Anybody try it ??
What type of dye would I use ??
Anybody try it ??
What type of dye would I use ??
Poly and Nylon don't dye very well. Their color is mixed in the material when it's made.
I tried dying some mule tape with black RIT dye, a very strong mix in fact. And the best I got was a silvery grey/white that can come off with some handling.
I'd expect the same with any of the good webbing out there.
Nylon accepts dye better than polyester and therein lies a problem. Most cargo straps would be polyester or polypro (forget trying to dye that) because of nylon's tendency to stretch. Black is an almost impossible color to dye at the best of times. To try to dye polyester you will want to use a hot water bath. Heat will help the straps hold the dye. If you want a color approaching black you should use a color on the opposite side of the color wheel. That will get you closer to black than any other options.
Leave the straps in the dye for a good long time (follow the directions and then add some time. 1/2 hour would probably not be amiss for polyester) When you take it out, dunk it in a bath of dilute vinegar. That will serve as a mordant and help set the dye.
That's a nutshell course in dyeing, but I would not suggest you get your hopes up too high. Polyester is a bear to dye.
I may be slow... But I sure am gimpy.
"Bless you child, when you set out to thread a needle don't hold the thread still and fetch the needle up to it; hold the needle still and poke the thread at it; that's the way a woman most always does, but a man always does t'other way."
Mrs. Loftus to Huck Finn
We Don't Sew... We Make Gear! video series
Important thread injector guidelines especially for Newbies
Bobbin Tension - A Personal Viewpoint
I bet if you spilt paint on those straps by accident it would stay on there for ever.
Maybe try spilling some spray paint on them....
"Proud Pound Hawg"
Republic of Texas H.O.G. (Hennessy Owners Group)
What about a leather dye? Not sure what it would do to it structurally though.
The issue is not so much the kind of dye as how porous is the item being died. Leather is very porous. Natural fibers are very porous. Synthetic fibers... it depends on the composition. Nylon is more porous that polyester. Polypro floats. It is not porous at all. No water is going to get sucked into polypro so no dye will get in either.
There are better dyes than Ritz but essentially the problem is the same. If it won't absorb water it won't absorb dye.
I may be slow... But I sure am gimpy.
"Bless you child, when you set out to thread a needle don't hold the thread still and fetch the needle up to it; hold the needle still and poke the thread at it; that's the way a woman most always does, but a man always does t'other way."
Mrs. Loftus to Huck Finn
We Don't Sew... We Make Gear! video series
Important thread injector guidelines especially for Newbies
Bobbin Tension - A Personal Viewpoint
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