Gradient Dying questions

[Bradimous1]

1. Has anyone done it with iDye Poly? If so, what amount of iDye to water do you use?
2. The iDye site says to heat it to boiling, the pit what you are dying in. This sounds crazy to put a disc in boiling water/dye. The tutorial says to do it at 120*. So, should I heat it to boiling and let it cool to 120*?
3. Has anyone tried the 1 disc in the top bucket and 1 in the bottom bucket idea?

Sorry if these questions are dumb, but I've never dyed a disc before and this seems like the easiest way to start.

 

[roggenb3]

1. Has anyone done it with iDye Poly? If so, what amount of iDye to water do you use?
2. The iDye site says to heat it to boiling, the pit what you are dying in. This sounds crazy to put a disc in boiling water/dye. The tutorial says to do it at 120*. So, should I heat it to boiling and let it cool to 120*?
3. Has anyone tried the 1 disc in the top bucket and 1 in the bottom bucket idea?

Sorry if these questions are dumb, but I've never dyed a disc before and this seems like the easiest way to start.

So, getting a real gradient dyer going is one of my winter projects that hopefully I get to - along with figuring out how to use one on a disc that has an image on it already (i.e. how to mask the back of the disc off so I don't dye behind the image). I've never really used one, but...

1. Yes, I am sure it's been done with idye Poly, given that it's been the go to dye for a few years. There is no "correct" amount of dye/water to use. Anything would work really, the weaker the dye the slower you want your bucket to drain, and vice versa. I am going to start with 1 packet per 50oz or so - roughly twice the water I use for normal dip dyes.

2. Definitely you don't want to use boiling water. Personally, I think 120 is even too high for a gradient dye, unless you have weak dye or a very fast drip rate. Dye at 120 is going to get pretty dark pretty quickly; for gradients I am imagining it would be better to use room temp dye and set your drip rate so that it takes a few hours to finish. But again, this is all speculation. I am going to start with room temp when I try.

3. Don't really know what you mean by that. Just as a way to dye 2 at once? Seems unnecessary.

 

[Bradimous1]

So, getting a real gradient dyer going is one of my winter projects that hopefully I get to - along with figuring out how to use one on a disc that has an image on it already (i.e. how to mask the back of the disc off so I don't dye behind the image). I've never really used one, but...

1. Yes, I am sure it's been done with idye Poly, given that it's been the go to dye for a few years. There is no "correct" amount of dye/water to use. Anything would work really, the weaker the dye the slower you want your bucket to drain, and vice versa. I am going to start with 1 packet per 50oz or so - roughly twice the water I use for normal dip dyes.

2. Definitely you don't want to use boiling water. Personally, I think 120 is even too high for a gradient dye, unless you have weak dye or a very fast drip rate. Dye at 120 is going to get pretty dark pretty quickly; for gradients I am imagining it would be better to use room temp dye and set your drip rate so that it takes a few hours to finish. But again, this is all speculation. I am going to start with room temp when I try.

3. Don't really know what you mean by that. Just as a way to dye 2 at once? Seems unnecessary.

Thank you for the response.
3. Put one disk in the top bucket and one in the bottom. As the bottom bucket fills, itvwould do the exact same process in the opposite fashion. So yes, it would dye 2 at once.

 

[Backspace517]

This is a really interesting concept. I cant wait to hear what you learn!