is getting a smooth even coat. As stated earlier, dust if a huge problem too. Be prepared for a LOT of trial and error.


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## butlerjany

jagojoli said:


> hi all
> I am looking for a supplier who can supply me with a coating liquid for 100% cotton.
> I will get it in a big quantity.
> TX


As far as I know, you don't need a sublimation coating on cotton. It will work out just have a more faded look. There is a new type of transfer paper for 50/50 and 100% cotton t-shirts for use with sublimation inks. www.reichsupply.com carries this product. I don't know if others carry it. The quality is fabulous. Or you may just try 100% polyester tees such as vapor apparel.
Cost is about $0.55 per sheet.


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## PRIMJET

butlerjany said:


> As far as I know, you don't need a sublimation coating on cotton. It will work out just have a more faded look. There is a new type of transfer paper for 50/50 and 100% cotton t-shirts for use with sublimation inks. www.reichsupply.com carries this product. I don't know if others carry it. The quality is fabulous. Or you may just try 100% polyester tees such as vapor apparel.
> Cost is about $0.55 per sheet.


If it's for huge volume the liquid is better and cheaper with about USD0.13 to USD0.05 per A4 surface(following buying volume)
Also the liquid is with very strong washing resistance, with a washing possibility of more that 54 times without fading
for more informations contact: [email protected]


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## mysticglendesign

I used monster coat and monster Milk both by the one that made goose Juice I find it works quite well thoguh a tad faded on the wood. I did a wooden plaque and it came out perfect. I sprayed it with gloss after but it came out really good so for the price its not that bad.


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## conde tech

When attempting to coat your own sublimation blanks...you will end up spending a lot of wasted time and monies. Also, when having color issues..it is going to be hard for your sublimation vendor to help due to the fact your created your on substrates.


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## mysticglendesign

yeah i figured that out when trying to do a mug now I just buy my substrates from Coastal Business which is not bad priced...


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## LB

Based on another post on here, I have purchased some of this stuff 
Digi-Coat Clear Sublimation Coating
Here is the link to the company that came up with it, they are in the UK. 
Digi-Coat - DIY Substrates Coating Solution
I'll report my results when I get it and try it.


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## jge

I am familiar with the digi-coat product. Works brilliantly for flat items, but not so well on mugs, because quite simply, you can never achieve the same consistency on a curved surface with a spray can, as you can with a top of the line spray booth and spray equipment. For mugs, stick to pre-coated mugs. For flat things (tiles, crystal awards, wood and so on), the coating is excellent.


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## mamrayz

Hey, you aren't going to believe this but...I've used RAVE 4x hairspray and have had grat results!


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## jge

Hairspay ? 

Are you serious ? 

Whatever posessed you to try hairspray of all things ? 

I don't want to think what it does to your hair !


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## LB

mamrayz said:


> Hey, you aren't going to believe this but...I've used RAVE 4x hairspray and have had grat results!


Huh? Hair Spray..really? 
I did purchase the DigiCoat and it works. I tried it on some raw baltic birch plywood. It did fine, and I got kind of an antiqued kind of look on the wood. I also tried it on some white hardboard I got from Lowes, $13 for a 4x8 sheet. The sublimation worked but the material could not take the heat, so the colors were dull. I have some more experiments to do and will report more results as I get them.


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## mamrayz

jge said:


> Hairspay ?
> 
> Are you serious ?
> 
> Whatever posessed you to try hairspray of all things ?
> 
> I don't want to think what it does to your hair !


 
The part that made me try hairspray is the polymer in it. I've also tried rainx (don't work) acrylic (don't work) but this does. I'm posting a photo. The "Pray, until something changes" was done with digicoat...the "This is my idea of therapy" was done with Hairspray. The hairspray will not scratch off just like the digicoat.


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## mamrayz

here ya go:....the "pray" was done with digicoat, the "therapy" was done with hairspray. Just like the digicoat, it will not scratch off.


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## mamrayz

Also, I'm not saying digicoat doesn't work...it does! but I pay in excess of 25.00 for it per can and have to wait 5 days before it gets here (I live in Alabama). I can't afford to keep it in stock...SOooooo...I looked to an alternative. I've also tried this on a tshirt...coated the tshirt with the Rave 4x....let it dry and then pressed it for about 25 seconds....printed my transfer on a Ricoh with sublimation ink....transferred the image and had NO color loss. It was NOT faded. Well, this was a hanes 100% cotton Tshirt. I took the shirt home...washed it 3xs (I did use cold water though but you have to do that with airbrush) then dried it and it looked the same as it did when I first pressed it. the only different was the spray did yellow a bit when it was pressed, but that washed out.


