Can you dye resin?

[Wayne R.]

Has anyone ever done this?
Just two random thought that crashed into each other, and I thought someone here would know. The BMX restorer community do some pretty amazing work with faded Skyway Tuffs, seats & grips. And I remembered the brown resin that the Deck 36 Motion Tracker was made of, wondering at the time how they'd done it.

I've a resin Dredd Lawgiver that I'd like to paint one day, and it's probably going to wear off in places where I've pawed it. If it was black underneath, it wouldn't look so bad. If Dylon's going to make it dissolve or shrink, or is a waste of time, it'd be better not to find out the hard way.

 

[stagelife]

yea totally check with your distributor of the resin to make sure you get it comparable but most company have 20 or more tints and can be mixed to any color you can think of just takes some practice... also dont try to tint the white resin get clear or "tint-able" you will have a easy time then since it wont change color at the last min when it sets up

 

[stagelife]

anything i am going to paint i try to do black or at least grey

 

[division 6]

I think Smooth On actually sells black resin.
As mentioned there are resin dyes available as well as Bronzing powders.

 

[Grant Da Modeler]

Division6 is correct ... Smooth-On sells a black resin called "ONYX", but they
also offer a clear resin "SmoothCast 325/326" which is a clear resin that
can be tinted to an number of different colours (including black.).

Smooth-Cast® 325 Colormatch™ For True Color Representation | Silicone Rubber, Urethane Rubber, Liquid Plastic, Casting Resin, Lifecasting, Epoxy Resin, Rigid and Flexible Foam from Smooth-On

Here are the various "SO-Strong" colour dyes that are available for this resin :

SO-Strong® Color Tints For Urethane Rubber, Plastic, and Foam | Silicone Rubber, Urethane Rubber, Liquid Plastic, Casting Resin, Lifecasting, Epoxy Resin, Rigid and Flexible Foam from Smooth-On

I've used that resin, and dyed it several different colours with excellent
results.

The only thing to note is that the castings I got had a semi-transparent
look to them ... not a solid, opaque colour. If you wanted a solid blue
casting, with no hint of translucency, I'd probably try tinting one of the
white-coloured Smooth-On resins with the blue dye.

EDIT: Just remembered that I have used the black dye on their Smooth-On 300 (white) resin for a
pistol casting, and the result was a gray casting that was then painted over with black paint. If the paint
ever got chipped, you'd see a gray, metal-like surface underneath.

 

[Wayne R.]

So no problems with dunking a finished cream resin piece into a vat of black fabric dye, then?
And the resin dyes, could you mix them with water and immerse as above? Would it take?
I don't think of resin as porus, but plastic/Zytel wheels don't seem to be either.

 

[division 6]

It may take the color.
I have had Super Clean (purple cleaning solution) discolor a few pieces in the past.

Black dye will probably only give you grey though.

Make sure the water / dye isn't to hot or it will distort the resin.

 

[stagelife]

ohhhhh you mean after the part is cast? uhmmmm not so much... the pigment wont cure its make to heat cure with the resin so its like rubbing oil paint on plastic... it might stain it a bit but you would have to leave it for weeks to really dry.... a note on the smooth on ONYX its just smothcast 300 series that has the black pigment already in it... and cost a lot more... just get 325 or clear and the $7 bottle of so strong color