Tint a canopy??
08-24-2005, 07:29 AM
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RE: Tint a canopy??
Here is what I do (I tint props too..its cool)
I found these posted in the Vectorflight Edge thread... I cannot take credit, but I cannot remember who originally posted them either
but it works perfectly for me....
I found these posted in the Vectorflight Edge thread... I cannot take credit, but I cannot remember who originally posted them either
but it works perfectly for me....
Directions I found on RCU and modified slightly (time and temp) per my findings:
10 Steps to Tinting Canopy Bliss
This method works with Lexan canopies using Tintex or Ritt fabric dyes.
1. Clean your canopy with warm water and mild soap, rinse thoroughly.
Note: Avoid touching the canopy, oils from your fingers may affect the tinting (use rubber gloves).
3. Find a container larger than your canopy, preferably something you don't intend to use again.
4. Use hot water (140°F), and fill your container to a depth one (1) inch above the canopy.
5. Add 1 cup of vinegar for each gallon of water used.
6. Mix in two parts of black dye and one part of Royal Blue dye thoroughly, there should be no clumps.
(Note: This combination will produce a smoked tint. You could also use straight Black or any other color desired.
I used 3 total packs of dye in a 10 Gallon plastic garabage can. Perhaps I should have used more dye to reduce
the total time needed to get the right level of tint.)
7. Depending on the tint desired this process could take anywhere from 20 minutes up to 12 hours.
8. Once your canopy has reached the desired tint, remove and rinse with cold water.
9. Now marvel at that spectacular tinted canopy, and giggle at how cheap and easy it was to do.
10. Now say to yourself … Damn I’m Good!
I did try and maintain the water temp for a couple of hours, but then just kind of left it alone. The other point to make is I prefer a rather dark tint. You may not and others have reported adequate tinting in as little as 20 minutes. This is certainly not an exact science as their are a large number of variables. You just have to work at it until you get what you want. I believe the trick to avoid any chance of warping is to avoid water temp over 140°F and dye the canopy before you trim in any way.
10 Steps to Tinting Canopy Bliss
This method works with Lexan canopies using Tintex or Ritt fabric dyes.
1. Clean your canopy with warm water and mild soap, rinse thoroughly.
Note: Avoid touching the canopy, oils from your fingers may affect the tinting (use rubber gloves).
3. Find a container larger than your canopy, preferably something you don't intend to use again.
4. Use hot water (140°F), and fill your container to a depth one (1) inch above the canopy.
5. Add 1 cup of vinegar for each gallon of water used.
6. Mix in two parts of black dye and one part of Royal Blue dye thoroughly, there should be no clumps.
(Note: This combination will produce a smoked tint. You could also use straight Black or any other color desired.
I used 3 total packs of dye in a 10 Gallon plastic garabage can. Perhaps I should have used more dye to reduce
the total time needed to get the right level of tint.)
7. Depending on the tint desired this process could take anywhere from 20 minutes up to 12 hours.
8. Once your canopy has reached the desired tint, remove and rinse with cold water.
9. Now marvel at that spectacular tinted canopy, and giggle at how cheap and easy it was to do.
10. Now say to yourself … Damn I’m Good!
I did try and maintain the water temp for a couple of hours, but then just kind of left it alone. The other point to make is I prefer a rather dark tint. You may not and others have reported adequate tinting in as little as 20 minutes. This is certainly not an exact science as their are a large number of variables. You just have to work at it until you get what you want. I believe the trick to avoid any chance of warping is to avoid water temp over 140°F and dye the canopy before you trim in any way.
08-24-2005, 08:33 AM
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RE: Tint a canopy??
The tips article referes to Tintex and Ritt. Both are available at supermarkets. I've only used Ritt simply because that's what my market carries.
WT
WT
08-24-2005, 09:40 AM
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RE: Tint a canopy??
Good luck. Keeping the water hot helps, but isn;t critical. It just speeds things up. I've used a foam beer cooler for my container. Seems to work.
WT
WT
08-24-2005, 11:36 AM
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RE: Tint a canopy??
I've also used this method with great success. And as an offshoot, I have also tinted control horns and hinges. It's especially desirable when the white nylon stands out against a dark control surface. That final touch makes all the difference. Obviously you choose the color to suit the situation.
08-24-2005, 03:47 PM
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RE: Tint a canopy??
