Black plastic

Zerotact · Mar 3, 2003

HI all,
like i had posted before, you can dye plastic by boiling it win rit dye. I only had a pot big enough to boil the handguards, but I now have a set of black hand guards. After it cooled off i tried to scratch it off but all i did was make the color dull. The end result was more of a flat finish and not glossy, but none the less they came out black. now i just need to figure out a way to boil the bigger pieces.

RTL · Mar 3, 2003

Zerotact, you perfect it for sidepanels and I'll send you a set of white ones to convert! :thumb:

Better yet, everyone who wants late model black enduro fenders and sidepanles signup here and I will contact UFO and ask them to kick us out a special batch.. How hard could it be? :yeehaw:

jssport · Mar 3, 2003

stupid question alert !!

but wouldn't boiling the plastic melt it?

so are you boiling the water/dye mix, taking it off the heat and letting the plastics soak for how long?

or are you actually putting the plastics in with the heat applied and the water bubbling for how long?

Wharf Rat · Mar 4, 2003

UFO does make black side panels, fenders, and rad shrouds, for 89-94 models anyway...they bolt right on and are as OEM.

I just replaced all of mine and it looks sweet!

Next up is a KX 500 gripper seat cover and a number plate and then I will be all black aside from the one small section of the tank that shows.

rethnal · Mar 4, 2003

I don't know about you....BUT.... I have never seen plastic melt in water! :)

Zerotact · Mar 4, 2003

Water boils at a lower temp than plastic melts, the plastic does not melt. I used to do this when i raced R/C cars, the parts came in non pigmented white plastic, so you could make them any color you wanted. Also, I seem to only get results from using the rit in the powder, I tried the liquid last night and it didn't do anything. And.. yes i boil the plastic in the water/dye mix. It took about an hour to get a 20qt pot to boil with the dye.

The only problem is, 1 i only had a pot big enough to boil just the handguards. 2. the dye is expensive, so i we could buy everything in black, i would because i still have to figure out a way to boil the larger pieces.

rethnal · Mar 4, 2003

A large flat pan... like a cookie sheet of sorts should accomidate most flat pieces! :)

Barkeater420 · Mar 4, 2003

Originally posted by RTL

Better yet, everyone who wants late model black enduro fenders and sidepanles signup here and I will contact UFO and ask them to kick us out a special batch.. How hard could it be? :yeehaw:

UFO does make black replacement shrouds, side panels, and fenders for the 89-94 KDX's. I just put a set on mine. They fit fine on my 1990 and look awesome. I think I got them from Parts direct.

HTH

Eater of Bark

Zerotact · Mar 4, 2003

A coockie sheet wouldn't work too well, the plastic would probably melt in it, there has to be enough water for it to boil. One time my mom got an old missle warhead from a garage sale, I stole it to keep my keg iced down. Something like that would work great but I'd need like $100 worth of dye.. lol I could even build a campfire under it. hrmm.... Maybe i could set up my own black dye booth at dirtweek.

Zerotact · Mar 4, 2003

Here is a snipit i found on the web of someone dyeing plastic.
http://www.softhose.com/RIT.htm

guggie · Mar 4, 2003

any one have any pics?

grass-digger · Mar 4, 2003

hey Zerotact what do you consider expensive i don't know if i'm thinking of the same stuff but i live in canada and we can get the RIT stuff in any color we want at the dollar store. I wouldn't think it would be that expensive to fill up a big pot

scairns · Mar 5, 2003

I wish I read this Thread yesterday !!!

I just bought my son a 91 PW80 (pink what were they thinking)
It's not that bad all the main plastic is white with the exception of the air filter housing which looks like a rad shroud. It's pink and I painted it white with tremclad paint. The results are OK. Could I remove the paint and go with this method ?

Zerotact · Mar 5, 2003

Hi,
no pics yet as i have only done my handguards. I talked to a friend of mine who was an art major and most of her work was dying cloth. She suggested using the rit powder and making a paste, spreading it on, and possibly heating it in the oven. I am not that brave yet. Anyways, the rit powder in the box is about 1.25 oz, and is supposed to be mixed with 2 cups of water. My pan that was just big enough to do just the handgrips was a 20 qt pot and i had to fill it up about 1/2 way. So figure 10 qts with 4 cups to a quart that's 40 cups, so you'd need about 20 boxes wich were about $1.50 a piece.
Basically, if you are only doing parts for one bike, it would cost you just as much as it would to buy new plastic, if not more. Except I like having lights on my bike and I can't find everything blakc for my 2003 kdx.
Not only that but I have not refined the exact ratio of powder:water, temps or duration. I simply dumped a bunch of dye into a pot of water and boiled my parts.

BucKat · Mar 5, 2003

Try the brine method..
Place the plastic and the dye/water mixture in a large thick walled garbage bag..Squeeze out the excess air and tie the bag.
Fill your bath tub with with hot hot water. Place bag in tub..
Replenish hot water as necessary.
This will take a lot less dye and water.Might want to double bag it aswell.

Joe

Zerotact · Mar 5, 2003

You'd be better off putting them in black trash bags, filling it with the dye, then placing the bag in black asphault for a day in middle of the summer, than to try the bathtub method unless you had one hell of a hot water heater.

I am in no ways claiming i am an expert, and i posted to get peoples feedback and ideas, so please don't take my responces as insults in any way. I am just stating what worked in a small piece, and am trying to figure out how to carry it out on a bigger scale.

tedkxkdx · Mar 6, 2003

I think UFO or someone does need to produce a full color range for kdx years 95- eternity. Mx bikes change plastic styles all the time but they still make differing colors. I took my 96 purple kdx and put a kx pur front fender on and for the rear I used purple number background that dennis kirk sold. The back ground has worked for several years now and stays shiny. Also for the edges and handgrip area of the side panels I masked off the center and spray painted using black gloss standard krylon. It takes a lot of abuse to wear down about three coats of the paint, but I am not wallowing in mud all the time either.

Zerotact · Mar 7, 2003

I got some interior carpet and vinyl color at the autoparts store last night and sprayed my sidepanels with it, It may need to dry longer than i let it but it scraped right off.

tedkxkdx · Mar 11, 2003

Hey all, check out what this guy did. Black plastics from a 99-02 era kx on your kdx. I like the side panels and rear fender thought.
http://groups.msn.com/KDXRidersCommunity/crashburn36sphotos.msnw?Page=1

Black plastic

Zerotact

RTL

jssport

Wharf Rat

Spammer

rethnal

Zerotact

rethnal

Barkeater420

Zerotact

Zerotact

guggie

grass-digger

scairns

Zerotact

BucKat

Zerotact

tedkxkdx

Zerotact

tedkxkdx

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