Noobie Dye Question Thread

[Eky8]

The other option is to dye the black first and then paint the other colors using a dye laundry detergent mix.

 

[roggenb3]

Thanks guys. That's what I would have done - I just wanted to make sure there wasn't some secret method of realigning stuff that I didn't know about.

I have done all my stencils (except my most recent) using contact paper that I cut on the disc, so cutting on the disc is not an issue for me.

 

[rdnckdisc]

Got my prochemicals starter kit..quick question when mixing the dye up do you use the carrier straight or dilute it like directions say?

 

[rdnckdisc]

So mixed my prochem dyes up and the turquoise is more of a purple and the bright blue is.about same...is this typical look and will dye differently or do I need to but different colors to get shade im looking for

 

[Eky8]

Still playing with mine some. But so far my experience has been that they are both a nice shade of blue. I am going to try some dip dyes with them once I get a little more time on my hands. Just too busy right now to do any dying.

 

[Surly Bastage]

What dyes might work to make a copper disc and a silver disc easier to see?

 

[spahnandsain]

Man, cut my first stencil last night and it was hard work! Ready to dip it tonight but had a few questions.

1. I have some small air bubbles near the edge (used 651 oracle) and was wondering if you guys thought that the bubbles would effect the dye? They are not near any edges / cuts of the stencil. They are towards the very edge of the disc where I wrapped the vinyl around discs edge. I could probably get them out but didn't want to tear the vinyl with the card I was smoothing the bubbles out with. Can I be rough with the bubbles? Does vinyl tear while using a card?

2. Anybody got an idea of time for a black I dye poly dip? I will check the color frequently but was thinking no more than 10 mins from what I've read.

3. Freezer vs. wet paper towel in sealed container. I've heard put the disc in the freezer for 24+ hours. I've also heard to put the disc in a tupper ware with a wet paper towel but didn't read a time length. Any opinions?

Thanks as always

 

[roggenb3]

Man, cut my first stencil last night and it was hard work! Ready to dip it tonight but had a few questions.

1. I have some small air bubbles near the edge (used 651 oracle) and was wondering if you guys thought that the bubbles would effect the dye? They are not near any edges / cuts of the stencil. They are towards the very edge of the disc where I wrapped the vinyl around discs edge. I could probably get them out but didn't want to tear the vinyl with the card I was smoothing the bubbles out with. Can I be rough with the bubbles? Does vinyl tear while using a card?

2. Anybody got an idea of time for a black I dye poly dip? I will check the color frequently but was thinking no more than 10 mins from what I've read.

3. Freezer vs. wet paper towel in sealed container. I've heard put the disc in the freezer for 24+ hours. I've also heard to put the disc in a tupper ware with a wet paper towel but didn't read a time length. Any opinions?

Thanks as always

1) if they aren't near your cuts don't worry, it'll be fine. I have ripped vinyl being too rough on an air bubble with a credit card, but it takes a good amount of force.

2) 10 minutes is plenty, but if you aren't heating the dye continuously there is no harm in letting is set for a while (my last few dips I have left in for ~45min)

3) I have never done either of those things for a dip dye. Painting or spin dyes or the like (anything where the dye is on top of the disc) are when I use a wet paper towel in a container.

Generally for something like that, this is my routine: Let it sit for 12-24 hours with a damp paper towel, then into a low temp over (~120F) for 3ish hours, then into a freezer for about an hour.

 

[roggenb3]

Sometimes I actually skip the letting it sit with a paper towel step and go straight to the oven. I have never really noticed any difference, but I suspect letting it sit will help prevent fading, especially on non-premo plastic.

For instance, I did this Jokeri last night and just went straight to an oven for 4 hours. My thinking was that if I let it sit too long the colors would probably bleed together more than I wanted. Still turned out great IMO.

 

[spahnandsain]

1) if they aren't near your cuts don't worry, it'll be fine. I have ripped vinyl being too rough on an air bubble with a credit card, but it takes a good amount of force.

2) 10 minutes is plenty, but if you aren't heating the dye continuously there is no harm in letting is set for a while (my last few dips I have left in for ~45min)

3) I have never done either of those things for a dip dye. Painting or spin dyes or the like (anything where the dye is on top of the disc) are when I use a wet paper towel in a container.

Generally for something like that, this is my routine: Let it sit for 12-24 hours with a damp paper towel, then into a low temp over (~120F) for 3ish hours, then into a freezer for about an hour.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for those answers.
I will follow your routine tonight.
Do you use a regular oven? Or is a low temp like a toaster oven?
What do you put the disc on? Pyrex pan? Cooking sheet? Directly on the rack?
Thanks!

