Dyeing A Military Vest

[flipboy439]

Hey, i was looking through my old airsoft stuff, and i stumbled upon this Military Vest that someone gave me a while back. I looked at the straps, and i thought, this is perfect! Would it be possible to paint it with some Krylon Flat Black spraypaint, and not have the paint rub off when you touch it? If not, is there any other method to change the color? I would love to be able to use this and not buy a whole new one. Also, is anyone using a camo other than black? Thanks!



Here is a pic:

[Vampyredh]

go buy some textile dye that will work with the harness not like rit, rit only does cotton well then dye the harness or take it to a person who airbrushes clothing and have him spray it black.

[Cadet]

I would defiantly suggest trying to dye it first before you attempt to spray paint it.

[flipboy439]

any ideas or links to how to dye it? i have no idea, i have heard about it, but have never seen anything like it personally.

[flipboy439]

Sorry for the double post, but i am just givin this a bump, and posting some new info that might help. The LBV is made of nylon, so i would need a dye that could adhear to that, or like vamp said, ill need to get it airbrushed. in that case, i know where to use an airbrush gun, but does anyone know what kind of paint to use? ill google it, but if anyone knows any dyes or anything, let me know please! thanks.



EDIT- just in case anyone was wondering about this, nylon can be dyed. i am reading up on it now from this link. I might still airbrush if dyeing is too expensive. I will post my progress here.

[Sean Bradley]

I see what you have there now. I think that you should make an attempt to dye it prior to trying anything like paint. Definitely do not use spray paint, it will remain sticky and get on your other clothing/furniture over time.



Try dying this with RIT dye following the instructions on the package. If the dye does not take on all areas.. then use some black fabric paint to touch it up by hand. Also I hear that heating the dye before dipping the item can get the dye to take to more of the materials... don't assume that I know what I'm talking about there though! Ask the manufacturer!



I sense a trip to the fabric store in your future. Maybe take it along and ask them what products they would recommend!

[flipboy439]

okay, thanks sean. i found this link about dyeing nylon. and then i did some more digging and it said to use Leveling Acid Dyes (link) that work on wool, would work on nylon. so i dug a little deeper and it talked about Kiton Acid Dyes, so I am going to look into those as well.

[Cadet]

If nothing else, ask the nice old ladies at your local Jo-Anne's Fabrics, Micheal's, Hobby Lobby, or whatever fabric store you have in your area, and I am sure they will be able to tell you more than you ever wanted to know about how to dye it, and what dye to use

[link4044]

try this works the same with nylon



Dyeing wool yarn with food coloring is very easy and gratifying. Wool takes food dyes more intensely than silk, resulting in deeper, richer colors. Wind the yarn into a skein that will allow even dyeing, and tie carefully to prevent tangling while permitting full access to the yarn. Soak the yarn in water, mixed with vinegar (1/4 cup per quart of water) for half an hour, sprinkle on your unsweetened drink mix or food coloring so that the colors please you (or, for solid smooth even colors, remove the yarn, dissolve the dyes in the acidulated water, and add the yarn back), and heat the yarn in the dye. The heating may be accomplished on the stovetop in a non-aluminum pan (use a stainless steel, enamel, or glass pot, or glass canning jars placed in any large pot with some water around them), in a microwave oven, or even in a plastic bag to be left all day in a hot sunny window. After heating the dye, let it cool gradually to room temperature, then rinse the newly dyed yarn by hand with cool water.

[flipboy439]

wow thanks a lot link. i just have a few questions. is there any specific kind of food coloring to use? or will any suffice? how hot should the water get? like warm or like hot to the touch? is there any certain ratio of water to dye? or should i just buy a couple bottles and throw them all in (the darker the better)? and my other question was how long should i let the vest sit in the warmed up water? maybe another thirty minutes? i drew up a drawing, one because i was bored, and two because i wanted to make sure i understood this right.