Rit dye trial

[funkymeeba]

So I have this whole stack of blank PBT keycaps I got from SP not too long ago, and finally got around to dyeing them. "Dark Green" and "Navy Blue" were the colors I used. Granted, I have not done this before, so I wasn't exactly expecting perfection... but imagine my surprise when I got this:


(Note, the key layout on this is far from final, I'm still figuring out where I want everything.)

Anyone else had interesting results with dyes on keycaps? Anyone have suggestions as to some other dyes I might try out?

[hashbaz]

There have been several threads about this, and the consensus seems to be that RIT is the best (or only) thing to use.  Consistency in the final color seems to be pretty elusive, though iMav had I think the best results early on (2009 IIRC) with blank HHKB keys.

[funkymeeba]

SmallFry was also saying (via IRC) that the red and orange dyes seem to work best. I don't think the green was too bad. I could probably improve that.

I don't think I'll use Navy Blue again, though.

[BossBorot]

I've had good results even on abs note the difference on my mouse:
(the keycaps on the numpad are different sets in each pic so don't get caught up on them.)





did you use liquid or powder and what steep temp, time, concentration, and other solutions if any did you add to the mix?

Also this is what I was able to achieve on pbt engraved:

[funkymeeba]

I used the powder. I got that because I thought I recalled reading about better experiences with liquid. More searching leads to stories both ways.

I couldn't give you an exact temp. I was holding it just below boiling. Concentration was about what o2dazone posted once, about 1/3 packet of dye to 750mL distilled water. I throw about a teaspoon of salt in, as well. I'm wondering if maybe the Navy Blue is just a bad color to go with. The green isn't so bad, but has room for improvement.

Nice mouse, by the way. That does appear to have come out really well.

[BossBorot]

I've done more rit dyeing with abs, where high temp is a concern, but often I have pbt in the same pot. Every time I've done it I've used the entire packet of black powder and extremely low temp at 140 F for a long time in a 4 quart or so pot with around two tablespoons of salt. I haven't done colors where you are looking for a cut off point as I've been trying to get things as black as possible but I think my method allows you to check more often relative to the process as I'm not trying to just blast it in quickly. By a long time I mean until you think it's done. I've ranged from 5-8 hours the three times I've done it at 140 F. I just get it up to temp and stir every 30mins-1hr and check at the same intervals.

Also this has been mentioned elsewhere but not here. Make sure to wash the caps before rit dyeing them.

also be aware of what color you are starting from and what you are going for. Rit dye is like dye sublimation you can only make something darker so often times white keycaps are the best starting point as you are starting from a blank slate.

my last point would be reach a level of sanity before taking the plunge. Don't just get the water to a temp and add your ingediants make sure things seem to be working fine before dropping your precious keycaps in. You can make quick sanity checks with a white t-shirt, paper, placing a drop onto a paper towel etc before reaching the point of no return.

[funkymeeba]

Yeah, I might play around with some variables next weekend. I have a whole bunch of these caps to work with (and what better way to use $90 of keycaps than dye experiments).

[BossBorot]

yeah playing around with variables is really the most likely way you can come out of this with what you want going in.

Sure people on the forums have had good results but just as many if not more have had bad results like yours with splotchy discoloration using other peoples methods.

There are just so many variables that if you try to directly follow someone else's recipes you likely have a better chance of succeeding then if you just went it alone but the odds are still not all that good looking at the rit dye thread. What really matters is adaptability and patience try messing around until you get it right with similar caps that you don't care about or something else and then just give it your best shot.

If you go into it expecting a 100% chance of sucess you are going to have a bad time and are much less likely to be able to adapt and get what you want as your end result.

Have fun and please post results even if they don't come out well.

Best of luck.

[fohat.digs]

People have had wildly variable results.

Post #14 in this thread really got my attention, but I have not gotten around to trying all of those techniques.

http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=35444.msg742090#msg742090