Having problems need some help

[TwoChain]

I just started dying some discs. A friend of mine is really good and has been teaching me some stuff. Last night I tried to do a Mortal Kombat logo on my Boss and it could not have gone worse haha.

Using a black water dye and vinyl paper, I had the Mortal Kombat logo perfectly cut out so the dragon was in the clear plastic and the outside ring was to be black. It looked like it was going to be perfect from the back side.

But then! I came back and black dye was leaking on to the back side of the disc. It was maroon champ plastic so I panic and took it out before I wanted to and washed it off. From here it all went down hill and I kept messing with it to make sure the back didn't get black dye on it! During this process of pulling it out of the dye it slipped from my hands and specks of black **** got everywhere. I spent 2 hours cleaning my work area for black spots and ruined some ****ty chairs.

I used about 12oz of dye in a black pan that was a bit bigger than the disc. It seemed like the prefect amount but the disc seemed to sink in a bit more.

This was probably hard for my first die since the black outside of the MK logo went all the way to the edge of the disc making it more likely to get on the back side.

During the panic I washed off the dye and took off the vinyl. There are smudges all between the logo and black areas on the back of the disc. The back of the rim is all mangled too. Every time I turned my back to clean something some how fing dye was behind me or on the fridge or all over places I never even was standing by.

Questions:

1. How can I keep dye from getting on the back of the disc?
2. Do discs tend to float at first then sink?
3. How long should I keep it in the vinyl paper to prevent smudges.

I would like to invent something small where I can lower the disc down with a crank or something and trust it to stay!

Also any suggestions based on what I said would be great. I have using a stencils / cutting and applying vinyl down pretty good.

 

[tlatoani]

I'm pretty new at this too, but I use a brush when doing stencils rather than dunking it. It is tedious but seems to work.

 

[DougCrawford]

A couple things that may help-

1. wrap your vinyl around the edge of the disc and try to keep it coming almost vertical off the rim, that should minimize the chance of dye leaking in. The disc should float in the dye.

2. to prevent leaks- if there are any little wrinkled edges in your pattern, smooth them out as best you can with a credit card or something, and put a little dab of rubber cement on it. That should help prevent leaks.

3. when taking it out of the dye, rinse it with COLD water. most synthetic dyes work when the plastic or the dye is hot, using cold water helps stop the dye from working so when you peel off the vinyl it wont continue to dye.

4. to clean up, use cold water and dish soap, repeatedly. Surfactants like dish soap surround the dye and prevent it from soaking into whatever you spilled it on. I found this out after turning over an entire pot of black dye on my kitchen floor.

 

[BennettUA]

Pics? That would help a LOT.

No disc should sink if you put it in right. Even a 180g disc won't sink unless you dip it in sideways intentionally. Even gotta weigh it down to get it to cover all the way to the edge of the rim.

As for dye mess, rule one is BE CAREFUL. Rule two is BE EVEN MORE CAREFUL. Can't say any more than that, this stuff is designed to dye almost anything it touches!

 

[TwoChain]

Pics? That would help a LOT.

No disc should sink if you put it in right. Even a 180g disc won't sink unless you dip it in sideways intentionally. Even gotta weigh it down to get it to cover all the way to the edge of the rim.

As for dye mess, rule one is BE CAREFUL. Rule two is BE EVEN MORE CAREFUL. Can't say any more than that, this stuff is designed to dye almost anything it touches!

Thanks for the advice so far.

At work, I'll post some pics when I get a chance later!

 

[TwoChain]

In the water dye before it leaked:

After with smudges:

 

[hurricane7]

If you were bringing the dye to the edge, you should not have needed all that vinyl on the bottom of the disc. Just your round design to within about an inch of the edge would have worked. When doing dyes like that, you just need to be careful when placing it in, and taking it out of the dye. Lift straight up, and have a paper towel handy to wipe off all the dripping dye before rinsing.

My guess is that the wrinkles and/or the masking tape you used (I'm assuming to seal overlaps) acted as a wick, and brought the dye up into the areas you didn't want it to go.

The only vinyl you should need on the bottom of the disc when doing a dye to the edge, would be for something to grab onto when lifting or lowering into the dye.

Also, when you have overlaps like that, Elmer's glue works much better to seal them. I've also heard of rubber cement, but I have yet to try that.

HTH.

Peace,
-Jeff

 

[TwoChain]

If you were bringing the dye to the edge, you should not have needed all that vinyl on the bottom of the disc...

Wow, I didn't realize and now that I think of it you are right. It was like the vinyl on the back would carry dye over the edge.

My friends actually liked the black streaks on the back of the rim. But I am going to buy another similar disc and start over.

I have a new work area in our storage area. Between cleaning for 2 hours and dealing with my fiancé I needed this space. I am a total newb and should not give advice but buying a electric burner was a huge help.! Now I don't have to put it all away and I can let it sit longer etc. I will be less likely to be in a rush!!

 

[bruce_brakel]

I use a brush with stencils too. I thicken my dye with liquid laundry detergent and let it dry out a little so it is about the same viscosity as paint. It mostly stays where I put it except on humid days if the dehumidifier isn't running.

 

[TwoChain]

A did a new one on an orange Star Boss. This turned out better overall! One bad smudge on the rim and some tiny unwanted lines on the neck.

 

[Reniger]

Great job on the second disc! Live and learn, eh?

I'm also very new to this whole business and experiments have gone both ways. Still fun, even if you learn more that succeed sometimes.

Cheers!

 

[Puckstopper]

You've already figured out my favorite trick. I only dye on opaque plastic, that way any mistakes on the back aren't visible! Hurricane7 already told you how to make a handle, but here is a link to the very helpful "how to" Thread he created. Finally, start out with discs you don't care about, because you'll still be learning and making mistakes for a while, although your second attempt shows major improvement!

One final piece of advice... Maybe pick a color other than black for those MK dyes. I did something similar with the Dragon Optical logo, and now don't throw the disc because it's a pain in the butt to find! As a suggestion, Idye Poly Red would have looked bad as hell on the orange disc and still been easier to find.