Darkness of colors

[Claytoon]

I cannot get different colors onto my discs, even with clear plastic.
I use the powdered RIT it hot water (on the stove set to about 3, hot enough to comfortably leave my hands on the pot for 10 seconds or so) and let it sit for 20 in the dye for 20 minutes, but the dyes I use always seem to come out dark. For instance I use a green and if I just leave it for 5-10 minutes or even 20 minutes, it just comes out a different shade of black. I probably just need to use lighter colors, but I don't see how to get them more vibrant. I tried putting some acetone in the dye bath, but that just seemed to make the dye not stick at all, made me think that was an ongoing prank on these boards for beginners.

[ChUcK]

No pranks that I know of. Post some pics of what you're trying to do and we can steer you in the right direction. What plastic are you dyeing, and what shade of green are you using? I can't remember, but there's a particular shade of rit green that is actually vomit colored. Dark green, or Kelly green, one of them is a bust.

[cjskier]

I would say go with a higher temp, and a much shorter dye time. Like say 150-180 degrees and only 1-2 minutes at the most. For different shades of dark colors some times all you need a a couple seconds. Your dying everything too dark.

[ChUcK]

Hmmm, I disagree with this advice. The hotter the dye the harder it will be to control the colors. Also, the riskiness of the whole event skyrockets as the temp get hotter. Maybe you touch something that's hot, you flinch involuntarily, splish-splash your kitchen's taking a bath.

I feel the problem is in the choice of tint. Go pick up a different shade of green and see if the problem fixes itself.

[pointdisc]

Listen to chuck.

It's the Dark green that sucks. The only thing that turns any shade resembling any green is the vinyl, the disc just ends up all the shades found in the camo-brown dictionary.

[ChUcK]

we should make that a sticky on the artwork page- don't use Rit Dark Green.

What's the good one? Kelly? Light?

[AciDBatH666]

I did a hulk one in dark green. Came out really dark. I think it might have actually come out decent if I didn't have so much black in the dye job and if I would have pulled it out of the green sooner.
Wasn't horrible, but it made me wanna stray away from using it again.

[Claytoon]

Wow don't I feel dumb. I think that is the exact shade of Green that I was trying to use, the crappy one. I am at work right now, but will try and stop by Wally world and get a few different colors. I will use the exact same process (temp, time, proportions of mix, etc.) and let you know if the only thing wrong with my process was the dye.
That would be awesome if it was as simple as that.

[pointdisc]

KELLY GREEN

that's the good one to use

[ChUcK]

Wow don't I feel dumb. I think that is the exact shade of Green that I was trying to use, the crappy one. I am at work right now, but will try and stop by Wally world and get a few different colors. I will use the exact same process (temp, time, proportions of mix, etc.) and let you know if the only thing wrong with my process was the dye.
That would be awesome if it was as simple as that.

I think just about everybody here has fallen prey to the Dark Green Samurai. Don't feel too dumb. I still think you should post a picture though. That will answer all questions that might pertain to your dilemma.

[AciDBatH666]

thats the green that i did... pretty dark

[Claytoon]

Once I realized it wasn't going to turn out green, i just let it sit for longer. Figured almost black was better than a brown-green.



http://www.flickr.com/photos/claytonbing/4293786263/

[ChUcK]

Yeah, you're set. Different colors are the cure for your blues. Save the Dark Green, just combine it with your black.

[ChUcK]

thats the green that i did... pretty dark

Lucky for you there was a grey hulk for a while, wasn't there? I remember seeing that one when you first posted it, my eyes popped out of my head like a cartoon.

[Claytoon]

I bought some lighter colors...namely lemon yellow and scarlet red (only light colors they had). I also saw navy blue, denim blue, and wine. Are any of those colors any good or are they death traps like dark green? Ironically I spent all this time worrying about color, and my next dye was more appropriate with a simple black. Will post pics tomorrow when it is complete.