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## mysticglendesign

The rave 4x is that you sprayed it 4 times or is that the brand name as i use a cheap hair spray ... but if rave works I will have to try that as I did use goose juice but I washed a hoodie I did have to dry it to see if it washed out or not ... but if this works then this will help me a lot as i can not find any good quality poly shirts that are low in price.


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## mysticglendesign

mysticglendesign said:


> The rave 4x is that you sprayed it 4 times or is that the brand name as i use a cheap hair spray ... but if rave works I will have to try that as I did use goose juice but I washed a hoodie I did have to dry it to see if it washed out or not ... but if this works then this will help me a lot as i can not find any good quality poly shirts that are low in price.



Well i washed the one with goose juice it did not fade though the slight yellowing is still there ...unfortunately.... but then i wash everything in cold water ... so that could be it ... I dunno ..


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## mamrayz

For the tshirts I sprayed the Rave 4x (brand) on the tshirt and got it pretty wet. I let it dry and did it once again. After it dried the second time I press the shirt without a transfer for 20 seconds to let it "cure" when that was done I transferred by sublimated transfer for 40 seconds. Took out from the press and saw that the transfer was bright, not faded like it usually is with cotton.


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## LB

mamrayz said:


> For the tshirts I sprayed the Rave 4x (brand) on the tshirt and got it pretty wet. I let it dry and did it once again. After it dried the second time I press the shirt without a transfer for 20 seconds to let it "cure" when that was done I transferred by sublimated transfer for 40 seconds. Took out from the press and saw that the transfer was bright, not faded like it usually is with cotton.


Cool. Necessity is the mother of invention. I too live in Alabama and share your pain on shipments. UPS comes to me so late in the day that I lose a whole day usually.


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## mysticglendesign

at what temp did you do ... 400 or what....


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## mamrayz

mysticglendesign said:


> at what temp did you do ... 400 or what....


Cure at 400 for 20 seconds...then press at 400 for 40-50 seconds.


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## mysticglendesign

okay kewl ... also is it Suave Rave4x?? sorry i am asking so many questions ...


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## mamrayz

OK..COMPLETE instructions...I had a 100% cotton tshirt...I bought some Rave 4X spray and coated the tshirt thoroughly...I let it dried and did it again....AFTER it had dried I press it for 20 seconds to cure it. After that I pressed my design for 40-50 seconds (BTW..this is a pretty crappy design since it was just a tester)







. I washed it 3xs in cold and dried it in hot. I will post my results.


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## mamrayz

mamrayz said:


> OK..COMPLETE instructions...I had a 100% cotton tshirt...I bought some Rave 4X spray and coated the tshirt thoroughly...I let it dried and did it again....AFTER it had dried I press it for 20 seconds to cure it. After that I pressed my design for 40-50 seconds (BTW..this is a pretty crappy design since it was just a tester)
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> . I washed it 3xs in cold and dried it in hot. I will post my results.


.....

THIS WAS THE EXACT color I had when I first pressed it.


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## Bodyman007

Did you use aerosol or spray bottle type of Rave? Have you washed the shirt in hot water to test the dye?


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## mamrayz

Bodyman007 said:


> Did you use aerosol or spray bottle type of Rave? Have you washed the shirt in hot water to test the dye?


I have not washed the shirt in hot water, only cold. BUT when you purchase an airbrushed tshirt they tell you to wash it in cold water. I'll probably try it over the weekend, but cotton shirts shrink in hot water.


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## mamrayz

mysticglendesign said:


> okay kewl ... also is it Suave Rave4x?? sorry i am asking so many questions ...


Rave brand...


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## Bodyman007

Rave comes in aerosol and a spray bottle, which did you use.


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## dt

Angie,
the hand is soft or heavy feel like rubber or plastisol or no hand at all ?

Thanks.


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## mamrayz

dt said:


> Angie,
> the hand is soft or heavy feel like rubber or plastisol or no hand at all ?
> 
> Thanks.


Hand? If you get the rave on your hands they will feel kinda sticky


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## mamrayz

Bodyman007 said:


> Rave comes in aerosol and a spray bottle, which did you use.


aerosol. I think the spray bottle wouldn't evenly spray everywhere. I think it would be blotchy...


