This topic has been previously posted elsewhere.
by Buzz-On
Note: I think I removed all of the dead links to other references no longer available.
This article was written referencing POLYCARB plastic yoyos. Delrin or Celcon yoyos do not use acetone, only boiling water.
Read the precautions.
-jhb8426-
Original article:
Ok , I have read alot of posts lately. I will not say that I am the Master of Yo Yo Dyeing but I know I have dyed more yo yos than probably everyone on the board here put together…Thats for real I would say I have probably dyed over 2,000 yo yos easy over the past 3 years.
Alot of people have their own methods but I think mine are the easiest and most efficient. When I had my shop we would have yo yo birthday dye parties - trust me I had 7 and 8 year olds get great results following these easy instructions.
here you go , sorry if its not formatted correctly
Buzz-On Dyeing Instructions
Supplies Needed
Yo Yo/Yo Yos
Dye Tub
1 Box of Rit dye
1 Mix bowl/bucket/tub
Elmers Glue, glue gun , tape or stickers
Pitcher for heating water
10 oz bottle of nail polish remover (WITH ACETONE) (or plain acetone jhb8426)
Paper towels and strong cleaner(bleach mix is best)
1 Plastic kitchen sized garbage bag
1 Disposable mixing stick or spoon
1 Thin paintbrush
1 Pair of plastic gloves
Step 1
MASKING THE YO YO
Before you begin to dye a yo yo it is best to have a plan or design in mind.There are three techniques that I use to dye most yo yos. Remember these are just my basic techniques, they can always be modified for originality or style. You will find that experimenting on “junk” yo yos is a great way to fine tune any dye techniques before you dye a yo yo. The best plastic to dye is ABS, other plastics may also dye but they require much higher temperatures to get a proper finish.
Streaked Style(Elmers Glue)
This is an easy technique that ends up looking real sharp and detailed. I take one half of the yo yo and begin to put glue on the body in straight lines going from the inner half to the outer rim. Try to keep some space between the lines for real sharp streaks. Once the half has been “glued” take the thin paintbrush and stroke the glue from the inner half to the outer rim. Try to end each stroke in a sharp motion to get clean results. Repeat this process to the other half of the yo yo then let dry.
Poka Dots (Elmers glue,stickers or glue gun)
This is a tedious technique depending on how detailed you want to be. Take your glue,glue gun or stickers and simply apply small or large dots to each half then let dry.
Radial style (Elmers glue/glue gun)
This is another quick technique that ends up looking real sharp. Take you glue or glue gun and simply make circles on the yo yo half.The yo yo should look like a bullseye when masked. This is also a great way to start a spider web design. For the web look aplly the circles to each half and let dry.once the circled masked bodies are dry re-mask the yo yo with lines in the opposite direction to create a web look.
Step 2
Dyeing the yo yo
The first thing you will need to do is set-up your dye area. Find someplace away from any carpet or tile-pretty much anywhere you cannot afford to stain. For beginners I suggest placing a cardboard box outside on the ground ,then cut your grabage bag in half and place over the cardboard.
Then you will place your dried masked yo yos into the dye tub. Make sure that have everything on the checklist before you go onto the next steps.
Now that you have all your supplies ready to go you will need to start your water. I will fill a plastic pitcher Âľ of the way and place the pitcher into the microwave for 15 minutes.this should get the water boiling hot. Once the water is in the microwave you can move onto the next step.
Pour the RIT dye into your mixing bowl. Open the nail polish remover bottle and place next to bowl, make sure you have a mixing stick nearby.
Once the water is finished get your gloves on. Once your gloves are on take the water out of the microwave. Place the water next to the mix bowl. Slowly pour the nail polish remover into the bowl.
PLEASE FOLLOW THE NEXT STEPS VERY CLOSELY!!!
Slowly pour the hot water into your mixing tub.You must not splash the water.if you pour too fast you will get a flash boil ( water will explode and splash all over). To avoid any accident just pour slowly into the bowl,you will notice a bubbling-that’s ok. Once you have poured all the water into your mixing bowl stir for 30 seconds. Now that you have mixed the dye and water/nail polish remover you can slowly pour the water into the dye tub. You can use your mixing stick to make sure yo yos stay submerged.
Now that your yo yos are in the dye you can get your mixing bowl ready to be your rinse bowl.Take a paper towel and simply dry out the mixing bowl .The mixing bowl will be stained but dry.This is where you will place your dyed yo yos after they come out of the dye mix.
I allow the yo yos to normally sit for 5 minutes before I remove them from the tub. I use the mixing stick to get the yo yo to pop out of the water so I can grab the yo yo body with my fingertips only .This way I get as little dye on my gloves as poosible.
Try to get as much of the dye off the yo yo half as possible.I gently shake the body over the dye to get it dry.Once the excess dye water is off the half place the half into dried out mixing bowl.Once all the yo yos have been removed from the dye and are in the mixing bowl you can rinse off and clean the bodies. Place the yo yos under running water to remove glue mask, the thicker the glue will mean you will need to rinse with hot water.
• Extra Bonus info
• Try double dyeing your yo yo,follow these instructions but do not mask the first time around. Once yo yos have been dyed a solid color just mask yo yos and repeat dye process with a differen’t color!
I hope these instructions help you on yo yo dyeing.