How to dye Polyspan?

[Claudio Chacon]

Gents,
Is there a proper way to dye Polyspan (yellow) and avoid sun fading? Is this at all possible?
I have never used any dying technique so every tip will much appreciated.

Thanks,
Claudio.

[nobler]

I have never diyed Polyspan, but regular silkspan and Plyspan (colored silksapn) many times.

Treat it like wallpaper. Put your water and dye in a wallpapering trough (looks like an upside down valve cover for a very large overhead valve motor). Roll up your paper, and let it sit in the water. The longer it is in, the deeper the color, of course.

When you take it out, hang it up just like you would your wash, on a line, and with clotheshangers. That will help even out things.

Then, choose whether you want to put it on pretty wet, or let it dry. If the latter, silkspan or Plyspan will shrink quite a bit.

Currell

[Larry Wong]

Claudio  this is what I do and get no fad, but I don't dye the poly span, I use Higgins Ink and mix it with thinner first then use the thinner to thin the clear, then spray it on to the depth of color you want, After that you have to spray at lease two coats of clear on top so that the tinted ink is under some clear and will not peal off when taping for trim.  The Higgins Ink ( MUST ) be the Fadeproof type.

[Steve Helmick]

When Starline first brought in Polyspan, they also sold dyes to go with it. The instructions said to put on the covering and then spray on the dyed clear dope. I can't find a source for either Polyspan or the dyes in my free flight sources, since Starline went adios due to owner's health problems.

The Higgins Ink works, but so does a small percentage of pigmented dope added to your clear, and you probably can't tell the difference. The pigmented dope will weigh slightly more, but is probably more fade resistant and generally easier to acquire and apply. A major selling point of the pigment approach is that 1) many dyes are extremely toxic...at least the ones that don't fade and 2) you can get pigment in a wide array of colors from an automotive paint store, in powder form, pretty cheap.    Steve

[Mark Scarborough]

There is another alternative, and that is to use either PPG or House of Kolor Candy concentrate in your clear,, cover the wing,, then fill the weave with clear dope, and then mix the concentrate (which is available for Laquer by the way) then spray coats of thin dyed  clear until you achieve the color you want. To maximize the color hold out of the dyed clear, I would reccomend using a Urethane clear which has significant UV protection in it.

[Claudio Chacon]

Thank you very much for your input folks, It has been very useful for me.
I'll try both methods (Higgins ink and pigments) using a "dummy" wing. It'll be interesting...
By the way, any clue where to get the ink?

Thanks again,
Claudio.

[don Burke]

Back in the good old days, we used to dye dope thinner with aniline poweder, then brush the thinner on the bare wood before any other finish.  When covered with mutiple coats of clear thinned with the dyed stuff it gives a really brilliant deep tone to the wood. 

I know that aniline dye is one of those reported carcinogens, probably not a good thing to mess around with these days.

I have never tried the Higgins tints, but it sounds like they work the same. 

[Larry Wong]

You can get Higgins ink at Michael's or any art supply store

[Claudio Chacon]

Thanks Don and Larry.

Larry, your "Imitation" is gorgeous...Very good job.

[Roger Vizioli]

There are two types of Higgins Ink.
Make sure you get the package marked "Fadeproof"
Roger v.

[Claudio Chacon]

There are two types of Higgins Ink.
Make sure you get the package marked "Fadeproof"
Roger v.

Yes Roger, thanks for the tip.
I think this ought to be the product:
http://www.aoeartworld.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=4656

The only problem is that I live in Argentina, so it's not very likely I can get it here.

Claudio.

[bill marvel]

Yes Roger, thanks for the tip.
I think this ought to be the product:
http://www.aoeartworld.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=4656

The only problem is that I live in Argentina, so it's not very likely I can get it here.

Claudio.

Claudio

Higgins is a brand name for permanent black "India" ink commonly used in graphic arts worldwide.  I'll bet an inquiry to a graphic arts supply house will find something. It is definitely not a product limited to the USA.

Buena suerta!
bill marvel

[Claudio Chacon]

Claudio

Higgins is a brand name for permanent black "India" ink commonly used in graphic arts worldwide.  I'll bet an inquiry to a graphic arts supply house will find something. It is definitely not a product limited to the USA.

Buena suerta!
bill marvel

Oh! That's good news.
I'll begin my search down here then...

Gracias!
Claudio.