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## mamrayz

You are welcome


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## texasjack49

mamrayz said:


> Hand? If you get the rave on your hands they will feel kinda sticky


"Hand" basically means how does the transfer feel on the shirt. Plastisol with an underlay is usually a heavy hand and Dye Sublimation has no hand since it absorbs into the fabric and does not sit on top. when you run your hand over Dye Sub it has no feel or does not feel any different than the unprinted part of the shirt or "no hand"
Just my simple explanation without getting to technical


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## dt

angie,

i was talking about the print on the t-shirt
sorry i wasn't clear

DT


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## mysticglendesign

dang but if ang isn't right. I did this with three t shirts ... and well maybe need to press for more than 40 seconds cause theres ink still on the papers but it works. I did a shirt for my great nephews birthday and it came out really kewl.. I will have to try the 50 to see if I can get the images a bit darker ... but great thanks Ang and I bought three cans of the rave 4x mega lol for two bucks each ... now that i know how to do this ...


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## rawbhaze

Thank you for the update.

Has anyone done an extensive wash test of at least a dozen cycles?

Has anyone tried spraying sub paper rather than the garment directly?

I'm not understanding the 20 second "curing" press. What is the reasoning for it?


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## mysticglendesign

I have washed my moms shirt that i did with one of my artwork pieces on it at least 6 times it has not faded once from what it looked like when I first pressed it. Though I did have a slight problem with the one I did for my nephew as the ink seemed to smear a bit but that might be because of washing it right after I pressed it... but it still did not fade. I don't think spraying the paper would do any good you have to spray it on the shirt for it to retain the image so that it bonds with the fabric...


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## mamrayz

Okay everybody, I found THE place to get coatings. I tried it and now I'm a believer! Message me if you want additional information!


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## charles95405

In another post you indicated you were selling this..... Are you?


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## mamrayz

Just today I became a distributor. I've tried so many things. Rave 4x works well, but I coat porcelain tiles, and if they get really wet....bye bye Rave. So yes, as of about 2 hours ago I do. You can see the results on my tiles in the album on my profile page.


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## texasjack49

the coating just adds more labor to the sublimation process, I'm sticking with commercial blank sublimation products.


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## mamrayz

It does add more labor to the process, but I pay apx .50 per 12x12 tile...coat them myself, sell them for 20.00 or more. I make over 18.00 profit per tile. It's worth it to me and once you get the hang of it...it really takes no time at all because while the coat is curing on one set, your are coating another and also pressing more.


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## mysticglendesign

I have done numerous wash cycles with my moms shirt it has not faded once though since its white I should have washed it in another cycle without my tye dye drss cause nwo its got red streaks in it oh well...


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## charles95405

Angie ..are you aware that you are not supposed to self promote? You can add your website etc in your signature block


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## Riderz Ready

You are going to have skeptics, rightfully so, on this topic as there has been many promises of coatings that actually work only to determine the process is really not effective. Although you may be doing a little self promoting, as others do on the this forum, you are opening a topic that is of interest to many - if it indeed works. 

Small suggestion - if you are truly going after this a really simple video showing you going through the coating process on a specific item and the net results will go a long way. 

Good luck with this venture.


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## sarahjayne

Sent you a mail but I'd like to try the hairspray thing - is there are manufacturers name on it? I am in Ireland and would need to find a brand equivalent, or as it is the polymers that do the "work" do think any mega hold hairspray should work?


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## okcountrygal

mamrayz said:


> For the tshirts I sprayed the Rave 4x (brand) on the tshirt and got it pretty wet. I let it dry and did it once again. After it dried the second time I press the shirt without a transfer for 20 seconds to let it "cure" when that was done I transferred by sublimated transfer for 40 seconds. Took out from the press and saw that the transfer was bright, not faded like it usually is with cotton.




Can you use Rave4 on metal such as white Aluminum and wooden items?


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## blackhawkart

I found this thread via google, looking for a sublimation coating for metal (I'm a copper artisan) has any more been posted that anyone knows of?

I guess I'll probably try the Digicoat and see how it works out-iuf anyone has tried it on metal or tile, please drop me a line and let me know-
Thanks-
Steve
I can be contacted at blackhawkgllry[USER=62030]@AT[/USER]t.net


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## jge

I've tried the Digicoat and it works well, BUT you MUST use the adhesion promoter 1st otherwise the coating starts peeling very quickly. 

