I flew R/C planes years ago and read an article about making nylon parts more durable and dyeing nylon parts with RIT dye (long before the synthetic RIT dye was available). You had to add some table salt (1 tablespoon per 1/2 gallon) to the water/dye mix and after boiling the parts for 20 minutes or so you needed to let the water cool to room temperature with the parts in the water. This was to allow the stresses caused by rapid cooling during manufacturing to be released making the parts far more durable than before. Unfortunately I put this theory to test when one of my planes got “stuffed” full power, nose first into the ground. After digging down about 6” I found that the propeller blades had simply bent back instead of breaking off, after bending the blades back into shape I tested the prop by running a tank of fuel at full throttle on the ground and then flew it on several planes over the next few years. It never failed and I still have it in a drawer. I know those R/C car parts can get pretty expensive so I hope this information helps y’all save a little money while spend more time having fun.
Thanks for the tip on the salt , I’m making some nylon lanyard nylon parts and they are slick so I hope the salt and dye does the job. I also added some white vinegar also
Well after seeing your post I had some 3 D printed parts and some nylon spacers for lanyard for knife building but they were gray and white . So I did as you said and very well pleased with my results. They are very black and I like the color , flat black . I also flew RC airplanes back in 1985-1990 , then divorced RC days were over. But thanks for the tip it really works and looks great.I also added some white vinegar to the mix !
I think you want a temp about 145f do 10mins then to a cold bath to help seal the color in and repeat till you get the shade you want. White vinegar will also help penetrate plastics that don't take dye well and it's possible to do stuff like delrin using acetone but I wouldn't leave it in there longer than 5 minutes (be sure to do this outside and don't use an open flame) Set a metal hanger over the pot and suspend the body so it's not resting on the bottom of the pot. I'm honestly surprised it didn't melt being in direct contact with the metal. You can also tint clear bodies but I'd keep the temp like 125f so as to not to warp the body and only do 4min cycles
If there is water in there it will not melt the plastic. You can actually boil water through a plastic balloon if you keep it at just the right temperature.
No, it shouldn't, I dyed quad props, which you definitely don't want to weaken, just handle with care when part is still warm. See post above for tips and pics.
Thanks for the video. Question, I have some very soft plastic web gears from my GI Joe Classified series figure that I want to dye from tan to Black. Should I buy the Synthetic Rit dye? And what level of heat should I turn it up to, medium heat since it is very soft gummy plastic? Thank you for your help.
No it doesn’t ruin any plastic parts. Just boil the water, add the dye at point of boiling. Shut off the stove. Let parts sit in the water for about 20 minutes. Should work great.
I ordered a new Gray Cage for my Axial Ryft, and am wanting to Dye it. I went to Hobby Lobby and bought a bottle of Emerald,Teal, Aquamarine,and Lemon Yellow. Which color do you think will work best and and are there any tips you can give me?
true dude, i have a vintage team associated rc10gt but with almost all the white parts and im trying to complete the look without spending like 50 bucks for arms that are original AE white.
Just dyed a brand new Stampede chassis the exact same way with the exact same dye. Dye did nog take. Some parts black(isch) while some parts turned into a brownisch, rusty, spickeled pattern. Ideas?
Probably residue. You can do a marbled pattern just by adding dish soap onto the body so it's pretty temperamental. Give it an alcohol shower and wipe it down first. Doing a 50/50 of water and white vinegar will help it penetrate the plastic better.
Main difference, short of maybe taking it to actual body shop, there's no way you could get the smoothness and coverage a dye could, and for about $7-$8, which I'm guessing is waaaaaaay cheaper..lol. The hot water opens pores in plastic, so it's not covering the plastic piece, it's actually, permanently changing it's color. See my above post for directions and pics.
Very surprising to hear "I am in my kitchen"....and "I found one of my wife's larger pots". If I understand correctly, the kitchen belongs to you and the pots to your wife....Not sure feminists will enjoy that :-)
I use the gas grill outside and a big rectangular cake pan from the thrift store. Not going to be guilty of doing this in the kitchen anymore. LOL
David Pigg lol brilliant!
I flew R/C planes years ago and read an article about making nylon parts more durable and dyeing nylon parts with RIT dye (long before the synthetic RIT dye was available).
You had to add some table salt (1 tablespoon per 1/2 gallon) to the water/dye mix and after boiling the parts for 20 minutes or so you needed to let the water cool to room temperature with the parts in the water. This was to allow the stresses caused by rapid cooling during manufacturing to be released making the parts far more durable than before.
Unfortunately I put this theory to test when one of my planes got “stuffed” full power, nose first into the ground. After digging down about 6” I found that the propeller blades had simply bent back instead of breaking off, after bending the blades back into shape I tested the prop by running a tank of fuel at full throttle on the ground and then flew it on several planes over the next few years. It never failed and I still have it in a drawer.
I know those R/C car parts can get pretty expensive so I hope this information helps y’all save a little money while spend more time having fun.
Thanks for the tip on the salt , I’m making some nylon lanyard nylon parts and they are slick so I hope the salt and dye does the job. I also added some white vinegar also
Well after seeing your post I had some 3 D printed parts and some nylon spacers for lanyard for knife building but they were gray and white . So I did as you said and very well pleased with my results. They are very black and I like the color , flat black . I also flew RC airplanes back in 1985-1990 , then divorced RC days were over. But thanks for the tip it really works and looks great.I also added some white vinegar to the mix !
