[bigwilly]

How to dye faux clays for beginners

Can one of our seasoned faux dyers post some SPECIFIC info for us faux dyeing beginners.

• What is the ratio of powder dye to water. Does the ratio change (or matter) depending on the number of chips. I made a rack (the fishing line type) and could make another and stack them in a big pot (200 at a time).
• Do I add hydrogen peroxide or vinegar? How much (ratio)???
• Do I boil the solution? Simmer? Warm up?
• How long do the chips need to boil, simmer or sit in the warm water?
• Does the solution need stirred during the process?
• Do you let them cool in the solution or take them out and wash them in clean water?

Thanks!!

[Captn_All_In]

Well....I am no expert but I think the directions for mixing the dye are on the box.

As for the ratio....I just dumped some in until I got a color that I thought was good. Is that going to work across multiple batches....no, but I am going to be able to get all of my chips out of one batch of dye mix (100 or so of pink half pies).

I did not add vinegar or H2O2 to the rit dye mixture, I only added H2O2 to my kool aid attempt.

I let my heated attempt with rit dye stand in hot water for 20 min.

I let the cold attempt with rit dye sit over night, this did cause one side of the chip to be darker than the other. (This cold method did work with moderate success but there was some kind of chemical reaction and it ate holes through the aluminum pan I was using when I let the liquid sit for 2 days in the pan)

You should occasionally stir the liquid or at least move the chips.

I took them out right away and dried them with a towel. I have read that others rinsed theirs off with cold water after taking them out. I do not think that it matters one way or the other just as long as you do something to them after taking them out.

Hope this helps a little, and hopefully some others with the large batch experience can chime in!!

[Stocktrader]

Couldn't be easier:
Took pot (Not one you'll use again) with steamer, added water 5/8 full.
Added Vinegar (about 1/4 cup) (wife came home and complained about house smelling on vinegar, so may skip the vin next time.)
Got to simmer/boil.
Added RIT (about 1/3 of package), Stir
Added chips one by one while stirring (did in 50 lot batches).
Set timer for 15 minutes.
Stir often to make sure chips are not resting on sides or stuck together.
After timer goes off, take steamer part with chips (leave solution on LOW flame).
Rinse chips off under cold water, lay out on paper towels. Flip after a few minutes. Let dry while next batch works.
Did 150 chips last night in 3 batches. Total time, 1 hour 5 minutes.
Result:

All 3 batches look the same. Red stacks on left are the ORIGINAL REAL Red chips. Pinks are Orginally White FC's Dyed with Fuscia RIT.
Color transfer is there but less then most Paulson's and acceptible to me.




Stocktrader

[BrettButter]

Holy crap those pink chips are hot.

[Stocktrader]

Originally Posted by BrettButter

Holy crap those pink chips are hot.

It's the camera, they're actually darker (to MY eye) but came out REALLY nice.

[bmwguy525]

holy wowowowow those pinks are sick! Whether that hot pink or dulled down, those things are still sweet!

[guitarizt]

Those look great! Have you noticed any chipping or wear of the dye off the chip?

[Stocktrader]

Originally Posted by guitarizt

Those look great! Have you noticed any chipping or wear of the dye off the chip?

No chipping or wear at all. Only time I see any color transfer unless I'm TRYING to get it to rub off.

[Dudlee74]

I tried this with some SD"s I had and was surprised to find that they warped all to hell, considering they lived in Ten's chip bake off. I'm gonna try again with taking the solution off the heat.

[bigwilly]

I just tried my first and second attempt.


TIP#1 Don't use the walmart brand fabric dye. It won't work.


My second attempt with the rit brand was successful. The simmering solution does soften up the fauxs. There is a much duller thud sound when shuffling them compare to regular fauxs.