Is it possible to color dye a plastic part by leaving it immersed in the dye without heating it and then wait overnight or a certain amount of time for the color to set in? If so, do I need to add something extra to the dye for this to work?
In the tutorials section I saw an acetone/dye mix. Not sure about doing it overnight but it was done without heated water.
Yep, I was just about to mention the acetone mix. I helped to pioneer the dying techniques back when Armada was on the shelves. I got the idea when I was dying easter eggs with my daughter. I found the acetone mix when I had some particularly hard to dye plastic and was looking to kick it up a notch. WST Starscream would not take regular dye, but he did take acetone/dye.
I'm sure it's said in the tutorial, but I'll state it again. Make sure you add the acetone to a cold dye mix. If you heat and then try to add it, you could very well set your kitchen on fire.
I found the link to your dyeing method on http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/tutorials-how-tos/214539-how-dye-figure.html But instead I am directed to Transformers Discussion - TFW2005 - The 2005 Boards On another note, I need your advice on a custom I am currently working on. My plan is to dye these parts from an HFTD "Starscream's Assault" Voyager Starscream in black: But when I dyed these same parts from a junk ROTF Voyager Starscream in pure heated black dye as a test run, they became bent/malformed. How would I go about dyeing these parts using your "cold" dyeing method? (amount of dye, water, and or acetone needed; time needed for dye color to seep in; etc...)
White plastic is the best to dye into any bright color you want. The one color that don't work so well, is black. It's best to start with a dark color to go black. White tends to come out brown. As for technique.. The warping parts come from getting the water too hot or leaving the parts in too long. Even though the directions for the dye say to get it to boiling and drop what you want to dye in, that has to do with clothes. What you want to do is get it hot enough to dissolve the powder ( unless you use liquid dye ), then let it cool. You want it hot, but not boiling. Not even near boiling. And you don't want to just drop them in and leave them. I use a metal screen strainer with a handle that I got a Wal-Mart for like $3. Put the part in the strainer, and just dip it in the dye. Then run it under cold water to keep it from getting too hot. Some plastics will take dye really well this way. The "cold dye" technique is only for plastic that won't take the regular way. Get the dye mixture done, either heating with powder or no heat at all with liquid. Allow it to cool completely ( to avoid the fire hazard I mentioned earlier ) before beginning. Now just put a splash of acetone in it and stir. Now use the same metal strainer and dip the part ( do one at a time, the acetone can cause the plastic to get soft and the parts can bend each other ). Just dip it in and out, rinsing every few dips. If it's not dying or dying dark enough, ad a small amount more of acetone. There is no formula, just keep experimenting by adding small amounts at a time. Some plastics will not take at all and will just end up melting in the acetone mix before they change color ( see Classics Starscream's small wing attachment part ). The idea is to use regular dying for most of the parts, and only using the acetone mix for the stubborn stuff. For example: RID Prowl has two types of plastic. The white part of his chest will take red dye really easy, but the shoulder pieces don't. I dyed those parts together and the chest became bright red, but the shoulders only turned pink. Then OTFCC came about and gave me that mold in Sideswipe colors so I abandoned the project. I would have used acetone next on those shoulders. Remember, it's all trial and error. I don't dye much anymore since I found that I'd waste two deluxes experimenting to get it right for the third one. Cheaper and easier to just file down joints and paint with Krylon Fusion. I pretty much only dye when there are lots of rub points, and try to do black if I can ( unless the plastic is white ) and it will fit the over all theme of the bash. Ball and socket joints are the first to be dyed on my customs, with as much else as possible done with paint.
So far, I've just been sticking to Krylon Fusion. I use Testors Acrylic in the little bottles to paint the details.
It's in the tutorial section. I've found it a million times over with no problem. It's in one of the videos. A kid with a yo-yo. Barring that search youtube. I can't believe you can't find the tutorial. Also some parts won't take dye. Since transformers are a combination of abs, pvc and urethane plastics you will NEVER get a uniform dye. Some use dying as a way to insure an even look with paint. If I were you I'd paint the parts.
Are you talking about the tutorial written by "REDLINE" here: http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/tutorials-how-tos/214539-how-dye-figure.html, along with the 5 YouTube videos he posted below as well?
