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[Nordsee]

On my latest boat, a Ketch , the sails are white Ripstop Nylon, white. They are glaring white!! Anyone have any ideas to tone down this, a more weathered, pale cream would be nice. I have tried my favourites, tea coffe etc, but no joy.  Any suggestions?

[pugwash]

nordsee There are pleenty of dyes suitable for dying nylon available in Britain - I should think these will also be
available in Germany - one company Dharma makes an "acid" dye suitable for nylon - they are made in USA
and available here so probably over in Germany to.
Geoff

[Circlip]

Bubble bubble toil and trouble, You need a mixture of "Dylon" with salt ( yes, the table variety) and water, bung the sails in a pan with the mixture and simmer gently while stirring. The dyeing process also works with Nylon plastic moldings.

  Regards   Ian.

[pugwash]

Ian I was going to suggest Dylon but on reading their web page it said not suitable for nylon ??
Geoff

[Circlip]

Nobody told the numerous feet (Metres now) of "Wing Covers" or the young un's "Mardave Mini Stock" chassis.

  Best NOT to do it in the spin dryer though  SWTSMBO gets REALLY ratty about that.

  Regards  Ian.

[gondolier88]

One thing that never comes out of white nylon- baked bean juice- why not siphon some off a can (not much I'd imagine!), then dilute it to whatever tone you want?

Greg

[Netleyned]

Spilling beans down the drip dry BriNylon was never a good option


Ned

[Lord Bungle]

you could always just leave it outside for a few days, that would really weather them 

[nsa66]

Try and see if you can blag any dye from a local dyeworks if at all possible. You are looking for Acid Dyes (preferably Acid Levelling Dyes - for better evenness).

If you can't get commercial nylon dyes, then it will be possible to use any dyes which are marketed for dyeing wool. They are both protein fibres and can both be dyed using acid dyes. As you are only dyeing small amounts, I wouldn't bother with the washing machine but use a small bucket and start off with a very weak solution (barely tinted with the required colour). Start at a relatively low temperature (say 50 degrees) and agitate the fabric regularly to stop it dyeing unevenly. Gradually add hot water until temp. is around 80 degrees, then add a couple of tablespoons of vinegar. After say 5 minutes further agitation, rinse and dry your fabric. If not yet dark enough then repeat. The addition of dye to fibre is cumulative - you won't wash off the dye that's already on, so go steady with any additions until you get the tint you want. If you are after a darker shade you will need to raise the temperature to the boil (or just under) which will mean having a suitable heat source.

Oh yes. Give the fabric a really good wash with natural soap and rinse well beforehand to remove as much surface treatment as possible before dyeing.

Test a sample of fabric first if possible as all sorts of things can be added to fabric after dyieng.

[nsa66]

Just a bit of extra info regarding amounts if you decide to go down the dyeing line.

The retail packs of dyestuffs (eg. Dylon) are MASSIVELY diluted in comparison to industrial products. In my time as a dyer we could dye 3000 metres of ripstop hot air balloon fabric to a cream shade using only 15 grammes of dyestuff (a couple of heaped teaspoons)!  If you get hold of any industrial dye, I would recommend enough powder to cover HALF YOUR LITTLE FINGER NAIL dissolved in a cup of boiling water and then added to your bucket until it is lightly tinted. With liquid dyes (not as common) add a single drop from the end of a teaspoon handle.

Incidentally, I'd be careful using nylon with any retail dyes which need salt adding to them. Put simply, this forces the dyestuff onto the fabric and can give uneven dyeing, particularly when you're not too sure about the nature of the fabric. If you do go down this route and the dye does not seem to be working without the salt then add it a bit at a time.

Sorry if this makes it look too complicated. It really isn't. If you do need any further info, then please feel free to PM me and I'll do what I can to help.

[Nordsee]

I have bought a packet of dye, dark red. It has salt included.  The packet is sufficient for 600 grammes of material. I will try out with a bit of scrap cloth ( I have lots of offcuts!) I assume I must use clear vinegar, not malt? Will keep you posted.