New to dying and having a problem.

[g0rkam0rka]

I've been surfing the forum and haven't found a similar issue. If someone could help me out or point me in the direction of a thread that will answer this for me. Your help is much appreciated.

Issue: Im using rit and water and contact paper. my first disc (star wraith) I used purple and it came out nice and bold. but both times I've tried to use black (star t-bird, z flick) it comes out super faded like its not taking very well. the method I used is

1) remove stamp with acetone (worked quickly)
2) applied contact paper to disc and worked out bubbles with a credit card.
3) cut out stencil with x-acto knife.
4) removed sticky residue with a little acetone and a dish towel. carfeul not to let the contact paper raise.

5) mix pack of rit dye with about a quart of water in a pot then bring to steaming.

6) move dye to a pie pan and float disc for about 40 mins.

I haven't had any bleed issues or any other real issues. just that my black comes out faded.

 

[cjskier]

Did you use liquid or powder RIT? Becasue the liquid stuff is crap, use only the powder. Maybe not a strong enough dye mix or heat not high enough.

 

[g0rkam0rka]

Thanks for the reply.

I used a whole packet of powder in enough water for the disc to float (probably about a quart thats a guess though). Does the water need to remain heated the entire time? I mixed the powder into tap water then brought it up to steaming but then moved it over to a pie pan which cooled over the duration of the float. Does the water need to be heated before the powder is mixed in or can you heat it afterwards like I did.

 

[yawpstang64]

I believe it helps to bring the water to a boil before you add the rit powder; it helps it to fully dissolve and saturate the water (someone had this problem recently and I think this fixed it). The most common rit:water ration around here is 24-32oz to a pack of rit - perfect for storing in mason jars as well.

A higher dye temperature helps the dye to permeate the plastic, so its better to keep it near 120f during the whole dip.

 

[Roc1Time]

I believe it helps to bring the water to a boil before you add the rit powder; it helps it to fully dissolve and saturate the water (someone had this problem recently and I think this fixed it). The most common rit:water ration around here is 24-32oz to a pack of rit - perfect for storing in mason jars as well.

A higher dye temperature helps the dye to permeate the plastic, so its better to keep it near 120f during the whole dip.

I use old gatorade bottles and thats the amount I mix as well. I also have had no problems with the liquid rit. I keep the heat on when I dye

 

[g0rkam0rka]

I will try this and let you guys know how it turns out.

thank you for the respones

ps. I didnt realize there was a "newbie" section to post in until a few minutes ago. I'll remember that in the future.

 

[adh56]

In my experience 40 minutes is plenty of time for a black dye to set on a star or champ disc, even if you take it off the heat. I leave my pot on the stove with minimal heat and if the water starts to steam away I turn the heat off. Black dye sets in 15-20 for me. I even use well more than the recommended 24-32oz of water and only half a bottle of the liquid Rit.

I've ran into times when 15-20 minutes weren't enough but that was with an r-pro cro and innova minis.

Maybe it's something else.

 

[adh56]

If you're adding the Rit while still in the pot why are you moving it to a pie tin?

 

[BennettUA]

Did you use liquid or powder RIT? Becasue the liquid stuff is crap, use only the powder. Maybe not a strong enough dye mix or heat not high enough.

Funny how often I hear this; am I alone in prefering the liquid Rit over the powder?

 

[Roc1Time]

I dont mind either. I use more liquid then powder.

 

[Jazzbones]

Both powder and liquid have their place and time.

 

[cjskier]

I just dont see why you would want a less concentrated product...

I tried liquid yellow and red, both were not even close to how bright powder dye was.

 

[adh56]

I've pretty much only dyed black and I prefer the liquid

 

[g0rkam0rka]

Yes I was mixing it in a pot then moving it to the pie pan but last night I left it in the pot and tried it that way. My paper raised a little (I probably just had it to hot) but the black still wasn't a good solid black it was really faded.

 

[NoThingness]

did you wash the disc after the acetone?

 

[g0rkam0rka]

I was thinking that might be it. but I did wash it with dish soap and warm water. I also let it dry after rinsing the soap off.

 

[koogs]

I can't see any difference between my powder colors and my liquid colors, and the liquid leaves no residue. :thmbup:

 

[agent_peebody]

why did i even make this?

 

[koogs]

why did i even make this?

It helped me a lot to understand the process before I attempted my first one. I'm sure plenty of others have also found it helpful.:thmbup:

 

[Fishy]

why did i even make this?

was awesome for me to look at, thanks for it! There are always things not covered, but there are also people who find it easier to ask a question than sort through an easy to read tutorial, to others (me included) that find it difficult to sort through mass quantities of threads and posts.