Plastic Dyes?

[Omega Metro]

I would still like to give it a go. The warping is a concern though. But the thought of putting an ugly unloved Transformer in a pot of boiling water is quite tempting.

[Bumbleb33]

Dying works great, I have done it many times. You just need to be considerate of the fact that if the water is too hot it can warp your plastic and that the final colour may vary.

I have personally found dyes designed for polyester to be superior to cotton dyes as polyester is obviously synthetic and the dye compound responds better to synthetic material.

As for final result consider the basics of colour to determine what the final result is going to look like, eg red dye + blue transformer = purple transformer. You can always go darker but you can never go lighter, therefore for brilliant colours always try and start with a yellow or white robot and then add a colour.
Lastly remember all plastics react differently to dye and transformers are made of many different plastic types.

The best advice I can provide is:
1. Start with a junker and see if the effort is worth the result, only then proceed to working on a piece you wish to keep.
2. Good prep is critical, dye will stain anything it makes contact with so use utensils that are expendable furthermore lay tin foil down on your benchtops otherwise your wife / girlfriend will kill you when you have permanent red dots all over her white bench tops.

My process for dying is to:
1. Make up the dye (do not boil)
2. Turn off the heat and allow the dye to cool to about 65 - 70 degrees celsius.
3. Use a pair of pliers or a soup ladle to submerge the part you wish to dye in the solution for 10 seconds.
4. Remove the piece from the solution and place in a bath of cool water (tap temp).
5. Remove the piece from the cooling bath and re-submerge in the dye, repeat the process until the colour is idea.
6. When the colour is right place it into the cooling bath until you complete all the pieces to be dyed.
7. Wash (under cool water) all the pieces until no more dye comes out in the water.
8. Allow the pieces to dry (do not use hair dryers etc to accelerate the process, just be patient) for a good couple of days as many of the tiny spaces will retain water for days.
9. Re-assemble.

[CBratron]

Would bleaching the parts as though you were treating yellowed plastic, work if there is no lighter figure to work with?

[Bumbleb33]

Would bleaching the parts as though you were treating yellowed plastic, work if there is no lighter figure to work with?

I have personally never bleached a Transformer though I have heard of people using oven cleaner on their white Transformers to eliminate yellowing. I would approach both practices with caution, always test first.

[Jinto]

Thanks for all the advice Bumbleb33!

[Omega Metro]

Dying works great, I have done it many times. You just need to be considerate of the fact that if the water is too hot it can warp your plastic and that the final colour may vary.

I have personally found dyes designed for polyester to be superior to cotton dyes as polyester is obviously synthetic and the dye compound responds better to synthetic material.

As for final result consider the basics of colour to determine what the final result is going to look like, eg red dye + blue transformer = purple transformer. You can always go darker but you can never go lighter, therefore for brilliant colours always try and start with a yellow or white robot and then add a colour.
Lastly remember all plastics react differently to dye and transformers are made of many different plastic types.

The best advice I can provide is:
1. Start with a junker and see if the effort is worth the result, only then proceed to working on a piece you wish to keep.
2. Good prep is critical, dye will stain anything it makes contact with so use utensils that are expendable furthermore lay tin foil down on your benchtops otherwise your wife / girlfriend will kill you when you have permanent red dots all over her white bench tops.

My process for dying is to:
1. Make up the dye (do not boil)
2. Turn off the heat and allow the dye to cool to about 65 - 70 degrees celsius.
3. Use a pair of pliers or a soup ladle to submerge the part you wish to dye in the solution for 10 seconds.
4. Remove the piece from the solution and place in a bath of cool water (tap temp).
5. Remove the piece from the cooling bath and re-submerge in the dye, repeat the process until the colour is idea.
6. When the colour is right place it into the cooling bath until you complete all the pieces to be dyed.
7. Wash (under cool water) all the pieces until no more dye comes out in the water.
8. Allow the pieces to dry (do not use hair dryers etc to accelerate the process, just be patient) for a good couple of days as many of the tiny spaces will retain water for days.
9. Re-assemble.

Some great info there! Thanks for that. I'm looking at dying a blue transformer black so assume dyeing anything black would be easier than other colours.