Dying Cars by David Elliott
The recipe is simple: 1 part water, 1 part white vinegar, salt, and RIT dye. I usually go with 2 cups each of the liquids, 1/2 tsp of salt, and a half package of dye.
You need a deep pot and a stove, or a jar and a microwave. A pair of plastic salad/pasta tongs is useful, as is a roll of paper towels and newspaper.
If you use the stove, warm the liquids until the pot is hot enough that you can’t keep your hand on the side of it for more than around 5 seconds. Take the pot off the heat and stir in the salt until it’s dissolved, and stir in the dye.
If you use a microwave, heat the liquids in the microwave until hot enough that you can almost not hold the jar. Stir in the salt and dye.
Put the cars in for around 20-30 minutes. Stir occasionally, and watch for deposits, which can be taken off by stirring. Try not to take the cars out until you are finished. Doing so won’t damage the cars, but you will probably drop it and cause a splatter. My only tie-dyed shirt was a shirt that I was wearing while dying cars. NOTE: Liberal use of newspaper on the floor or counter will help prevent stains on them.
Now, the color you get will depend on the color you start with, the dye, and how long you leave it in the solution. White cars will dye with a lighter shade of the dye color. For example, the purple isn’t as dark as the package, but it’s not far off after 45 minutes. Other colors can do weird things. Also, the black and gray give you a brown car, not a black or gray. I did a bus with this, and it looks almost like a root beer brown. It’s not useless, but it is unexpected. In general, the obvious mixes do well. Blue and red make a nice dark purple.
The wheel chrome and metal parts don’t generally take dye. There are exceptions to this, though. The Tomart’s Corvette wheels and base took the royal blue, but left the chrome tinted. The results are quite pleasing (at least to me – we should get a more expert opinion soon). Whitewalls do take the dye. I did one of those lavender 59 Caddys with royal blue and the wheels are now bluewalls, but the car looks really nice. You can supposedly coat surfaces with Vaseline to prevent dying.
From Joe’s Diecast Shack Custom Board
This is a copy of the Rit Dye chart.
Create your own high-fashioned colors. Just combine the colors as listed in the recipe, dissolve the powder dye thoroughly according to package directions, and then follow the timing or dyeing instructions as listed in each RIT package.
Amethyst : 1 pkg Purple, 1 Tbsp Wine
Apricot: 1 Tbsp Rose Pink, 1 tsp Tangerine
Aqua: 1 pkg Royal Blue, 1 Tbsp Kelly Green
Avocado: 1 pkg Dark Green, 1 Pkg Golden Yellow
Aquamarine: 1 Tbsp Mint Green, 1 1/2 tsp Teal
Beige: 1 Tbsp Tan, 1 tsp Yellow
Bittersweet: 1 pkg Golden Yellow, 1 Tbsp Scarlet
Bone: 1 tsp Tan, 1/2 tsp Pearl Grey
Camel: 1 Tbsp Yellow, 1/4 tsp Kelly Green
Caramel: 2 pkg Golden Yellow, 1 1/2 tsp Cocoa Brown
Blue Spruce: 1 pkg Royal Blue, 1 Tbsp Dark Green
Bright Navy: 1 pkg Royal Blue, 1 pkg Navy Blue
Burgundy: 1 pkg Wine, 1 pkg Cardinal Red
Burnt Orange: 1 Tbsp Tangerine, 1 Tbsp Tan
Celery: 1 tsp Yellow, 1 Tbsp Rose Pink
Charcoal Grey: 1 1/2 tsp Royal Blue, 1 1/2 tsp Black
Chartreuse: 1 pkg Yellow, 1 tsp Kelly Green
Cherry Red: 1 pkg Fuchsia, 1 Tbsp Scarlet
Chestnut Brown: 2 pkg Cocoa Brown, 2 pkg Tangerine
Cranberry Red: 1 pkg Scarlet, 1 Tbsp Wine
Dark Denim: 2 pkgs Navy Blue, 1 Tbsp Black
Dusty Rose: 1 Tbsp Mauve, 1 tsp Tan
Eggshell: 1 tsp Tan, 1 tsp Yellow
Flesh: 1 tsp Tan, 1 tsp Peach
Forest Green: 2 pkg Dark Green, 1 pkg yellow
Gold: 1 pkg Golden Yellow, 1 1/2 tsp Tan
Grape: 1 Tbsp Wine, 1 Tbsp Purple
Hunter Green: 1 pkg Royal Blue, 1 pkg Kelly Green
Ivory: 1/2 tsp Tan, 1/2 tsp Yellow
Khaki Green: 1 pkg Tan, 1/4 tsp Dark Green
Khaki Tan: 1 pkg Tan, 2 tsp Pearl Grey
Lilac: 1 tsp Purple, 1 Tbsp Mauve
Lt. Blue: 1 Tbsp Evening Blue
Light Green: 2 tsp Kelly Green
Lt. Turquoise: 2 tsp Royal Blue, 2 tsp Kelly Green
Lime Green: 2 pkg Yellow, 1 pkg Kelly Green
Magenta: 1 pkg Fuchsia, 2 tsp Wine
Marine Blue: 1 pkg Royal Blue, 1 tsp Purple
Maroon: 2 pkg Wine, 2 tsp Dark Brown
Misty Lavender: 1 pkg Evening Blue, 1 Tbsp Mauve
Moss Green: 1 pkg Golden Yellow, 1 Tbsp Dark Green, 2 tsp Tangerine
Mustard: 2 pkg Golden Yellow, 1 pkg Tan
Old Ecru: 1 Tbsp Yellow, 1 1/2 tsp Tan, 1 1/2 tsp Peach
Olive Drab: 1 pkg Dark Green, 1 Tbsp Dark Brown
Orange: 1 pkg Golden Yellow, 2 tsp Scarlet
Paprika: 1 pkg Golden Yellow, 1 Tbsp Scarlet
Peacock Blue: 1/2 cup Royal Blue, 1 Tbsp Kelly Green
Pink: 1 1/2 tsp Rose Pink, 1/2 tsp Yellow
Plum: 1 pkg Navy, 1 Tbsp Wine
Rust: 1 pkg Tangerine, 1 Tbsp Cocoa Brown
Sage Green: 1 pkg Pearl Green, 1 Tbsp Sea Foam Green
Sea Coral: 1 pkg Rose Pink, 1 1/2 tsp Tangerine or 1 pkg yellow
Shocking Pink: 1 pkg Rose Pink, 1 1/2 tsp Fuchsia
Shrimp Pink: 1 pkg Rose Pink, 1 tsp Tangerine
Soft Raspberry: 2 Tbsp Cardinal, 1 Tbsp Fuchsia
Spice Brown 1 pkg Cocoa Brown, 1 Tbsp Tangerine
Teal Blue:1 pkg Royal Blue, 1 1/2 tsp Kelly Green
Teal Green: 1 1/2 pkg Kelly Green, 1 Tbsp Royal Blue
Tiger Lilly: 1 pkg Tangerine, 1 Tbsp Rose Pink
Violet: 1/4 cup Purple, 2 Tbsp Fuchsia
Additional dyeing ideas and color information can be obtained by writing to:
RIT Consumer Affairs Department
P.O. Box 21070
Indianapolis, IN 46221
(317) 231-8044
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