Author Topic: PBT two color dye job  (Read 3470 times)

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Offline wcass

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PBT two color dye job
« on: Wed, 16 October 2013, 21:46:45 »
So i have been sitting on this idea for a while - mask the key top, dye the key; remove the mask and dye the key a different color. For my first attempt, i used nail polish and it failed completely; the dye went right through the polish. So i did a little research on dying yoyos and flying disks and did a little test using Elmers Glue, Oracal 631 vinyl, electrical tape, Scotch tape. I only dyed the first coat so that we can see how clean the lines are. I chose black for my first color because it will not change when i dye the second color. Below is a close up look.

39552-0

And the winner is ... Scotch tape (Reset and Space). Elmers glue (left arrow) was a pain to paint. The Oracal vinyl (1, Excel, Ctrl) and electrical tape (braces, comma) were damaged by the heat. I may try Scotch packaging tape next, but I think there is some promise here.
 

Offline Tempiz

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Re: PBT two color dye job
« Reply #1 on: Wed, 16 October 2013, 21:53:32 »
Hmmm, Will keep this in mind for future jobs.
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Offline Photoelectric

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Re: PBT two color dye job
« Reply #2 on: Wed, 16 October 2013, 22:06:29 »
Good idea :thumb:  Thank you for sharing.
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Offline fohat.digs

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Re: PBT two color dye job
« Reply #3 on: Thu, 17 October 2013, 08:00:08 »
Pure wickedness!

I love it!

On my to-do list near the top.
"It turns out that for a decade, whenever Trump wanted to get a loan, or make a deal, he would inflate the value of his real estate. For instance, suggesting that his 11,000-square foot penthouse was a 30,000-square foot penthouse.
And the attorney general of New York knew that Trump's property values were inflated because when it came time to pay taxes, Trump undervalued the very same properties.
It was all part of a very sophisticated real estate practice known as “lying.”
- Jon Stewart 2024-03-28

Offline Findecanor

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Re: PBT two color dye job
« Reply #4 on: Thu, 17 October 2013, 08:49:24 »
Interesting. Thanks for sharing!

BTW, what brand of dye and keys did you use?

Offline wcass

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Re: PBT two color dye job
« Reply #5 on: Thu, 17 October 2013, 09:20:42 »
Interesting. Thanks for sharing!

BTW, what brand of dye and keys did you use?

iDye Poly and IBM buckling spring caps. RIT changed there dye formulas so that they often don't work at all, but I think that the quality of iDye is better than even the old RIT and it cost less too.

This vendor link will help you find a store that sells it.
http://www.jacquardproducts.com/storelocator/

Offline theeattre

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Re: PBT two color dye job
« Reply #6 on: Thu, 17 October 2013, 09:32:18 »
not sure how it would hold up but they make a block out fluid for watercolor called liquid frisket. it's essentially a rubber cement but i think a tad thinner. anyway, it's readily available at art supply stores.

Offline Linkbane

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Re: PBT two color dye job
« Reply #7 on: Thu, 17 October 2013, 11:30:54 »
Seems really cool, I think that teamliquid sells a few of these. If they get more common, I'd be really enthusiastic to get blue body with a white or blank top.
Hope that you go well in this process.
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Offline fohat.digs

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Re: PBT two color dye job
« Reply #8 on: Thu, 17 October 2013, 12:51:13 »
DAMN  YOU  WCASS !

I am working at home today, and got so excited by your invention that I had to try it with some spare keys I had laying around.

I was very careful to clean and apply the Scotch tape (or so I thought) and the iDye worked well and quickly (first time I have used it).

When I started pulling them out, there were a dozen that were no good, so I thought "well, OK, cool idea but forget it"

but then I fished out a perfect one and OMG! it is so beautiful!

But these 7 are all that I got out of a complete set of letters and numbers.

