Failed Attempt at Sublimating a Water Bottle with a Heat Gun

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    This past weekend I attempted to sublimate a water bottle with a heat gun. I first went and bought a sublimation water bottle from Hobby Lobby. Next, I had to make the design I wanted for the water bottle so I measured the water bottle. Then, I used Affinity Designer to create my design. I found banner posters for some of the broadway musicals that I like. Below is what my design looked like.


I then printed out my design on sublimation paper using sublimation ink. After, I attached my design to the water bottle using heat resistant tape. You want to make sure the design is tight around the water bottle and not loose. Next, I used my heat gun and applied heat over the design. Making sure I moved the heat gun around and not staying in one place too long otherwise I could burn the design. Once the design starts coming through pretty dark that's when you know the design has transferred to the water bottle. I removed the paper from the bottle and I saw that it didn't turn out how I was hoping. My first mistake was that I forgot to flip the image so that when I transferred the design it would be facing the correct design, because currently my design is backward. My second mistake was that even though I moved the heat gun around and didn't stay in one spot too long, it still wound up burning. My last mistake was that I bought a mini heat gun instead of a regular heat gun. The mini heat gun doesn't go to a high enough temp and it's less powerful. Overall, I would try this again and make sure I get a good heat gun or I will use a mug press. 
Below I've added a few pictures of how it turned out. 

Materials Needed:
  • Sublimation Printer (or Access to one)
  • Heat resistant tape
  • Sublimation Water Bottle
  • Heat Gun

Comments

  1. Jack HoulihanApril 9, 2025 at 12:39 PM

    This is a really cool idea and something that I would never think to do. It is neat how much you know about water bottle sublimation. I think the water bottle still turned out nice!

    ReplyDelete

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