Caswell Blue 4A

[PhilM]

Just wondering does anyone have any pics of parts done with this dye?

My parts just came out a very grey blue....im still a noob so it may be me!

Was trying to achieve a deep blue look, but its come out grey/blue, 10mins dye time, anodised well (70mins, 45insq part, 2A current).

The dye is sooo much better at not losing colour when sealing though that the sh*t fabric dye I was using before (whilst waiting for the Caswell dye to be shipped to UK!).

Anyone had any experiances with the Blue 4A? I expect a longer dye time may be in order!

[Fibergeek]

Fabric dye really does suck, doesn't it?

For deep dark colors you want an anodic layer around 0.5 mils (12 um) thick, dye at 140 deg. F. (60 deg. C.) for 30 minutes, longer doesn't hurt. The blue anodizing dyes are quite strong and will readily produce very dark color with little effort.

One other thing; don't be afraid to rinse the dyed piece throughly (but don't soak it) before sealing it. The dye that comes off was on the surface, not in the pores, and doesn't contribute to the finished color. This surface dye is harder to remove after sealing, and can cause a mottled look in the work if it isn't removed.

[PhilM]

Thanks mate! Have done some more peices tonight (after muchos messing with bad connections!)......left it in the dye (20degC) for 30mins and it came up REALLY nicely

There are a few finger prints on it (twat!) and some dark areas, that are yuk and matte, look the same as finger prints, Id assume thats what they are, oil (skin oil) on the surface.

I did actually wear gloves when prepping the part prior to anodising....anodised, rinsed with water and then handled it with my hands, doh, wont make that mistake again!

[Fibergeek]

If color fastness is important in your application, you don't want to be dyeing at room temperature. If this would work long term, the dye manufactures would prescribe it, if you read their data sheets you will notice that they don't.