You can also use Acrylic Urethane (as used on cars as a clear coating over the pain), but you must get an adhesion promoter for it (something that's isocyanate based)


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## SUGARCREEK

Have to post this, on the dyesub web site it says no polycoat, not sure if the are going to have any. There is a company in california that sells the poly coat in spray cans, not sure of the name, good results. But this is what will have you guessing, reading about polycoat products last night, some guy posted that he uses RAVE 4X MEGA HAIRSPRAY UNCENTED INSTEAD OF POLYCOAT, SPRAYS IT on the blanks, two coats, bakes in oven, sublimates the product. Not sure if this is true, but the guy seemed ligit, will try to find out more


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## o4upt

SUGARCREEK said:


> Have to post this, on the dyesub web site it says no polycoat, not sure if the are going to have any. There is a company in california that sells the poly coat in spray cans, not sure of the name, good results. But this is what will have you guessing, reading about polycoat products last night, some guy posted that he uses RAVE 4X MEGA HAIRSPRAY UNCENTED INSTEAD OF POLYCOAT, SPRAYS IT on the blanks, two coats, bakes in oven, sublimates the product. Not sure if this is true, but the guy seemed ligit, will try to find out more


hI good afternoon from Portugal 
did you get to try this rave 4 ? does it work?

TY


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## GordonM

o4upt said:


> did you get to try this rave 4 ? does it work?


It's a poor substitute for actual 1- or 2-part poly coating. It does in fact contain many of the same ingredients as a 1-part poly coating, but in far less concentration. You have to spray many coats for it to provide anything close to reasonable results. On some hard surfaces, like Formica, it hardly works at all.


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## o4upt

TY Gordon for the quick reply it seemed to good to be true lol ....
If i could buy this product in Portugal maybe would give it a try just to see how it works


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## GordonM

If you don't mind mixing two parts together, you can use most any polyester resin/catalyst to make a sublimation coating. It's available everywhere. Ask at the nearby marina where they repair boats. At least, I'm remembering Portugal has a somewhat large sea coast...


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## Tite003

GordonM said:


> If you don't mind mixing two parts together, you can use most any polyester resin/catalyst to make a sublimation coating. It's available everywhere. Ask at the nearby marina where they repair boats. At least, I'm remembering Portugal has a somewhat large sea coast...


Hi Gordon, I´ve been researching this a lot and it seems to me that there is no polyester resin liquid enough to be sprayed with a gun, at least in Spain, where I come from. I´ve been asking in some shops and they all tell me that the polyester resin must be brushed, not sprayed?

On the other hand the told me there in the US you have much more advanced products.


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## N1YDP

what is the prosses for hairspray on tiles.how many coats and do you bake them for how long and what temp?


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## jge

Hi. I've done a lot of coating in my time and I can honestly say that unless you have a specific project in mind that you need to coat for, you're better off buying the item pre-coated.

The reason is quite simple, let's use cars as an example. There's no way possible that you can paint an entire car anywhere near as well as a dedicated paint facility can do it. You need very expensive equipment, a positive pressure clean room and so on. With the sublimation coating you have exactly the same issues. 

If however you still want to try, use the same clear top coat that's used on a car. It will sublimate, but here are some essential tips.

1. Clean the item to be coated thoroughly with something like benzene - make sure no residue is left behind by the cleaning agent. 

2. For glass, ceramic and gloss metals you will need an isocyanate based bonding agent which will stick to the glossy surface. This needs to be applied first and once it's cured, the coating needs to be applied over it. If you don't use this, the coating will start flaking off pretty quickly.

3. Make a clean room. Dust and particles in the air are the enemy. Use an ioniser and an aircon to keep the temp and moisture content of the room consistent. 

4. Get a professional spray painter to do your spraying or learn hire to spray round curved surfaces without getting run marks.

5. Spray a thin coating. Thick is bad news. The coating should be an acrylic urethane. Water based is better.

6. Allow to dry and then cure at the time and temp specified for the urethane. 

7. Wear a face mask, gloves and goggles at ask times. The coating is not good for you - in fact is downright dangerous. 

Once you've gone to all this trouble you still won't have coating as good as what you get on pre-coated product. 

