Dyeing Dilemma.....

[The Kryptonite Kid]

Hey Board, I'm having trouble trying to dye a CTVT light blue Fonzi jacket red. I used powdered forms of both Rit and another dye and it seemed to have very little effect. I placed all of the the dye packet and warm water into a pot and stirred for over a half an hour and the result was a very light pink at best. Can someone please tell me if I'm doing something wrong, or possibly reccomend another method to dye the jacket? Any and all help is truly appreciated. Thanks

-Will

[Megospidey]

On the package it should tell you that to do this on the stove, you need HOT water - warm water is not enough. Get your water hotter (close to boiling).

[The Kryptonite Kid]

On the package it should tell you that to do this on the stove, you need HOT water - warm water is not enough. Get your water hotter (close to boiling).

Thanks Mego Spidey, Yeah I did see the hot water thing....but was unsure whether or not to make it boil or not. Should i heat it up until it's just about at boiling, take it off the burner, and then insert the garment, stir, and dye? Thanks again

-Will

[Megospidey]

Whenever I dye, I bring the water to a slow boil and then take it off the burner and IMMEDIATELY add the material and dye to the water.

[gman]

http://www.geocities.com/uniformsbym...exHOWSHIRT.htm

This how to: has given me the best results.

[The Kryptonite Kid]

Thanks to you both! It looks like boiling water is the way to go. I'll let you know how it goes when I retry tomorrow

-Will

[GUYx1]

I have been into DYE alchemy for years.
Please post pix if you are successful with the cursed RED dye.

Red has always been a difficult color. RIT Dye always gabs hold of the material easiest (usually before you know what hit you)
but I don't think RIT even makes a decent red, only that ugly "SCARLET" color.
I am experimenting with the other companies, but COLD dyes are not nearly as steadfast as RIT.

I have yet to try the Red tie Dye powder in the bottle.
Those colors are initially less intense than Rit, so I usually don't try them first.

If you think it will be tough, always wash (and maybe color remove) the item before dying. Dyeing is so often a crapshoot. Be VERY careful with modern CTVT cloth, as much of it cannot be dyed and the color cannot be removed.
I have tried every imaginable chemical on the CTVT Druid and robin hood items and the material is bloody bulletproof (Yet my own clothing is now splattered with color remover, bleach & dye! - not to mention my fingers)

If I had a dollar for every item of cloth that even after boiling the crap out of it still ended up an ugly GREEN instead of black...

Always start out conservatively, but be aware that anytime you attempt to Dye an article of TOY clothing, there is a good chance that you will not be as successful as you had intended and a costume piece may go to waste.

PS If you BOIL a suit to death - do not forget to thouroughly wash the suit and soak it to remove the excess dye. Sometimes this removes ALL THE DYE, but it shows that the dye was not holding. Better that, than staining your mego collection.
(Same goes for bleaching and white washing. About 17 years ago I had a Abominable snowman suit whose thread suddenly fell apart 4 months down the road after bleaching it. )
Now I soak anythng I have whitewashed at least overnight.

[The Kryptonite Kid]

Thanks for the detailed help Guyx1 I'm the kind of guy that requires very specific instructions, and you really came through. So, in your opinion CTVT fabric if pretty much dye-proof? Has anyone else out there had problems dyeing CTVT garments? Please let me know..Thanks

-Will

I have been into DYE alchemy for years.
Please post pix if you are successful with the cursed RED dye.

Red has always been a difficult color. RIT Dye always gabs hold of the material easiest (usually before you know what hit you)
but I don't think RIT even makes a decent red, only that ugly "SCARLET" color.
I am experimenting with the other companies, but COLD dyes are not nearly as steadfast as RIT.

I have yet to try the Red tie Dye powder in the bottle.
Those colors are initially less intense than Rit, so I usually don't try them first.

If you think it will be tough, always wash (and maybe color remove) the item before dying. Dyeing is so often a crapshoot. Be VERY careful with modern CTVT cloth, as much of it cannot be dyed and the color cannot be removed.
I have tried every imaginable chemical on the CTVT Druid and robin hood items and the material is bloody bulletproof (Yet my own clothing is now splattered with color remover, bleach & dye! - not to mention my fingers)

If I had a dollar for every item of cloth that even after boiling the crap out of it still ended up an ugly GREEN instead of black...

Always start out conservatively, but be aware that anytime you attempt to Dye an article of TOY clothing, there is a good chance that you will not be as successful as you had intended and a costume piece may go to waste.

PS If you BOIL a suit to death - do not forget to thouroughly wash the suit and soak it to remove the excess dye. Sometimes this removes ALL THE DYE, but it shows that the dye was not holding. Better that, than staining your mego collection.
(Same goes for bleaching and white washing. About 17 years ago I had a Abominable snowman suit whose thread suddenly fell apart 4 months down the road after bleaching it. )
Now I soak anythng I have whitewashed at least overnight.

[ddgaff1132]

I dont know if this helps but I'm just gonna put it out there. The experiece came from an attempt to make Adventure team outfits (yellow). My objective outfits were in all the different colors you could imagine. in order to go from darker or other primary colors to yellow. I had to bleach the garment to whie or near white. I did this by washing and treating with fabric softner. Then I sank the rinsed garment into a deluded bleach solution 1:1 ratio. I babysitted the prossess to make sure the clothing didnt desolve. when the original color faded enough or went to white. I removed the outfit and rewashed to remove the bleach. more fabric softner to protect the fabric. After a long rinse in warm water. I added the clothing, still wet to the dye solution. dye was usually mixed in a glass jelly jar with hot tap water and all the dye package. I would let the mixture set for a long time as after all this I would need a break. Some time later I would return and pour out the contents and retrieve the outfit. this gave me good results but it really came down to the fabric material. cotton works best polyester OK you know?

[Titan4ever]

this gave me good results but it really came down to the fabric material. cotton works best polyester OK you know?

Yep. And 100% Nylon doesn't dye well if at all. Hope that helps too.

[The Kryptonite Kid]

Yep. And 100% Nylon doesn't dye well if at all. Hope that helps too.

Would you happen to know the material the light blue Fonzi jean jacket from CTVT is made of ? Thanks for your help

-Will