Two more suggestions. Tint the canopy before cutting it off the mold flanges. They occasionally warp if overheated and the added material helps keep them in shape. Also gives you something to grab that won't smudge the results.
Don't try and economize and use only one color. Black Rit dye alone produces Orange and Navy Blue alone produces light Easter Egg Purple. Leaving it in overnight produces a lovely dark Easter Egg Purple. Equal parts Black and Navy Blue produce a coffee color. All of these also produce lots of off color language. Ask me how I know. I'm the pilot of the only "amber" tint canopy on a Contender 60.
Don't try and economize and use only one color. Black Rit dye alone produces Orange and Navy Blue alone produces light Easter Egg Purple. Leaving it in overnight produces a lovely dark Easter Egg Purple. Equal parts Black and Navy Blue produce a coffee color. All of these also produce lots of off color language. Ask me how I know. I'm the pilot of the only "amber" tint canopy on a Contender 60.
08-24-2005, 06:54 PM
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RE: Tint a canopy??
Thanks Charlie; I am going to go with the 2 black, 1 blue mix and leave it over night...... we'll see what shows up in the morning.
jim
jim
08-25-2005, 07:15 AM
#12
RE: Tint a canopy??
NAVY18,
I have discovered that how long it takes to produce the desired tint depends a lot on the material you are tinting. For example, I died a canopy that came with my GP Super Skybolt kit in about two hours using two RITT boxes. But after soaking in three RITT boxes overnight the canopy that came with a Goldberg kit had not been tinted at all. I presume that it's the quality of the material being dyed.
I mention this because you wrote that you would soak your piece overnight. I recommend that you watch it for an hour or two to get a feel for how well the material is responding to the dye.
Mike
I have discovered that how long it takes to produce the desired tint depends a lot on the material you are tinting. For example, I died a canopy that came with my GP Super Skybolt kit in about two hours using two RITT boxes. But after soaking in three RITT boxes overnight the canopy that came with a Goldberg kit had not been tinted at all. I presume that it's the quality of the material being dyed.
I mention this because you wrote that you would soak your piece overnight. I recommend that you watch it for an hour or two to get a feel for how well the material is responding to the dye.
Mike
08-25-2005, 08:22 AM
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RE: Tint a canopy??
Sounds like a good idea Mike; I will keep an eye on it and see what the first hour or two do.... I know I want a darker shade. Hope to pick up and try this out today. I'll let you know.
08-28-2005, 05:47 PM
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RE: Tint a canopy??
Not all canopies will tint. I forget what the newer ones are made out of but it isn't butrate anymore. It's more like a lexan derivitive. Do make sure that you add vinagar to the pot and believe it or not a little salt helps too.
The chloride helps to etch the dye into the plastic.
dennis
The chloride helps to etch the dye into the plastic.
dennis
01-09-2006, 02:05 PM
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RE: Tint a canopy??
FWIW, here is Mike Gretz of Sig Mfg. on canopy materials:
<Ted,
Alan is right on. SIG canopies are not made of butyrate plastic. They are made of PETG plastic.
We haven't used butyrate plastic for at least 10 years, maybe more. If you successfully dyed a SIG canopy in the meantime, you had one that was old stock.
Bottom line is PETG will not accept dye of any sort that we have tried.
On the plus side, PETG is a lot tougher and doesn't get as brittle with age as butyrate plastic, not to mention that it molds easier on our end.
Mike Gretz
SIG Mfg. Co.>
<Ted,
Alan is right on. SIG canopies are not made of butyrate plastic. They are made of PETG plastic.
We haven't used butyrate plastic for at least 10 years, maybe more. If you successfully dyed a SIG canopy in the meantime, you had one that was old stock.
Bottom line is PETG will not accept dye of any sort that we have tried.
On the plus side, PETG is a lot tougher and doesn't get as brittle with age as butyrate plastic, not to mention that it molds easier on our end.
Mike Gretz
SIG Mfg. Co.>
01-09-2006, 03:25 PM
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RE: Tint a canopy??
ORIGINAL: kdheath
...
SIG canopies are not made of butyrate plastic. They are made of PETG plastic.
...
We haven't used butyrate plastic for at least 10 years, maybe more. If you successfully dyed a SIG canopy in the meantime, you had one that was old stock.
Bottom line is PETG will not accept dye of any sort that we have tried.
