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Recommendations for dyeing plastics
Posted: Wed Dec 28, 2011 3:14 pm
by njdriver04
Want to find a good dye to make old plastics that were dye back to white, I have found letting them sit in a 1/4 bleach water for a few days helps but it only goes so far.
Re: Recommendations for dyeing plastics
Posted: Wed Dec 28, 2011 4:19 pm
by njdriver04
hope this is not redundant question, where can i get a good white dye.?
Re: Recommendations for dyeing plastics
Posted: Wed Dec 28, 2011 5:43 pm
by Coelacanth
njdriver04 wrote:hope this is not redundant question, where can i get a good white dye.?
I don't think such a thing exists, I'm afraid. RIT Dye comes in plenty of colors, from which hundreds more can be made, but none are white. RIT Dye does come in a "color remover", though...but I've never tested it, and it probably only works to remove color originally dyed with RIT Dye in the first place.
http://www.ritdye.com/store/
Unfortunately, un-dyeing colored parts other than mentioned above is probably not very feasible. Priming & painting them white might be your only recourse.
Re: Recommendations for dyeing plastics
Posted: Wed Dec 28, 2011 6:31 pm
by njdriver04
I am going to try white acrylic ink from AC Moore, expensive but will try, acrylic is a plastic base i think or something along those lines
Re: Recommendations for dyeing plastics
Posted: Thu Dec 29, 2011 1:41 pm
by njdriver04
the acrylic ink was a failure, going to use rit color remover then the rit white wash
Re: Recommendations for dyeing plastics
Posted: Thu Dec 29, 2011 2:09 pm
by klavy69
If you want to save a couple bucks forget about it. Won't work. Your best bet is to start scouring ebay for the parts you want and just replace them. Once you get them you can have black spares or you can get some Rit black dye and get them a nice dark black again, resell them and try to get some of your money back. Good luck
Todd
Re: Recommendations for dyeing plastics
Posted: Thu Dec 29, 2011 2:14 pm
by Coelacanth
What Todd said. Generally speaking, you can dye something a darker color than what it was previously, but not vice-versa.
Re: Recommendations for dyeing plastics
Posted: Fri Jan 06, 2012 5:04 pm
by Jay Dub
BTW, bleach will make Nylon parts brittle and chalky. Best not to use it. Peroxide only

. -Jeff
Re: Recommendations for dyeing plastics
Posted: Tue Jan 10, 2012 12:04 pm
by Zmd73
RIT does work I was surfing Youtube and there were a couple of how to's there. Now this is to dye it a color not to remove color.
Re: Recommendations for dyeing plastics
Posted: Tue Jan 10, 2012 1:48 pm
by Coelacanth
Zmd73 wrote:RIT does work I was surfing Youtube and there were a couple of how to's there. Now this is to dye it a color not to remove color.
His question was how to UN-dye plastics (or dye them white). Of course RIT dye works to dye nylon & plastics, it's very well-documented on this site.

Re: Recommendations for dyeing plastics
Posted: Wed Jan 29, 2014 10:35 am
by GodSpeed
Does Rit dye make the plastic/nylon parts more brittle?
I've read that (near) boiling them can rejuvenate old parts, but I'm wondering what effect the dye itself has, if any.
Also, how long does the benefit of boiling last? Do the parts return to their old state after a short time or does th boiling have an excellent long term effect?
Re: Recommendations for dyeing plastics
Posted: Wed Jan 29, 2014 11:15 am
by Coelacanth
GodSpeed wrote:Does Rit dye make the plastic/nylon parts more brittle?
I've read that (near) boiling them can rejuvenate old parts, but I'm wondering what effect the dye itself has, if any.
Also, how long does the benefit of boiling last? Do the parts return to their old state after a short time or does th boiling have an excellent long term effect?
RIT dye shouldn't make parts more brittle; as you said, boiling nylon parts in water actually does rejuvenate them and strengthen them. People have been dyeing nylon parts for years and I've never heard anyone complain about them becoming brittle after dyeing. The dye impregnates

the nylon so it shouldn't fade...unless perhaps left in the sun for years.
Re: Recommendations for dyeing plastics
Posted: Wed Jan 29, 2014 11:43 am
by GodSpeed
Great, thanks.
Too bad there's not a white dye to make older parts look new again.
I'll see what just (near) boiling them does for cleaning up and rejuvenating them.
Has it been discussed on here what Rit dye combinations and available hobby paint colours can closely match each other and, specifically, the Original RC10 orange?
I'm thinking of doing the wheels.