Author Topic: First time dyeing some keycaps...  (Read 2057 times)

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Offline babuinix

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First time dyeing some keycaps...
« on: Fri, 17 October 2014, 12:56:00 »
Everything went better than expected.



Full Album here > http://imgur.com/a/kG0U0

Full process:
In this dyeing session a 5g Package of Dylon Dye- Pagoda Red was used throughout 2 hours and went like this:

First cleaned the keycaps, pan and rinser thoroughly with soap and warm water before using them (beware of grease).

Put the water to boil (90Cº) and then poured the colour (Dylon Red, 5g package), stirred while it boiled until it was homogeneous and there were no little bits floating in the surface.

- After all was mixed evenly I added a pinch of salt and some drops of vinegar and stirred a bit more.

- Turned Off heat and let the temperature go down a bit and added the keycaps and stirred around for 10 minutes. (since it was my first time and I was afraid of warped keys I tried to play safe) But It seems old IBM keycaps PBT handle the heat with no problem.

- Every 10/15 minutes I would take them off and put them in the fridge while the mix went to boil again while adding a bit more salt and vinegar. (I don't really know if that helps but it makes sense that plastic reacts to acidity and abrupt temperature changes)

I kept doing that until I got a deep red, started with just a salmon red but then it became deeper and vibrant.

« Last Edit: Fri, 17 October 2014, 14:23:06 by babuinix »
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Offline Xowie

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Re: First time dyeing some keycaps...
« Reply #1 on: Fri, 17 October 2014, 13:33:49 »
Nice, looks good!
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Offline JPG

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Re: First time dyeing some keycaps...
« Reply #2 on: Fri, 17 October 2014, 13:48:41 »
Wow really nice!
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Offline Lurch

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Re: First time dyeing some keycaps...
« Reply #3 on: Fri, 17 October 2014, 13:53:32 »
Very nice! What dye did you use?
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Offline Puddsy

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Re: First time dyeing some keycaps...
« Reply #4 on: Fri, 17 October 2014, 13:54:37 »
Those turned out really well!
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Offline babuinix

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Re: First time dyeing some keycaps...
« Reply #5 on: Fri, 17 October 2014, 14:16:18 »
Very nice! What dye did you use?

Dylon Pagoda Red, 5g package.

Added details on main post.
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Offline inanis

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Re: First time dyeing some keycaps...
« Reply #6 on: Fri, 17 October 2014, 14:17:22 »
Wow! Very nice.
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Offline fohat.digs

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Re: First time dyeing some keycaps...
« Reply #7 on: Sat, 18 October 2014, 09:17:44 »
Very nice rich red.

I always like to add this link to threads about dyeing key caps.

Reply #14 is particularly helpful.

http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=35444.msg658453#msg658453
Citizens United violates the essence of what made America a great country in its political system. Now it’s just an oligarchy, with unlimited political bribery being the essence of getting the nominations for president or to elect the president.
So now we’ve just seen a complete subversion of our political system as a payoff to major contributors, who want and expect and sometimes get favors for themselves after the election’s over.”
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