Capstan Project - Dyeing your 3D printed parts

[Chuck]

This is my dye station.   I use it for dyeing my cannon and other things black.   I use the very same resin I called for in the materials list.   I dont have any capstan parts to dye currently but did have one printed figure that was a misprint.  Its made from the same same tan resin.  Do you see that tan printed figure in the first photo.  It wont be tan for much longer.

 

I just use a plastic container with a lid that closes tightly.  This allows me to keep using the same mixed dye over and over again.   Absolutely wear plastic gloves.  This dye is really not forgiving on your skin.

 

There is one SOLO cup so I can drain the dye from the large tub to revel the parts on the bottom....see second photo.

 

I have an old cookie sheet pan with a few paper towels on it.  The parts are places there once they are fished out of the tub.

 

The figure is ready to be fished out with a tweezers after about 7 minutes in the bath....Its a 50/50 ish mixture of Fibings black dye and IPA.   But not a perfect mixture...I add a little dye and add a little alcohol as it evaporates etc. So who knows what this mixture is currently.  But no where near only dye.   It is a mixture.

 

Fish out the resin parts and blot with a soft lint free cloth after placing it on the paper towels.   It will air dry pretty quickly.  But blotting is important so any dye doesnt pool in some areas and leave a shiny spot or od finish in that spot.  The surface will also darken as it dries so if it looks

lile some tan is showing through …after it dries it may not be.  Maybe you prefer a lighter shade with some tan showing through.  In this case its pretty solid black but then adjust the bath with more

IPA or less time in the bath.

 

After air drying for a minute or two.  This is solid black and a matte finish…although I had to really bump up the exposure on my camera so you could see any details at all on this figure.  It was just too black.  

 

For the capstan parts I didnt let it soak in the dye for very long as I wanted some tan to show through.   Not much but enough to make it look interesting.  You can also weather the pieces afterwards with some weathering powder which I do for my cannon sometimes.

 

This wont work with a lot of brands and colors of dyes.  It took a while to

find one that works so well.  So if you insist on using a resin type

you just happen to have on the shelf…you may not get these results.

 

Thats ok as you can still just paint the parts black.  But that doesnt look nearly as good as this.

[brunnels]

This black looks fantastic, I just ordered some dye to try it out.  Do you need to do any surface prep other than removing support knubs?  I designed some deadeyes to print in black resin as I hate painting tons of small deadeyes, but I think you have convinced me to just dye them as well. 

[Chuck]

No not really....You could tumble them in a tumbler to remove the small nubs....Use a fine sandpaper and this will also remove any trace of layer lines.   You only need to do this for a short 60 seconds.   Then dunk them in the dye.   But again there is no guarantee it will work with your resin.  So you should get the resin I called for.   Now this is a thicker resin.  So for smaller blocks the holes may get filled in.   So try your resin first and if that doesnt work try and buy the one I have called for.     But you may have to make your holes larger in the smaller deadeyes. 

 

Also rather than use the black.....get the Fiebings Dark Brown or dark chocolate.   Leave the deadeyes in this bath for a longer time....they will get almost black with just a hint of dark brown and more closely resemble Ebony.  Adjust your alcohol and dye mixture to suit.

 

 

 

Chuck