Bad Batch or Mixed Wrong?

[Kaikias]

I am trying to get back into doing some dyes but am having a problem. I mixed a batch of black and it just isn't working. I don't know why but it will not dye a disk. I used one package of rit to 1 1/2 quarts of water. I though I didn't have enough rit so I added another package and still the same thing. I am heating up the rit/water and letting it sit for 45 min and all I get is a washed out black. My red and Blue came out fine. Any clue on what could be going on? Could it be that I mixed the water/rit too hot or cold?

Edit: Powder Rit on Z and star plastic.

 

[apdrvya]

possibly too cold. you want the water just hot enough to be able to touch the sides of the pot... from what I was told. 45 minutes seems like a long time to sit.

 

[Kaikias]

To cold when I mixed it? I let the pan get to just slightly steaming and then cut it off. Then if it starts to get cold turn it back on.

 

[Kaikias]

The one on the right is my test disc and you can see the blue and red came out way better than the black. The pictures doesn't do it justice but the black just looks washed out, like and old dye.

 

[Kaikias]

I found this on rit web page. I may have mixed it cold.

"If water is not hot enough, heat water in a tea kettle or the microwave. The hotter the dye bath, the stronger the colors will be."

 

[yawpstang64]

When first mixing the Rit powder, I bring the water to a boil and then add Rit (quickly cutting the heat or else it bubbles a lot). It helps with saturation I believe.

 

[barneco]

Definitely mind the heat advice already given. Another thing to pay attention to is making sure the disc is clean before dipping. After prepping(stamp...etc) hit it with one final pass of alcohol/acetone and no more touching before the dip. In my experience, skin oil or dirt/general funk can have negative effects. Clean is good.

 

[tomn8r]

I now always "rinse" the discs off with rubbing alcohol before dipping, as i did today & the color was still a little weak/blocthy. Maybe old dye? It was satisfactory though!

 

[ATXtech]

I had a similar problem last night when I tried to dye an ion. I started with 1 pack of rid dye in 32oz of water heated to 120 deg F. I let the disc soak for ~25 min and pulled it to check. It had just barely taken a light shade of gray so I decided to add another pack of dye and reheat the pan. After doing that I soaked it another 40 minutes and still came out light.

Not sure what I did wrong, I only used 1 pack of dye last time I did black and it came out really dark on Z plastic, star plastic & champion plastic after only soaking about 20 minutes. Also the Ion was clean, I had washed it with both acetone and soapy water before masking it.

Besides it being a bit light, it came out great

 

[Kaikias]

I dumped that batch and bought a new box. BOILED the water then turned off water and added dye and mixed. If you look on box it says for best results mix dye at 145 Deg F. Fixed my problem.

 

[ATXtech]

I dumped that batch and bought a new box. BOILED the water then turned off water and added dye and mixed. If you look on box it says for best results mix dye at 145 Deg F. Fixed my problem.

Awesome, I'm heading to the store after work to get a few more boxes. Glad to hear you got it sorted out!:thmbup:

 

[Fishy]

Also the Ion was clean, I had washed it with both acetone and soapy water before masking it.

you hit it with soap after acetone? maybe a slight residue got left behind :\ doesn't quite make sense. I have a bottle of liquid black that I add a bit to the mixture if it starts looking weak. kinda like spiking the mix.. worked on a yin and yang skull I did when it wasn't getting dark enough.. beats throwing out a batch in the middle of a dye. once I get rolling I hate stopping.

 

[ATXtech]

you hit it with soap after acetone? maybe a slight residue got left behind :\ doesn't quite make sense. I have a bottle of liquid black that I add a bit to the mixture if it starts looking weak. kinda like spiking the mix.. worked on a yin and yang skull I did when it wasn't getting dark enough.. beats throwing out a batch in the middle of a dye. once I get rolling I hate stopping.

I think it was more like acetone, soap and water, then acetone to clean a couple tough scuff marks followed by water. I don't think it was soap residue, especially cause I rinsed the disc off after the 1st soaking before adding the 2nd pack of dye.

Maybe I got the wrong polarity rit dye and it was repelled by my ion.

 

[Fishy]

you should always run a magnet across your discs prior to dyeing to make sure the polarity is right