 

[roggenb3]

Normally I use my toaster oven because it can actually be set to like 120F - the lowest my reg oven gets is hotter than I like my discs to get. However, I do sometimes use the reg oven because it holds the heat so much better (my toaster oven can only stay on for 30 min and like 1 minute after it turns off it's already cold inside, plus there's this annoying ticking noise...:wall, I'll just turn it all the way down to the WARM setting and turn it on for like 1-2 mins, just to get it warm, then come back and turn it on for a min or so every hour or two.

I have been setting the discs on an upside down dinner plate because it's easy to get them on/off with only touching the bottom of the rim of the disc.

 

[roggenb3]

I have my own Noob question:

Does anyone know a good dye combination to get a skin color? This is assuming the disc is white to begin with.

I have alot of cartoon characters I wanna do but I am nervous about skin, it's kind of a hard color to get :\.

If I had to do one today I think I would use like 70% yellow and 30% orange, but that may be way off.

Anyone ever succeed at getting a good skin color?

 

[spahnandsain]

Normally I use my toaster oven because it can actually be set to like 120F - the lowest my reg oven gets is hotter than I like my discs to get. However, I do sometimes use the reg oven because it holds the heat so much better (my toaster oven can only stay on for 30 min and like 1 minute after it turns off it's already cold inside, plus there's this annoying ticking noise...:wall, I'll just turn it all the way down to the WARM setting and turn it on for like 1-2 mins, just to get it warm, then come back and turn it on for a min or so every hour or two.

I have been setting the discs on an upside down dinner plate because it's easy to get them on/off with only touching the bottom of the rim of the disc.

Understood, thank you for your patience.

 

[Eky8]

@spahnandsain. When dip dying you are using heat to allow the dye to penetrate the plastic. Once the dye is in the plastic there is no need to do anything else. Some people believe putting the dye in the freezer after the dip process slows the spread of the dye and keeps it from fading as quickly. I am not one of the people who believes this. If you are mixing your dye with shaving cream or detergent, you are basically doing a cold dye. So it takes time to allow the dye to penetrate the plastic. Thus the moist paper towel to keep the dye moist and aid in this process. roggenb3 is introducing heat instead to help with this process instead of time. Basically you are opening the pores of the plastic to allow the dye to penetrate. As a side note dying with an acetone or alcohol mix chemically opens the pores and makes for almost instant color penetration.

@roggenb3 I use rit tangerine for skin tones. Unfortunately that probably won't help you much.

 

[roggenb3]

Anyone know if you can dye Westside bt soft? My guess is that it will not dye well, but I got a white harp I want to try.

Also, I found out you cannot take the color off the stamps on bt soft discs with SC. Tried to play with the stamp on this harp and nothing happened They must use a different stamp process - it was also impossible to get the stamp completely off with acetone...

 

[goosefraba1]

Anyone know if you can dye Westside bt soft? My guess is that it will not dye well, but I got a white harp I want to try.

Also, I found out you cannot take the color off the stamps on bt soft discs with SC. Tried to play with the stamp on this harp and nothing happened They must use a different stamp process - it was also impossible to get the stamp completely off with acetone...

I haven't tried it personally... but my guess would be that it wouldn't take.

 

[Eky8]

I dyed the old zero plastic once. Looked cool but faded away completely. You can't even see it any more. (It was a grey dye on a white disc. So not much color anyway.) My understanding is that the new zero is similar. BT soft is supposed to be zero soft. Take take all that for whatever it's worth. I probably wouldn't bother with it if it was me.

 

[roggenb3]

I think I'll give it a go. The stamp looks terrible anyway since it doesn't really come off well, so it can't look any worse if it doesn't work. :\

And then answer about whether this palstic dyes will be here for others that may ask it again

 

[knettles]

I have my own Noob question:

Does anyone know a good dye combination to get a skin color? This is assuming the disc is white to begin with.

I have alot of cartoon characters I wanna do but I am nervous about skin, it's kind of a hard color to get :\.

If I had to do one today I think I would use like 70% yellow and 30% orange, but that may be way off.

Anyone ever succeed at getting a good skin color?

I would estimate more orange. Maybe a little bit of red as well. Brown is almost just a dark orange. You take a very light brown (tan/biege), then add a little bit of pink. So, sorry if I've overcomplicated this, but I would say orange, black, white, and pink.

 

[spahnandsain]

@spahnandsain. When dip dying you are using heat to allow the dye to penetrate the plastic. Once the dye is in the plastic there is no need to do anything else. Some people believe putting the dye in the freezer after the dip process slows the spread of the dye and keeps it from fading as quickly. I am not one of the people who believes this. If you are mixing your dye with shaving cream or detergent, you are basically doing a cold dye. So it takes time to allow the dye to penetrate the plastic. Thus the moist paper towel to keep the dye moist and aid in this process. roggenb3 is introducing heat instead to help with this process instead of time. Basically you are opening the pores of the plastic to allow the dye to penetrate. As a side note dying with an acetone or alcohol mix chemically opens the pores and makes for almost instant color penetration.

Eky8, thank you. I get it now.