geekhack
geekhack Projects => Making Stuff Together! => DIY Discussions ARCHIVE => Topic started by: mcsnails on Sat, 15 October 2011, 19:41:36
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I am attempting to dye the keys on my Apple Extended II navy blue, but am having some trouble. I have 2 bottles of liquid RIT dye in about 6 cups of water. The keys aren't taking the dye too well, and are only a pink-purple color after about 4 attempts. I've added some salt, and vinegar. Any suggestions on what I'm doing wrong? I cleaned them thoroughly before attempting to dye them so I'm fairly sure that's not the problem.
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Try the powder version of the dye, and bring it to a boil before adding the keys (be sure to let it cool down to around 170 F if the keys are ABS). Salt and vinegar probably won't make much difference to plastic. I believe the liquid dye already has salt, according to the label.
I had similar issues with liquid Rit Scarlet Red dye and an IBM Model M (72G series, with rubber domes). 2 baths in boiling water and plenty of liquid dye turned them a disturbing salmon color. One box of powder, and the keys were dark red in 15 minutes.
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Yeah, a box of powder did the trick! I did the function keys today in green with powder, and they were the desired color in minutes! Wow, I am surprised that there is this much of a difference between liquid and powder, if anything, you'd think the liquid would be more effective