Name: Pat

Country: United States

Message: Hi, I'm trying to find out how to dye the zhu zhu pets to make them different colors for a sick friend that is collecting them, can you tell me what I would need to do in order to do this so that I can fullfill my sick friend's wish. Thank you for your assistance regarding this matter.

Before dyeing anything, the first step is to learn what materials it is made of. It appears that Zhu Zhu Pets toy hamsters are constructed from polyester, plastic, and metal.

Let us assume that you are going to try to color only the polyester fur part of the toy hamster. Polyester is a difficult fiber to dye. You cannot dye it with ordinary fabric dyes, such as Rit all-purpose dyes, Procion fiber reactive dyes, or any sort of acid dye (which works for some plastics). Polyester can be dyed only with a special kind of dye which is called either disperse dye or transfer dye. For more information on dyes for polyester, see "Dyeing Polyester with Disperse Dyes".

You also do not want to immerse the toy hamster in a dyebath of boiling polyester dye. Doing so would surely ruin the mechanism. Any coloring material you use should be one that can be painted on without much rinsing out of the excess dye.

If there are any flat parts of the toy, you might be able to apply disperse dye as transfer dye, by coloring paper with disperse dye crayons or paints, and then using a hot iron, such as you would use to iron clothes, to transfer the dye to the polyester. See "Iron-on Fabric Crayons for Synthetic Fibers", to see how this is done. However, I imagine that dyeing just the ironable flat portions of the toy will probably not be very satisfactory.

That leaves fabric paint as the best option. See "Fabric Paints: a different way to color fibers". You do not want to use an ordinary house paint or artist's acrylic paint, because these paints dry to a stiff, scratchy feeling that is not at all suitable for a cute toy. Instead, you must seek out special fabric paint. Not all fabric paints will work on polyester, but some will. All fabric paints manufactured by Jacquard Products, such as Dye-Na-Flow, and Dharma Trading Company's Dharma Pigment "Dye" System, are suitable for polyester, assuming that it has not been treated with any stain-resistant finish.

Before you attempt to color any Zhu Zhu Pet, you must obtain some that are the lightest color possible. To get the true color of any fabric dye or paint, you must start with a white base. The original color of the polyester fur will show through. If you start with a dark color, you will not be able to see much color change after you apply the paint. If you start with a pale pastel color, the original color will show through the paint color you choose, and combine with the color—for example, if you use blue paint on a yellow Zhu Zhu, you will end up with a green one—but the lighter colors will certainly work better than darker ones. White is the best base color to begin with, by far, if you can find any in that color.

Get a cheap plastic hair comb to use as you apply the paint, to use to unstick any clumps while the paint is still wet. Apply the paint with care so as not to mess up the fur. Apply as lightly and thinly as possible. Use a paint brush to apply the paint from the jar. You can dilute Dye-Na-Flow paint with up to 25% water (adding one part water to three parts of paint), to thin it, but do not add more water than that, since the paint will not stick as well if you do. Dharma Pigment Dyes, which, in spite of the name, are thin fabric paints, not true dyes, can be diluted considerably more, which makes them a more economical choice for large volumes of toy coloring. You can add up to four times as much water as you have of paint, or even more water for paler colors, if you use Dharma Pigment Dyes. Be sure to read and follow the instructions that come with your fabric paint.

Where can you buy these fabric paints? Some good hobby or crafts stores carry Jacquard's Dye-Na-Flow fabric paint, but not all of them do. Dye-Na-Flow is better than most other fabric paints, for your purposes, because it is thinner and flows more like a dye. The other good choice is Dharma Pigment Dyes, which also mimic dye, because they are so thin. You cannot buy Dharma Pigment Dyes at the crafts store, but instead must mail-order it from Dharma Trading Company. (They will accept checks or money orders, if you don't want to use a credit card.) Dharma Trading Company also sells Dye-Na-Flow paint, in addition to many other paints and dyes that would be less appropriate for your purposes. They also sell a metallic and pearlescent fabric paint, called Lumiere, which you should consider for special effects on your Zhu Zhu Pets. You could even paint one black or a dark color, let the paint dry, and then add highlights in metallic gold or silver paint. Dharma Pigment Dyes are available in true fluorescent colors that "pop" under black light. Both Dye-Na-Flow and Dharma Pigment Dyes will flow together to blend colors, so you could create a rainbow color gradation design. Once you are free to choose your own color schemes, the possibilities are endless.

I would like to see a picture of one or two of your recolored Zhu Zhu pets, after you have painted them.

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