Name: Jim
Message: Help....I have used your search button and found no responses so I thought I would ask the expert. I have an Air Dancer. If you don't know what that is, it is an advertising banner this is blown up by an electric fan. Now, the material it is made of is .75 ripstop nylon. It is faded something horrible. It looks like it used to be black with florescent greet edges. Now, its a dull brown looking mess. Is there a way that you know of to re-dye this material and make it look presentable again? Any advice you could provide to me would be greatly appreciated.

Ah, so that's what they're called. My young son was calling one we saw a wind puppet.

Most dyes and paints will fade in direct sunlight - some almost immediately, others after a few months. Redyeing is a good solution. You'll want to choose as lightfast a dye as possible. The lightfastness ratings for some dyes are posted on my lightfastness page, but it is often difficult to determine which generic name on the list belongs to which dye that is sold. The class of dye to use for nylon is called acid dye.

I believe that one of the very best blacks for nylon, wool, or silk is the Lanaset Black B, also known as Jet Black. Lanaset dyes are also sold under the brand names Sabraset and Telana. Note that some Lanaset dyes, including the black, contain chromium, so be careful about exposure to the dye solutions. You can get good results by painting the fabric with the dye, then wrapping it in plastic wrap and steaming it for half an hour to set the dye. The Lanaset black is the deepest, richest black dye of any sort that I have used.

You may mail-order Lanaset Black dye from PRO Chemical & Dye. Study their recipes (for immersion dyeing and dye painting) to see what other supplies you will need. I am not sure how large of a bundle your nylon may make; this may complicate the steaming process. If it is very large, you may need to adapt a carpet-dyeing recipe for the steaming step.

To get the fluorescent green edges, if you do not wish to have a solid black only, you should use a fabric paint, rather than a dye; you can apply this after completing the dying and after-washing process. PRO Chemical & Dye also sells fluorescent textile paint, by the cup, pint, quart, or gallon; call them (1-800-228-9393) to ask for their advice as to which product to buy. If the frluorescent paint you buy is transparent, rather than opaque, you will need to leave the currently green edges undyed, when redyeing the black, so that the paint will not have to be applied on top of black.


(Please help support this web site. Thank you.)