My Chassis Dyeing and Reassembly thread

[Taco]

As some of you know, I broke my rear bulkheads Thursday in my first real bash session.

Since I had the whole rear section torn down, I decided to strip the chassis down and dye it along with any other grey parts. I won't be dyeing until probably Monday, but I wanted to start this thread now so I could get suggestions on colors and perhaps any mods or upgrades to do as I'm reassembling.

I initially just assumed I'd dye it black, but I wouldn't mind it being red if the red is a good color to use, I just don't know how it will work on the grey. Anybody dyed anything red? I'd like to see pics if possible, and how you dyed it (amount of dye:water, how long you let it soak, etc).

I think I'm going to buy some "look-good" parts for pics and showing off. Probably get a full set of aluminum skid plates, aftermarket bumpers, red shock bodies, red turnbuckles and pushrods, and any other "bling" I can find. (Nothing over the top, and I plan to have a red, black and silver/brushed theme)

Any suggestions you guys have, feel free to post away!

[HighKalibre]

All the colours i've used so far:

Scarlet dye on white a-arms about 1.5hr in 2litres of water with 1 bottle of dye

Royal blue on grey rockers about 1.5hr in 1litre of water with 1 bottle of dye (one of my favorites)



Scarlet on grey



Navy blue on grey ( Darker than shown, flash brightened it a little)


All dye baths were brought to a boil first then kept at about a simmer. Parts were then put in at that point.

I'd use royal blue if you want a nice blue colour.

If using the powder dyes use 2 packs. concentrated liquid bottles I use 1 for whatever quantity of water I use. even for the chassis's which I do in a big turkey pan 1 bottle is fine.

Just remember you can always darken it by leaving it in longer you can't do the opposite

[Taco]

I LOVE the red. That's exactly the color I want.

I bet Revo1 might know why! LOL!

Thank you so much for the pics and info, HK. That is exacly what I was hoping for.

[Revo¹]

Roll Tide!!!!!!!!!!!

[HighKalibre]

The red will probably come out a little darker, looks like I used a flash in that picture too. Those were taken about 6 months ago

[E-REVOdreamer]

Roll Tide!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm not the only BAMA fan???

[Revo¹]

No way, Taco and I both are as well!!

[Taco]

Roll Tide Roll!!!

I am a HUGE Bama fan. I wear SOMETHING UofA EVERYDAY! Got tons of Bama clothes, from T-Shirts to Polos to hooded sweatshirts, shorts, watches, wallet, and caps. I even have Bama house shoes!

I bleed Crimson, do you bleed YOUR teams color?

HK, would you call the Scarlet-dyed parts "maroon" or "crimson" as opposed to a true scarlet red? If so, that'll be PERFECT!

The pics of the rockers look like the exact color I would want, and since everything I am going to dye red is grey, it should all match up nicely. Did you or have you done the blue dust covers off of the steering blocks and driveshafts? I'm probably going to do them in black, if they are dyeable. I'd also like to do the servo housings, but I don't know how well they'd take to boiling water and I don't feel too confident in taking them apart to just do the housing alone.

Thoughts?

[Revo¹]

The dust boots will dye fine, the servo housings will just melt and deform (ask me how I know).

[HighKalibre]

The White A-arms i'd say dyed to a true "scarlet" while the grey rockers were much darker and If I had to I'd say it was almost a burgundy/maroon colour.

[Taco]

Perfect!!!

Regarding the actual dyeing process, I read where you should check the color often, but that you should run the part under cool water immediately after removing it from the dye. I assume this "closes" the nylon's "pores" and traps the color. If I do this, and the color is too light, I can just return it to the simmering dye and let it soak up some more?

Geee, Chad... How DO you know??? LOL

I guess I'll just get some black vinyl from my buddy who owns a sign shop and "wrap" them with that. Not my favorite way of doing things, but I dang sure don't want to melt them.

[tim186]

Perfect!!!

Regarding the actual dyeing process, I read where you should check the color often, but that you should run the part under cool water immediately after removing it from the dye. I assume this "closes" the nylon's "pores" and traps the color. If I do this, and the color is too light, I can just return it to the simmering dye and let it soak up some more?

Yeah of course you can stick it back in if you want it done more. I heard as well that if you add half a cup of white distilled vinegar it is supposed to better the process, how much of this is true i dont know but i tried it and it turned out great.

One thing i will say is finding a container big enough to put the chassis in was a real nightmare for me, i ended up using one of those disposable foil turkey tins and it only JUST fit in. The problem with this was because it was quite deep i had to use quite a bit of water and a bottle of rit dye and also a packet of the stuff, but it took ages, pretty much the whole day. I think that was mostly because of the amount of water made the dye pretty diloute.

[Taco]

I thought if you did the boiling thing it sped he process up...

I hope it don't take all day.

[HighKalibre]

Doing my chassis didn't take any where near a day to do. 1.5 hours just cause I like my colours dark.

Oh yes I did forget about the vinegar. I just guestimate how much to put in. less for small parts more for large parts, like the chassis.

the vinegar is supposed to help open the pores in the plastic

[Revo¹]

Taco, about the servo cases, use Krylon Fusion black paint...it permanently bonds to the plastic and does not scratch or chip off.

[Taco]

So, I'm thinking I'll check my chassis every 15-20 minutes until it is the desired color.