...
Mike Gretz
SIG Mfg. Co.>
...
SIG canopies are not made of butyrate plastic. They are made of PETG plastic.
...
We haven't used butyrate plastic for at least 10 years, maybe more. If you successfully dyed a SIG canopy in the meantime, you had one that was old stock.
Bottom line is PETG will not accept dye of any sort that we have tried.
...
Mike Gretz
SIG Mfg. Co.>
03-09-2006, 10:25 AM
#19
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RE: Tint a canopy??
ORIGINAL: krossk
Well, the canopy on my Somethin Extra (purchased 12/05) tinted up very nicely. I seriously doubt that kit was 10 years old.
ORIGINAL: kdheath
...
SIG canopies are not made of butyrate plastic. They are made of PETG plastic.
...
We haven't used butyrate plastic for at least 10 years, maybe more. If you successfully dyed a SIG canopy in the meantime, you had one that was old stock.
Bottom line is PETG will not accept dye of any sort that we have tried.
...
Mike Gretz
SIG Mfg. Co.>
...
SIG canopies are not made of butyrate plastic. They are made of PETG plastic.
...
We haven't used butyrate plastic for at least 10 years, maybe more. If you successfully dyed a SIG canopy in the meantime, you had one that was old stock.
Bottom line is PETG will not accept dye of any sort that we have tried.
...
Mike Gretz
SIG Mfg. Co.>
03-11-2006, 10:35 PM
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RE: Tint a canopy??
Having been unsucessful in dye tinting,many years ago I used to use a transparent paint put out by Testors mainly for model car use. This could be a little hit or miss affair as it was difficult to spray it on even. At a local hardware store I recently found a 200ml.spray can of .... plasti-kote GLASS SPRAY PAINT....... origin unmarked but distributed by.... Master Distributors Pty.Ltd. 11 Howleys Road.Notting Hill.Victoria.Australia.3168. It looks disaster when first sprayed on but drys completely transparent and even shade in about 30 mins.
03-25-2006, 01:05 AM
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RE: Tint a canopy??
Hi all,
Here is one of my canopies I recently completed. Acrylics, Acetate, Butyrate, Lexan, Plexi, PETG, I haven't found anything yet that I can't tint using the proper chemical combination and employing the right technique. Ben
Here is one of my canopies I recently completed. Acrylics, Acetate, Butyrate, Lexan, Plexi, PETG, I haven't found anything yet that I can't tint using the proper chemical combination and employing the right technique. Ben
03-25-2006, 09:17 PM
#24
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RE: Tint a canopy??
I just tried to tint two canopies. One was from a World Models ARF and the other just a no-name Chinese mfg's "discount" ARF.
Neither of them took a bit of color from 2 packs of black, 1 pack of Navy Blue, vinegar, and salt. I let them sit in the brew in a pot that was sitting over a fan housing that shakes, sort of a poor man's "ultrasonic" bath. They jiggled away for about 3 hours. I'd washed them off with soap before trying to die them just in case there was some kind of mold release or whatever on them.
After they failed to take the die, I washed them again and decided to spray paint them with Testor's canopy tint. It's lacquer I think. It usually works halfway decent. It went crazy with spots. I'm guessing that the salt or maybe the vinegar had actually gotten into the plastic and was brought out by the thinner in the lacquer.
So I blew time and money on the die, and that wound up screwing up the painting.
Some things work, some things don't. And some things don't work and screw you up even more.
Neither of them took a bit of color from 2 packs of black, 1 pack of Navy Blue, vinegar, and salt. I let them sit in the brew in a pot that was sitting over a fan housing that shakes, sort of a poor man's "ultrasonic" bath. They jiggled away for about 3 hours. I'd washed them off with soap before trying to die them just in case there was some kind of mold release or whatever on them.
After they failed to take the die, I washed them again and decided to spray paint them with Testor's canopy tint. It's lacquer I think. It usually works halfway decent. It went crazy with spots. I'm guessing that the salt or maybe the vinegar had actually gotten into the plastic and was brought out by the thinner in the lacquer.
So I blew time and money on the die, and that wound up screwing up the painting.
Some things work, some things don't. And some things don't work and screw you up even more.
03-27-2006, 03:09 PM
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RE: Tint a canopy??
go to aerobob web site. www.rcaerobats.net there he shows a neet way of using Testers tent