If when you press your coated item, the paper sticks to the coating it means you didn't cure fir long enough. Curing is usually done at 60 centigrade for an hour but varies from product to product.

good luck - you're going to need it


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## N1YDP

none of that answers my question


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## mysticglendesign

I usually do two coats of it and then cure for 20 secs at 400 after they dry ... and no i don't bake them


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## jge

I've just told you how the coating process works and you're still fixated on hairspray.


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## N1YDP

mysticglendesign said:


> I usually do two coats of it and then cure for 20 secs at 400 after they dry ... and no i don't bake them


thanks,thats what i wanted to know


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## N1YDP

mysticglendesign said:


> I usually do two coats of it and then cure for 20 secs at 400 after they dry ... and no i don't bake them


how do you cure them?what are the steps.
spray 2 coats,let dry,then transfer your design
or am i missing a step


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## N1YDP

need to know how to cure them step by step


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## SUGARCREEK

I tried coating a few things with thae poly i got, very hard to do, to get perfection without bubbles, then heating it, long process, although i did coat some scallop shells which they drag for right out front here, the sublimation worked pretty good. T he interesting thing i saw on you tube was how they coat these items we sublimate, there is a spinning machine that these items are placed on , with their own holders, and a spray gun with a fine mist of poly, and these items spin, i also head some items are dipped SEE YA


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## Sacman

I have 3 types of poly coating that I use with my Eco Solvent printer. I have never tried to oven cure it because I don't need to for eco-solvent direct printing. I did try to sublimate it once just to see what would happen and it was a hot mess. Literally it was really hot and it was a mess. 

What I have noticed is that all three of them coat very differently with my spray gun. One is specifically for plastic. It makes a very glossy very smooth surface with little to no imperfections. The imperfections that I have seen all appear to come from foreign material like dust being caught in the spray. It is either that or some fine particulates in the coating itself. Not a problem at all for a textured surface but can cause problems on smooth surfaces. I have not been able to figure out what exactly is causing it yet. 

The 2nd coating is considered a general purpose coating. Apparently the spray nozzle on my gun is not big enough because when I spray with it, it produces nice dusty cobweb like streamers all over the place. 

The 3rd is the most curious and is probably the closest to what is used for sublimation. I say this because it is a two part coating. The mix ratio sucks and is very hard to get right for low volume at 70:1. It also will produce bubbles on the surface of the item being coated. It produces a super fine glossy finish but the bubbles are a nightmare. I have not figured out how to get rid of them. I believe that if I were to clean the surface better before spraying it would eliminate the bubbles. I think they are caused because the thin coat is being stopped from the minimal amount of self leveling that it would do when it hits minute imperfections on the surface. This coating is supposed to be for glass and ceramics and I rarely have to use it. I find that even on Porcelain, the plastic coating works really well. 

I should try to oven cure something and see if it will sublimate. It would actually make some things possible that I can't do currently. My eco-solvent printer is only an A4 which limits me on size. 

The coatings I use all come from China. They all came with my printer which also came from China. I have since purchased more of the plastic coating 3 times and and the general purpose once. I have gone through about 9 liters of the one and about 4 liters of the other and I am still not great at it. I would caution anyone hoping to coat your own products because even with my known process that I have been doing for over a year I have issues and rejects and rejects can be expensive depending on what you are coating. One of the nice features is that the coating I use is that it can be cleaned off with a liberal application of 91% alcohol. I'm sure though that if I oven cured it, this would not be the case. Also, sometimes the defects don't appear until after it has been printed. If I am printing on plastic, then it is wasted since the solvent ink is designed to 'eat' into the plastic. On glass, acrylic, and other similar items, I can still clean it off and try again.


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## Sacman

So I tried to cure some of the plastic coating yesterday. After coating, I put two switch plate covers in the oven at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. 400 was way to hot. The covers turned a nice dark shade of yellow. But I still tried it. I didn't have anything on hand like a silicone sheet to transfer around the contour of the plate so I didn't get a good transfer but it kind of worked. The high points transferred pretty well but the low points were a mess making it hard to judge the level of transfer overall. I have tried to agressively scratch it off and it won't come off. Even using a metal edge doesn't remove the print or coating. It is worth another try. I need to get something flat instead. Also something that won't yellow like a ceramic tile. I have some on hand I am going to try later today.


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## N1YDP

mysticglendesign said:


> I usually do two coats of it and then cure for 20 secs at 400 after they dry ... and no i don't bake them


do you cure them in a oven?


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