I'll probably dye everything at one time, so I'll just add a considerable amount of vinegar to the tub of dye and drop all the parts in.

Do I need to try to suspend the chassis above the bottom, or will it resting on the pan itself make any difference?

I am so stoked about this project now!!!

Chad, thanks for the heads-up about that paint. I'll pick some of that up tomorrow too when I get the dye and the turkey pan.

Thanks for all your help thusfar guys. I hope to throw together a project worthy of all this awesome advice!

[tim186]

Like i said i think it ended up taking all day due to the amount of water i had, couldnt do it any other way as the chassis wouldnt have been submerged. Thats what i did. i checked it every half hour. I didnt want it to toch the bottom of the pan as i thought there was a possibility of the chassis warping under direct heat from the bottom of the tin

[HighKalibre]

Don't add too much vinegar I'd say maybe 2 ounces.

From what I recall the chassis was actually somewhat buoyant and I had to keep prodding it to keep it submerged

[nitrostarter]

Geaux Tigers!!!!!

[Taco]

Mods, can we get a ban for this clown...

[Revo¹]

You mean that LSU guy? heh...

[nitrostarter]

Aw come on guys, you know I had to throw it in there. We all know who the better team is...

Now back to the dying of parts: I dyed some yellow Ofna wheels and White Traxxas dish wheel black a couple days ago and was extremely surprised and happy with the results.

[Taco]

Yes, I think we all saw who was the better team a few months back.

Hey, thanks for that Saban guy, by the way. Looks like he's working out real well here in Sweet Home Alabama.

As for your dyeing adventures, you got anyway to share pics of the final product?

(BTW, the football talk is all in fun, for now... Come late August, though... )

[nitrostarter]

Yes, I think we all saw who was the better team a few months back.

Hey, thanks for that Saban guy, by the way. Looks like he's working out real well here in Sweet Home Alabama.

As for your dyeing adventures, you got anyway to share pics of the final product?

(BTW, the football talk is all in fun, for now... Come late August, though... )

Yeah you guys can have that traitor... He better look like next time in Baton Rouge...

I'll snap some shots of the Rims I dyed tonight. I already mounted the tires on the rims. ProLine Paddles on Ofna dish monster truck offsets 17mm hubs, Proline SandPaws on Traxxas dish wheels for my Rustler.
I have some 1/8 buggy wheels that I'll be dying black soon as well, I'll be sure to take some in progress pictures and finished products before they are mounted.

[Deahttub]

Hey, thanks for that Saban guy, by the way. Looks like he's working out real well here in Sweet Home Alabama.

Till he gets a higher offer elsewhere.....

[Taco]

LOL! We'll match it!

I got the chassis and rockers done and began the reassembly process. Batts were dead in the cam, so no pics today. Looks awesome, exactly the color I was hoping for.

[Revo¹]

Taco, just cut yourself and bleed on the parts you want red, since that's how dedicated us Alabama fans are...and since we bleed Crimson anyway!

[nitrostarter]

I went ahead and dyed those buggy wheels today as well. Here are the pictures along with the others I mentioned.

Beginning Product:


Heated water to almost boiling and placed wheels in:


Let them simmer in the warmed water for 30 minutes and then removed, rinsed and dried:



Here are the Ofna wheels w/ Paddles for the Revo:




Here are the Traxxas Dish wheels w/ SandPaws for the Rustler. They are dirty from on the beach:

[Revo¹]

Those Traxxas dish wheels are crazy looking!

[Taco]

You f'n knows it, R1!

Looks like you had great results with those wheels, NS. I have a set of white Pro-Lines like those and I think I will be doing those soon too. They need to be sanded to clean up some bash rash, but I think they'll look great in Black!

Thanks for the pics and info man!

[nitrostarter]

I think from now on, if they dont offer a dish wheel in black, I'm going to buy whatever color and dye them black. I love this look. The black dishes and Paddles look phenomenal in my opinion. Its hard to capture it with the camera but they look great in person! As do the new buggy wheels I just dyed.
I think my next adventure is to start dying parts like Taco and many other do...

[Taco]

My rockers look just like HighKalibre's. My chassis is the same color, the texture is just different, so the color looks a lighter, but its not. I hope I can get pics to show the true color, it really is exactly what I wanted.

[Revo¹]

Yea, until my current Revo (which is based on white for color), I dyed all of my wheels and wings black (if I can't get them already black).

[MXrider]

I went ahead and dyed those buggy wheels today as well. Here are the pictures along with the others I mentioned.

Dang, I gotta see those Maxx paddles mounted up! Looks great!

Great dying jobs to everyone who posted pics. Gotta love the RIT

[Revo¹]

Yea, I want to buy a set of 40-series Paddles (front & rear) to put on my Revo when I go to the beach this summer!!!

[HighKalibre]

Glad I could be of assistance and everything turned out good. All this talk about dying stuff makes me want to dye the rulux wheels I got sitting at home waiting for me to come back.

[nitrostarter]

They don't make Paddles in 40 series.... unless you are talking about these?
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXNPN2&P=ML

[Revo¹]

Oh, ok...3.8s will be fine then. Think I could stretch them onto 40-series wheels?

[HighKalibre]

40 series are 3.7"
those might be too big..

[1truckerdan]

Revo 1 check out here for front and rear paddles
http://www.losi.com/Search/Default.a...Term=420_Wedge

http://www.losi.com/Search/Default.a...Term=420_Razor