Dying to change clothing colors

[Carmelkettle]

Maybe 'dying' is a little extreme - I'm really just interested in using dye remover, then re-dying the ZICA / 8 inch superstore jumpsuits. I've never used either dye remover, or dye. Hoping to result in an orange or tan which is a big difference than the original dark grey and blue. Has anyone done this? Does the dye remover affect the zipper in color or operation? Any experience or advice?

[stuart]

Rit apparently changed their formula some time back and I haven't had any luck getting a bodysuit to take the color appropriately. The color remover does not completely remove the color, it just knocks it down from a 10 to a 2. I don't know how much luck you would have going from a really dark color to a lighter one. The dye will not alter the zipper mechanics.

I'm sure this isn't what you want to hear, but I have spend a ton of money and time trying to dye without any real luck. There are some other brands of dye on the market and I've had limited success with them. I think you would be better off having Brian Leitner or others just make you a jumpsuit in the color you choose.

[ZombieJimC]

Say I wanted to dye an original Mego Klingon outfit black. Would it work on that? Or is it just the new bodysuits that it wont work on?

[PNGwynne]

My guess is that the new Rit for synthetics should work great on a vintage Klingon suit.

[Carmelkettle]

All good advice, thanks. I'll probably try it and see what results I get. If it's positive (or a big disaster) I'll post.

[Judson's]

I was able to get a blue superstore jumpsuit to turn pure white for my custom Planet of the Apes Taylor flightsuit by soaking it in good old fashioned bleach diluted with water. From there you could dye it whatever color you want. Note that the thread (which is nylon I assume) did not change color though, as you can see on the sleeve cuffs. The zipper is on the back because I reversed it, so you can't see it here, but its color (and functionality) didn't change either.

[Carmelkettle]

That's really pretty spectacular results, with the bright white. Much better than I would have thought. I still want to work on an orange or yellow suit, but for now I've gotten involved with another project so will have to set that aside. Now I have to come up with a way to attach vinyl stripes to fabric. And replace velcro with a zipper.

Also great Taylor custom!