Perfect Doming in 6 Easy Steps

I've had a couple of people ask me recently about doming - a great way to add protection and a professional finish to all sorts of items including ID cards, medals, coins, trophies and key fobs.

I have been using a polyurethane doming kit for years with great success and wanted to show you how easy it is...

6 Easy Steps

1. About half an hour before you intend doming, estimate the number of cartridges you will need for the work and stand them upright so that any nitrogen bubbles rise to the mixer cap.

 
 
 
 

2. Place the labels to be domed on a sheet of metal, plywood or toughened glass.
Spraymount the label media down to ensure they are flat and level.

 
 
 
 
 

3. Assemble the gun as shown. Unclip the hinged cartridge retaining bracket and insert the plunger into the gun handle. Insert a dual-barrel cartridge into the retaining bracket (hold the gun with the mixer cap pointing upwards to prevent nitrogen bubbles returning into the fluid).

 
 
 

4. Remove the cap, ensure the cartridge is tilted upwards, and holding a plastic cup underneath, slowly squeeze the handle so that the fluid rises to the top of both tubes.

 
 
 
 
 

5. Hold the gun nozzle about 25mm above the label and gently squeeze the handle.

Aim to cover approx two thirds of the area to be domed. Extra resin can always be applied some minutes after the first application.

 
 
 

6. If, after a few minutes, there are small air bubbles it is important to remove these by applying heat from the heat gun supplied.

 
 
 
 
 
Doming Hints & Tips
 
1. Allow a minimum corner radius of 1.5mm when designing square or oblong shapes for doming,as the resin will not flow to form sharp points.
2. We recommend that you leave at least a 6mm gap between labels to reduce the risk of overspills between labels.
3. Ensure that working and curing areas are clean, dry, warm and dust free.
4. Any deposits of hardened resin that might be present around the sealing rings in the neck of the cartridge tubes can be removed with a craft knife, small screwdriver or other suitable pointed object.
5. Use a cocktail stick, matchstick or similar object to work resin into the edges or corners of labels with complex shapes (this won't be necessary for round, oval or other simple shapes).
6. If the polyurethane spills over the badge or decal you can scoop up the excess with a blunt craft knife then quickly run the point of the knife around the profile of the decal to prevent further overspill.