Curing Dye

[tkupsc]

I'm a bit of a newbie in this area of the game, but I've been reading the forums quite a bit and have worked my way up to some multi-colored discs using I-Dye poly and Oracal 651 on the premium plastics. During the process of unmasking between different colored dips, I'm getting a bit of residual adhesive that I'd like to remove with Goof Off. The problem is that my dye isn't curing quickly enough for me, and the Goof Off is taking dye off as well as the goo. Is there a method of accelerating the curing process? I tried deep-freezing the discs, and that didn't seem to help. Here's my first attempt at a multi-color, by the way, an ESP Comet.

 

[BennettUA]

Some dye is almost always going to come off when attempting to remove residual adhesive. I use Goo Gone and seem to have less of that problem, being citrus-based.

Freezing/chilling/cooling the disc does actually help the "curing" process, it slows the dye down. Difficult to say how substantial this process is without detailed/ expensive instruments to measure, but I believe it works.

 

[Timeetyo]

Some dye is almost always going to come off when attempting to remove residual adhesive. I use Goo Gone and seem to have less of that problem, being citrus-based.

Freezing/chilling/cooling the disc does actually help the "curing" process, it slows the dye down. Difficult to say how substantial this process is without detailed/ expensive instruments to measure, but I believe it works.

When doing multiple colors, do you "cure" the first before the second / third / etc?

Do you freeze? If so, how long?

 

[DyeingToPlay]

Not trying to be contrary or unhelpful here, but I would think freezing would be the opposite of 'curing'. I've frozen discs between colors before and couldn't really see any noticeable difference in bleeding/transferring/'picking up color compared to discs that were just left sitting out. I've not tried heating to 'set' the color, but I think the freezing actually leaves the fresh dye closer to the surface of the plastic and more concentrated making it more likely to be moved around in subsequent processes. My main reasoning for this theory is the fact that most of the discs I've dyed tend to bleed/fade and blur fairly quickly depending on plastic type. Fine lines and details at room temp can start to blur within just a few days. I have 2 dyes that have been kept in the freezer since they were finished and photographed....one of those for almost a year and a half now. The frozen discs have not faded or fuzzed out at all. For reference the discs in question are my Octhrowberfest entries from last year and this year. 'Raven's roost' from last year still looks as fresh as new right down to the details in the feathers. This year's "hand that feeds" has been in the freezer since it was finished and the eyelashes and hair details are still crisp and clean. By comparison a disc I put a spin dye on last week has been in my bag and is already starting to get 'fuzzy'. I would think that leaving a disc for a few days at room temp between colors might be the best way to minimize the crossover as it gives the dye some time to 'settle in' to the plastic rather than concentrated near the surface. The downside, of course, is the risk of some color 'spreading' before you get to the next step. Not sure if there is a good way to cure or set dye, but freezing it certainly seems to stop or at least greatly slow it's spreading for as long as it is kept cold.
Hope this helps.

 

[BennettUA]

We need a team of scientists with expensive equipment to study the effects of dyeing plastic polymers. Anyone know of one? Mythbusters, maybe...

 

[BennettUA]

When doing multiple colors, do you "cure" the first before the second / third / etc?

Do you freeze? If so, how long?

Even without freezing/cooling, I wait at LEAST a day before remasking for new layers of color.

 

[roggenb3]

Random thoughts:

1) DyeingToPlay, the fact you had the idea to freeze discs for later comparison is amazing.

2) If I need to get the adhesive off between colors with the same mask, I freeze it for 30 min or so and then use goo gone or rubbing alcohol. Although I think DTP is right that freezing leaves more dye towards the surface, I still think that in the short term, actually being cold helps prevent the rubbing alcohol from messing with the already dyed sections. Just seems intuitive to me: dye takes better in heat, therefore the warmer it is when you hit it with goo gone the more it will mess with it.

3) I have never really given any thought to trying to cure a disc before remasking in order to avoid the vinyl removing color (Bennett, is that why u let them sit a day or more?) bc I have never had it be noticeable enough that I really cared.

4) Really nice job on your first multicolor!

 

[BennettUA]

Random thoughts:

1) DyeingToPlay, the fact you had the idea to freeze discs for later comparison is amazing.

2) If I need to get the adhesive off between colors with the same mask, I freeze it for 30 min or so and then use goo gone or rubbing alcohol. Although I think DTP is right that freezing leaves more dye towards the surface, I still think that in the short term, actually being cold helps prevent the rubbing alcohol from messing with the already dyed sections. Just seems intuitive to me: dye takes better in heat, therefore the warmer it is when you hit it with goo gone the more it will mess with it.

3) I have never really given any thought to trying to cure a disc before remasking in order to avoid the vinyl removing color (Bennett, is that why u let them sit a day or more?) bc I have never had it be noticeable enough that I really cared.

4) Really nice job on your first multicolor!

Yes, for the very reasons you gave in #1. I may be wrong, but it does seem to make sense that since dye takes better with heat, allowing the disc to cool will reduce transfer.

 

[tkupsc]

In that light, I wonder if the dyed discs could be "freeze dried", which would maybe stop both spreading and color transfer more permanently. I know that they cryogenically freeze golf balls and claim it doesn't have negative consequences for the plastics under impact. Anyone have an extra tank of liquid nitrogen just lying around?

 

[tkupsc]

The Goo Gone worked much better than Goof Off; it basically leaves the dye intact. Thanks for the help!