Thanks for the video ,I was able to dye some parts after watching your video and reading your comments from other people, thanks
I think you want a temp about 145f do 10mins then to a cold bath to help seal the color in and repeat till you get the shade you want. White vinegar will also help penetrate plastics that don't take dye well and it's possible to do stuff like delrin using acetone but I wouldn't leave it in there longer than 5 minutes (be sure to do this outside and don't use an open flame) Set a metal hanger over the pot and suspend the body so it's not resting on the bottom of the pot. I'm honestly surprised it didn't melt being in direct contact with the metal. You can also tint clear bodies but I'd keep the temp like 125f so as to not to warp the body and only do 4min cycles
If there is water in there it will not melt the plastic. You can actually boil water through a plastic balloon if you keep it at just the right temperature.
I want your shirt where do I get 1
going to do it right now but I read that it may weaken the plastic. What's the cut off time before it weakens it?
Thank you for your time.
No, it shouldn't, I dyed quad props, which you definitely don't want to weaken, just handle with care when part is still warm. See post above for tips and pics.
Humm... I'm trying to dye that really slick plastic you were talking about.
It looks great Greg. My wife would kill me if I tried to do that!
If you add a bit of acetone (stinky, volatile and flammable!), even the glossy plastics will dye.
Won’t the boiling water distort the plastic?
Wow I remember using this exact thing RIT for tie die t-shirts in high school cool trick brother!✌
How's it turn out on the Traxxas Slash blue chassis's?? Have you tried those??
Does this work on the blue lcg? chassis
Have u ever tryes the dupla color spray on plastic dye
Thanks for the video. Question, I have some very soft plastic web gears from my GI Joe Classified series figure that I want to dye from tan to Black. Should I buy the Synthetic Rit dye? And what level of heat should I turn it up to, medium heat since it is very soft gummy plastic? Thank you for your help.
Does the dye damage the plastic at all? I plan to dye some tiny plastic buttons. Did you notice any imperfections after it was done?
No it doesn’t ruin any plastic parts. Just boil the water, add the dye at point of boiling. Shut off the stove. Let parts sit in the water for about 20 minutes. Should work great.
Thanks Greg, excellent video!
I ordered a new Gray Cage for my Axial Ryft, and am wanting to Dye it. I went to Hobby Lobby and bought a bottle of Emerald,Teal, Aquamarine,and Lemon Yellow. Which color do you think will work best and and are there any tips you can give me?
Dose it dye ur pot?
Nice job! Wonder if I can buy that dye here in the UK...
Can you do suspension parts like the arms on the wide Maxx kit?
Awesome video very nice information on dying a chassis
This is a awesome idea!!!
Have you tried scuffing the hi gloss plastic to get it to take the dye or it just won't work at all.
Thanks man.
What about lexan RC car body's??? Would this work or warp the body?
hey do you know if traxxas maxx arms are dyable
Wow very cool
Go to 2:54 to skip to the action!
The heat won’t work screw ports or anything?
Does this melt the plastic at all
Awesome video
Could I sand the shiny layer of my plastic to make it more porous?
Can you dye black plastics, like most race vehicles have, to different colors like blue or red or will that not work?
Dylan Chadderton can you watch the whole video?
Hi there, I know this video is 2 years old, but I ask anyway. Is it possible dye from black color to white color?
true dude, i have a vintage team associated rc10gt but with almost all the white parts and im trying to complete the look without spending like 50 bucks for arms that are original AE white.
Awesome
Will this work on a green wheelie bar and change it to black?
Yes. You can dye any color to black.
Been wandering how this is done.
How has the dyed colour on the chassis held up to wear?
it basically becomes part of the plastic, it won't fade, unless you literally take a sander to it..lol.
Just dyed a brand new Stampede chassis the exact same way with the exact same dye. Dye did nog take. Some parts black(isch) while some parts turned into a brownisch, rusty, spickeled pattern.
Ideas?
Probably residue. You can do a marbled pattern just by adding dish soap onto the body so it's pretty temperamental. Give it an alcohol shower and wipe it down first. Doing a 50/50 of water and white vinegar will help it penetrate the plastic better.
acetone
Gotta be careful with acetone that can cause pitting, gotta have that ratio and technique down. I only really use it on delrin
What’s the difference between spray paint and Dye
Main difference, short of maybe taking it to actual body shop, there's no way you could get the smoothness and coverage a dye could, and for about $7-$8, which I'm guessing is waaaaaaay cheaper..lol. The hot water opens pores in plastic, so it's not covering the plastic piece, it's actually, permanently changing it's color. See my above post for directions and pics.
Time they sell the chassis black. The They make a dark grey now at traxxas
Does it stain pots please reply
I've never had an issue when using stainless steel pots. Not sure about other pots like enamel or glazed.
Very surprising to hear "I am in my kitchen"....and "I found one of my wife's larger pots". If I understand correctly, the kitchen belongs to you and the pots to your wife....Not sure feminists will enjoy that :-)
Will the plastic of smt10 chassis work?