custom painted freedive/spearfishing wetsuit.

[thrax50]

Great video! How well did the paint job hold up? Any cracking or flaking after a few dives or after washing? Also, is that textile medium heat activated or did you paint that on first, wait for it to dry and then applied the acrylic? Thx!

[freediver4life]

@thrax50 Thanks for the comment! The paint holds up extremely well, even for saltwater use. Its been a year now since i did the paint job, and its held up great! Its my only freedive/spearfishing suit i have, so with in the past year, i have dove with it very often! There's no cracking or flaking either! The textile medium is added directly with what ever color you are using and there is no heat to be applied or wait time. Just mix and paint it on. good luck with your project!

[thrax50]

@freediver4life Oh wonderful! Can't wait to try it out! Thank you!!

[DrCephalopus]

Innovative!

[iggy58]

LOL.

[iggy58]

Besides, at La Jolla Shores where I said we were diving, you are not allowed to hunt or remove anything due to it being a Natural Game Preserve. Plenty of Plaques and Signs in all languages. Lots of people from around the world dive there and know about it. Every once in a while we get a Freediver comming out with game speaking a foreign language and wondering why he is getting arrested. LOL

[lhp70]

@iggy58 Didn't know that. You could have me arrested then. LOL

[iggy58]

This whole discussion was painting a wetsuit, and then a retard troll yoga piece of crap shows up and starts passing judgements. Next time read carefully and when about to jump to conclusions lhp70 ask. Come see me in La Jolla if you dont understand.

[lhp70]

@iggy58 "yoga troll piece of crap". If I ever went to La Jolla to see you, I'd like the purpose of my visit to be spearfishing. Not really a fan of wasting my time with internet badasses.

[TheFFFQQQZZZ]

Hey i may sound stupid but im just getting into spearfishing and want to turn a full black wetsuit into a painted camo will it show up on black and heres where i may sound dumb i really never draw or paint and want to try and was wondering if you have had any training or had someone help or did you do this with no artistic experience or help? Please reply i would like to start soon and dont want to pay my moms paint teacher to help. Thanks!

[freediver4life]

@TheFFFQQQZZZ the black suit is really a great back ground color to start with. just dont be afraid to really layer and put a lot of color on. the first layer you put down will soak into the fabric good so you just need to keep applying color until you can really see it come through. im naturally pretty artistic, so this was easy for me to do. but with practice, anyone at any level can do this. just look at different camo suit patterns and find one you like the look of and replicate it.

[iggy58]

P.S. As I showered off at La Jolla Shores in my dive gear I heard several comments of , wow nice suit, better than those cammo ones the feedivers wear. Those look like pajamas." One comment from a scuba diver "So why are you wearing cammo? With the tanks the fish are gonna spook with all the bubbles." I said, "Haha! Son, I am testing my homemade cammo paint job I did myself at deeper depth and longer times than a freediver"- He said "You did that? Nice! Can you do mine?

[freediver4life]

@iggy58 Right on my brother!!! Sounds like you did an awesome job with it! I probably dive once a week, and the paint is still holding strong as ever!!! Would be cool to see your work!

[iggy58]

@freediver4life as soon as I get my camera back or replaced I will load a video in your honor. Thanks again bro, Im gonna do some more extra suits I have just becuase!!!!!! Thanks a million again brother.

[lhp70]

@iggy58 Spearfishing with tanks? Thumbs down.

[iggy58]

@lhp70 Um, I dont spearfish with tanks on retard. And never said I did. I wanted to take my experiment deep and for a long time to check for any side effects on my paint job. Next time ask before you make open your mouth retard.

[lhp70]

@iggy58 All you had to say was that you don´t spear with tanks. I didn't know you were a neuropsychologist to diagnose based on a mistaken interpretation of your ambiguous text. I'm glad your paint job worked out fine. And no, I don't have to ask permission to state my opinion even if it a wrong one.

[iggy58]

Back again brother! We did a few dives Saturday July 2. Everyone that saw my suit loved it and thought the cammo was better than the ones offered by the big companies. I did mine brown, gray green first layer, bright green, dull green to simulate kelp in sunshine and at depth on the second layer. Left in my pickup in the heat for 2 hours let dry for 5 days not 7 like the directions read. It was a success. 60 foot scuba dives for 48 minutes and deco, The colors stayed on. Everyone love my suit.

[iggy58]

Oh, I also noticed that when you use the Flow Enhancer drops with the whole mix of paint and fabric medium, the first coat a sand grey color i brushed on, went right into the neoprene (Ripcurl 3/4/5 Surfsuit I use for diving) you can do soft blends first by dabbing on patterns with a 1 inch brush then blend it around with a moist rag. I stretched the suit and the colors dont crack at all it looks as if the rubber was made that color from the factory. Thanks again brother!!!!

[freediver4life]

@iggy58 awesome! yes, the neoprene fabric does absorb and take in the colors well, so dont be afraid to really put a lot on! once the initail first layer takes in, the next layers on top of that goes on better! Glad i could help!

[iggy58]

Well I finally got around to doing my wetsuit. Only, I added one more thing, a flow liquid that helps the paint flow better by the same company. Used the textile medium as you instructed, but it says to seal with heat (iron) then wait 7days before washing. I dont plan on sealing with iron, just left it in the sun a little. How long did u wait till you went into the ocean with it? Thanks again for the tips fellow frogman!

[iggy58]

Thanks for the tips brother. I am a scuba diver and plan on free diving as well. Have always been curious about it. Did some free diving as a kid now at 52 I have the time and practice. I paint and draw as well. I was just stumped as how to apply the medium so it would stay. It was obvious but you helped. Thanks freediver4life! By the way, cool suit brother!

[freediver4life]

@iggy58 I appreciate the comment! Just give it a try and you'll be amazed the more you start to blend and layer in your colors! You're already an artist, so this should be no problem for you! Let me know how it turns out for you! Good luck with it!

[TheKikomag8]

Perfect job!

Better than most brand camo wetsuits. You are a real artist...

I will try that tecnik on my old one.

[freediver4life]

@TheKikomag8 Thanks! The trick to having the 3-D effect is to just keep layering the colors on top of each other slightly overlapping with varied patterns without having such a defined line to it.

[mcleezy1]

nice job dude love it  hows the paint been working in the water any spots it come off?

[freediver4life]

@mcleezy1 Thanks! By adding the textile medium to the acrylic paint, it makes it bond to fabric and makes it washable. Ive dove with the suit since the video about a dozen or so times and its holding very well. No paint has come off. When the paint dries, it hardens into the fabric and becomes a little rubbery texture so it holds up really well in the ocean!