RIT Dyes.....

I used some on another non-hobby related project and really liked it. I know some people die tissue with it before applying to frame work. Has anybody sprayed it on a plane after covering? What were your results? How about adding it to clear? Would it be like Candy Apple?

Jon

I did this by adding Rit dye to thinner, then using the resulting dyed thinner to thin clear dope. Brushed this on AFTER having brushed on 2 or 3 coats first (silkspan had a light sheen on it). Finished by wet-sanding and rubbing with Brasso...

Tim

Nice work there Tim !

Thanks, Tony! That means a lot, coming from you!

Tim

What would be the ratio of dye to thinner?

You cannot dye "tissue", it will fall apart, turning into a snotty mess. You can dye silkspan. To dye dope, disolve Rit dye in dope thinner, filter it through a piece of silkspan to take out the dye-carrying crystals, and add to clear dope. If applied over the same color of tissue or silkspan, or over silver or gold dope, it will be a "candy apple". The bad news is that it fades quickly in sunlight. There are better dyes to use. You should try a search on the main forum for "dye" and "ink". Looks like ink is the way to go. You might also want to use 10% to 20% pigmented dope in the mix. Be sure to clearcoat over the dyed dope, or the dye will leach out, and make a real mess. Steve

Another thing to be concerned about - RIT dye, and many other fabric dyes are caustic. They will definitely weaken the thread. Whether this happens to silkspan, or whether dope over silk corrects this effect, I don't know.

I do know that yo-yo'ers sometime like to dye their string, but not when competing. Dyed string will last about half as long before it snaps than an undyed one.

LAST EDITED ON Oct-09-04 AT 11:05 PM (CDT)
 
"What would be the ratio of dye to thinner?"

What I did was pour some thinner in a clear jar, then added some of the Rit. I think I actually added too much, but the only effect of that is to waste some of the Rit... no worry, it's not expensive. Waited until the thinner seemed to take on the color, stirring from time to time, then poured the now-colored thinner off into a new jar, leaving the spent dye crystals behind. Then added this thinner to dope and proceeded. No ratios to worry about. The color gets darker with each coat - you basically stop when you get the color you want.

Tim

Another thing you can do is dye the already dyed Sig Plyspan (not to be confused with Polyspan) silkspan. You can get more concentrated hues this way.

If you want to change blue Plyspan to green, just soak it in some Rit yellow dye (Plyspan doesn't offer green paper).

LAST EDITED ON Oct-10-04 AT 11:25 AM (CDT)
 
Currell,
That brings up a thought. Poly Span that Tom Morris sells is polyester "lining". Has anyone tried dying it?
Bill <><

LAST EDITED ON Oct-10-04 AT 08:23 PM (CDT)
 
Bill,
Wont work (for me)
Tried it once on a sample/not installed piece. Looked like it would work, until I wiped it down (and the color off)with a damp rag.
If you apply two, or three, coats of clear to the installed Polyspan and then spray it with thinned clear to which you have added Higgins "Permanent Fade Proof Artists Ink" to the thinner you can obtain a neat translucent covering. Color depth and appearance is a direct result of amount of ink added to the thinner and the number of color coats you use. It's trial and error for the exact color that satisfies you. We always finish with a clear coat or two. We have a red El Diablo in the club that was done this way three years ago and it has not faded. The "Permanent Fadeproof" ink is the one to use, not their normal artists ink.
Bill Hummel used this approach on the Cardinal he built for the Stunt News article and, I believe, his recovered ARF Nobler.
E-mail me if this is not clear.
Roger

The Ink is the way to go, I have seen the results and it looks great. For the record, I have both died tissue, and used colored Jap tissue. Both faded, and over-laps are darker in color where they occur.

I also tried the tints the Polyspan people sold and added it to sprayed thinner. They worked well, darker colors faded a litte and the mixture had a short shelf life after done spraying.

The best results I have seen were by using ink. I really think there is much to be learned about using ink for paint, with some great potential, I can't wait to do another all ink model.

Curt,
What did you use on that transparent red SV years ago?
Was it the same one as the ceiling fan/fence post/bumble bee one?
I can still remember the first time I launched for you and the hole got in the bottom of the wing near where my fingers were(n't).
And the SECOND time it happened........ the look on your face........

Bill <><

The original I-Beam RyanSV was done in silkspan and tinted dope - the Clear was tinted with a little red dope. I did not like the original results because it was more translucent ant transparent. When I re-finished the model (after the hornet, then loosing the outboard wing to the fence at another contest and fixing it at the hotel), I covered the wings in polyspan, with the rest in silkspan, and left it clear with red dope and black ink for trim. That is how it still lives today, with its tissue and stringer wheel pants, stringer fuse and tissue decals. The encounter with the ceiling fan was during that re-finishing process.

Have you ever launched for me since? BTW, this week, I plan to put a new PA 51 in it, should be fun to fly the old bird again.

Curt

PS: I still have the hornet!

LAST EDITED ON Oct-11-04 AT 07:31 AM (CDT)
 
Curt,
I have launched for you since then, but can't remember where. Maybe NATS practice?? I don't know.........
Oldtimers Syndrome catching up.
IIRC, the "hornet occurrance" was on your first trip to NC for a contest. (??) Since I don't "grip" the wing with my fingers, I knew it wasn't them that was putting the holes in the wing, but you sure had a crazy look on your face! hahahaha
Then the next morning seeing that "big bee" in the jewelery box sure relieved a lot of "pressure".
c'ya soon,
Bill <><

Saw this SunGuard product at the RIT site:

http://www.ritdye.com/sun_guard/

Tony

Thanks Tony.
This looks like a good product for those of us that have to contend with the sun 12 months a year.
Except for hurricane season, that is.
Has anyone used it yet? results?
Roger V.

Hmm, what a coincidence.
Just saw a guest on Good Morning America speaking of the benefits of UV protection and she recommended Rit Sun Guard.