A few better shots of the hydrographic work and my star addiction

[coloradoman25]

Doing these is a work in progress but my friend and I are attempting to refine the process a bit more.

[Trem]

That white with flames is pretty fucking fantastic. They all look cool.

[coloradoman25]

Thats my number one it plays like a dream. Not usually into thin necks but that is actually an r1 that feels freakin great

[Gartron]

Love the star with the maple neck !

[chuckbat]

Really digging the one with the sharkies. I don't know what color to call it, but its awesome. Kinda looks like something from outer space.

[Drake S.]

Hey Chuckbat , That's called Holo Flash, Very Cool finish Chris. I didn't know you could do that finish.,with the Hydrographics.

[coloradoman25]

The holoflash isnt a hydro but its another one I am messing with.

[chuckbat]

Hey Chuckbat , That's called Holo Flash, Very Cool finish Chris. I didn't know you could do that finish.,with the Hydrographics.

Whatever you call it, I like it and it fits that guitar nice

[joshulator]

I need to be educated. What are hydrographics? They certainly look good!!

[coloradoman25]

Josh hydrographics are basically a film style shrink wrap that is activated using a certain type of basepaint, water and some chemicals, The body is then dipped into a vat of liquid and the film bonds just like a paint to the body.

The only downside is you get a seam line somewhere on on the edge, but we are exprimenting with the best way to break the graphic edge. We are also going to attempt a face graphic only here in the next few weeks, I dont see any issue with it and it should be even easier than entire body graphic and might make the process even more reasonable.


Holoflash is a heat transfer film that can be applied over any guitars finish. It is much harder to get good results on an old finish though. Anything that I am doing is getting a new clear base and then gets the film. After it sets up for 24 hours after the film is applied i use a water based clear to finish it off. A traditional non waterbased clear will eat up the film and kill the luster.

[Learn Guitars]

Hydrographic technology is getting better and better.

[coloradoman25]

That it is mike but its never gonna be able to replace work like you do IMO. Theres just so much more personalization available in a traditional paint finish. And the key is in the details on this stuff IMO.

Dont get me wrong i like a lot of the holofinishes, and the graniess and pixelation that used to be an issue is becoming a thing of the past, but if I could afford it I have a star body that would be coming your way. I am saving some cash up to hopefully make that finish you and I talked about a reality.

[joshulator]

Interesting. Is this something already in common use in the industry?

Also, I'm curious about the dipping it in liquid part as I would think this would be bad for the wood. Is this different than if you were to dip the guitar body in water?

[Jacksonkv2akis]

Awesome!!! Amazing stars!!!

[coloradoman25]

Its a water dip, and no worse than doing a swirl. I am working on perfecting it as even waxing has left a few small blems. I am going to inject wax into each of the screw holes using a syringe and needle on the next one and i believe it will cure the issues i have experienced as minor as they are.

I dont think its common at all currently, but I would expect to see growth as the finishes and options become more guitar friendly.