No telling how many keys and how much dye I will have to waste to build a set. I hate you.
"It turns out that for a decade, whenever Trump wanted to get a loan, or make a deal, he would inflate the value of his real estate. For instance, suggesting that his 11,000-square foot penthouse was a 30,000-square foot penthouse.
And the attorney general of New York knew that Trump's property values were inflated because when it came time to pay taxes, Trump undervalued the very same properties.
It was all part of a very sophisticated real estate practice known as “lying.”
- Jon Stewart 2024-03-28

Offline Photoelectric

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Re: PBT two color dye job
« Reply #9 on: Thu, 17 October 2013, 13:12:32 »
DAMN  YOU  WCASS !

I am working at home today, and got so excited by your invention that I had to try it with some spare keys I had laying around.

I was very careful to clean and apply the Scotch tape (or so I thought) and the iDye worked well and quickly (first time I have used it).

When I started pulling them out, there were a dozen that were no good, so I thought "well, OK, cool idea but forget it"

but then I fished out a perfect one and OMG! it is so beautiful!

But these 7 are all that I got out of a complete set of letters and numbers.

No telling how many keys and how much dye I will have to waste to build a set. I hate you.

I love those!!!  Good way to make an aging keyboard look more "modern" too.
- Keyboards: LZ-GH (Jailhouse Blues)M65-a, MIRA SE, E8-V1, MOON TKL, CA66
- Keyboard Case Painting Tips -
- Join Mechanical Keyboards photography group on Flickr -

Offline esoomenona

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Re: PBT two color dye job
« Reply #10 on: Thu, 17 October 2013, 13:14:50 »
How dark is the dye? Do you think this iDye could be used to dye the entire key black while the legend still stays visible, such as the black keys on a HHKB?

Offline fohat.digs

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Re: PBT two color dye job
« Reply #11 on: Thu, 17 October 2013, 13:32:18 »
How dark is the dye?

This green was about a quarter of the packet in a liter of water. I was surprised how dark it became, and quickly. I suspect that I will soon be agreeing that iDye is superior to RIT.

I have dyed dozens of junk keys black with RIT dye, it works great. No trace of the legend (well, I have not gotten out my microscope).
"It turns out that for a decade, whenever Trump wanted to get a loan, or make a deal, he would inflate the value of his real estate. For instance, suggesting that his 11,000-square foot penthouse was a 30,000-square foot penthouse.
And the attorney general of New York knew that Trump's property values were inflated because when it came time to pay taxes, Trump undervalued the very same properties.
It was all part of a very sophisticated real estate practice known as “lying.”
- Jon Stewart 2024-03-28

Offline esoomenona

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Re: PBT two color dye job
« Reply #12 on: Thu, 17 October 2013, 13:35:38 »
Maybe with a dark grey then?

Offline fohat.digs

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Re: PBT two color dye job
« Reply #13 on: Thu, 17 October 2013, 13:42:32 »
Maybe with a dark grey then?

I suppose that I did not understand your question. I have had little success with dark colors like Cocoa and Charcoal, but timing will also be critical.

Make sure that you have plenty of spares, and do not expect complete uniformity.
"It turns out that for a decade, whenever Trump wanted to get a loan, or make a deal, he would inflate the value of his real estate. For instance, suggesting that his 11,000-square foot penthouse was a 30,000-square foot penthouse.
And the attorney general of New York knew that Trump's property values were inflated because when it came time to pay taxes, Trump undervalued the very same properties.
It was all part of a very sophisticated real estate practice known as “lying.”
- Jon Stewart 2024-03-28

Offline wcass

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  • Location: Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA
Re: PBT two color dye job
« Reply #14 on: Fri, 18 October 2013, 01:11:26 »
I'm going to try packaging tape, masking tape, and liquid frisket next. I'm also going to try heating up the dye and then turning the heat off before inserting the keys.

My dye setup is a pasta pot with removable strainer. The caps are in the strainer and i lift the strainer up and down in the dye. I think this might be less likely to pull off the mask than stirring.

When i am done with the keys, i bottle the dye so that i can reuse it for the next batch. I'll take pictures of my setup the next time i do it.