Can you recommend a dye I can use for plastic six-pack soda rings?

Name: Jennifer

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Dye polyester and poly/cotton blends

Country or region: USA

Message: I like to dye plastic. Like the plastic six-pack soda rings. Can you recommend a dye I can use? I brought Tinfix, but it's for silk and it doesn't seem to take. I also brought iDye, but haven't tried it yet. Hopefully that would work. The Rit dye did not work either. I've seen it done before. Please help!

In dyeing plastic, it's important to know what KIND of plastic you have. Different types of plastics can be dyed with different dyes, except for a few plastics that can't be dyed at all.

For example, you can dye nylon plastics and polyurethane by heating them in a dyebath with acid dye along with an acid such as vinegar. (See How to dye nylon.) This is why Rit All-Purpose dye works on some plastics, because Rit contains an acid dye (mixed together with a different type of dye that does not work on any form of plastic). Similarly, Tinfix will, in many cases, work on nylon plastics, because many (though not all) of the dyes used in the Tinfix line of silk dyes for painting are acid dyes. However, acid dyes do not work on most other types of plastic, which, as you've seen, just remain white.

Plastic six-pack drink yokes are made from low-density polyethylene, LDPE, which is marked as a 4 inside a recycle logo. LDPE recycle code 4

LDPE is much more difficult to dye than nylon is, as it is chemically closely related to polyester. Polyester cannot be dyed with any dye that works on natural fibers. Your only option is to use disperse dye. Disperse dye is used to dye synthetic fiber materials such as polyester, acetate, and acrylic. (Interestingly, disperse dye also works on nylon, though the acid dye that works best on nylon will work on none of these other synthetic fibers.)

Some crafts stores carry disperse dye in the form of Jacquard Products' dye, "iDye Poly". Don't confuse it with their plain "iDye", which works only on natural fibers; "iDye" and "iDye Poly" are often sold on the same rack, for the convenience of those combining the two types of dye to color cotton/poly blends. Do not try to use plain "iDye" on plastics; if that's what you have, go back to the same store and look closely for "iDye Poly", because plain "iDye" can be used only on natural fibers.

You can also find disperse dye in the form of fabric crayons, which work only on synthetic fibers; crafts stores and sewing stores often carry these under the name of "Crayola Fabric Crayons" or "Dritz Fabric Crayons". For a wider range of colors, and for more versatile formulations that can be applied in different ways, you can mail-order disperse dyes from PRO Chemical & Dye in Massachusetts, or from Aljo Mfg in New York. (See "Sources for Dyeing Supplies Around the World".)

Your problem is going to be heat. Disperse dye cannot be applied at room temperature, or even at merely warm temperatures. Either you will have to use the heat of a hot iron to transfer the dyes to your plastic from paper, or you will have to immerse the plastic in a pot of boiling hot water with the dye mixed in. (You will want to use a very large cooking pot, preferably either a stainless steel stockpot or an enameled steel canning pot, which you do not plan to reuse for cooking, since most textile dyes are not considered to be safe in food.)

The problem with applying heat is that your plastic yokes may suffer from the heat required to get the dye into them. You're going to have to experiment. Industry sources say that the maximum temperature LDPE can withstand is 80°C, or 176°F. Above that temperature, you may see the plastic begin to shrink or deform. Whether this is a problem or not will depend on what uses you'll be making of your dyed plastic, as well as how long it takes for the dye to penetrate into the plastic. According to an unreferenced claim in Wikipedia, LDPE can withstand temperatures as high as 95°C for a short time; polyester is normally boiled with disperse dye for at least half an hour, but some other materials can take up the dye more quickly or at lower temperatures. Acrylic fiber, for example, does not have to be boiled fully, as a temperature between 60°C and 70°C is sufficient for it to take up the disperse dye. It's a good idea to have a glass thermometer, which is more resistant to acids than a metal thermometer, so that you can keep careful notes on what dyebath temperatures work best for you. (If you don't have one already, PRO Chemical & Dye sells an appropriate glass thermometer, as do chemical supply houses.)

Dyeing polyester with disperse dye works best with an added chemical carrier, which is included in a separate packet inside the iDye Poly packet, or as a separate chemical known as Dye Carrier NSC from ProChem. It is difficult to get full color intensity on polyester at boiling temperatures without the dye carrier, as polyester dyes better at even higher temperatures. Other fibers, such as acrylic, do not require the dye carrier chemical at all. If you don't need to use the dye carrier additive, you'll want to avoid it, because it smells horrible and requires excellent ventilation. Do your tests on dyeing plastic yokes in a simmering hot disperse dye bath without the carrier first. If your color is not adequately intense, then try adding the carrier chemical to the dyebath and simmering longer. If possible, use the dye carrier chemical (plus the dyes) in a pot boiling on a portable burner outside, rather than inside your house. When I used it in my own kitchen, I ended up opening every door and every window, in addition to using a fan in the window, because the odor was so noxious. Disperse dyes themselves are not unpleasant or particularly toxic, but the carrier chemical is unpleasantly aromatic.

When you experiment with using a hot iron on your plastic yokes, to transfer color from paper that you've applied with disperse dye crayons or your own disperse dye paint, use enough protective material, such as a couple of layers of cotton rags or a piece of aluminum foil, to protect your iron from melting plastic, in case that happens. If you try the iron-on disperse dye crayons, or dye paint that you mix yourself from disperse dye powders, be sure to also protect your ironing board cover, as the dye can easily penetrate through a thin layer of paper or fabric.

For more information about using disperse dyes, see the following two pages:

"Dyeing Polyester with Disperse Dyes" and "Iron-on Fabric Crayons for Synthetic Fibers".

A very different alternative for coloring plastics, especially those plastics which cannot be dyed in any other way, is to use a special spray paint, Krylon Fusion for Plastics. It works better on hard plastics than other types of paint, penetrating a little farther into the surface of the plastic. The effect is not as good as a good dyeing job with a true dye, because it shows wear more quickly, but it is the best alternative if it turns out that dye simply does not work on a particular plastic material. Krylon Fusion for plastic is opaque, unlike dye, so that it can be used to change a darker color into a lighter one.

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Posted: Monday - January 10, 2011 at 08:37 AM

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Can you recommend a dye I can use for plastic six-pack soda rings?

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