Dyeing micarta slabs

Uncle Timbo

Uncle Timbo

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Can micarta slabs/scales be successfully dyed? By that I mean will they bleed all over your hands if it's real hot or they get wet?
These are for a BK 62.
 

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Easily done. Buy some Rit Dye for Synthetics and follow the instructions. The results will not run or bleed over your fingers, at least mine hasn't. See pic. I dyed my canvas Micarta Rat 5 scales in dark green, and the scales hold up just fine in rain, heat, humidity, etc.

usJYHh7.jpg
 
Yes it can be done with Rit Dye More synthetic dye, just make sure you use heat and I recommend mixing it a bit stronger than the directions recommend, like 8:1 water to dye. You can also only go darker, never lighter, you can't dye brown micarta yellow for instance and the base color of the micarta will also effect the final color shade outcome. This is just a surface treatment, so any bad scratches in the micarta after will reveal the original color. best of luck, let us know how it goes if you do it.
 
Thanks gentlemen. I haven't bought the slabs yet. I wanted to make sure this was doable.
I don't like natural colored micarta slabs like in the above pic. Looks like flesh tone or pink to me. I like green. I love OD but would settle for and earthy green.
So they won't fade over time and need re-dyed?
 
Uncle Timbo said:
Thanks gentlemen. I haven't bought the slabs yet. I wanted to make sure this was doable.
I don't like natural colored micarta slabs like in the above pic. Looks like flesh tone or pink to me. I like green. I love OD but would settle for and earthy green.
So they won't fade over time and need re-dyed?
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They may fade slightly over time through use but will never return to natural again through any kind of normal wear/use, my guess is they will darken with time as all micarta does unless it's cleaned regularly.
 
I've dyed Becker micarta. The regular RIT green came out okay; but wasn't what I wanted - the color was good...but it showed "the grain" more than I wanted, giving a green & black effect when I wanted a solid color. I've since dyed more micarta, using RIT DYEMORE, and achieved much better results.
I'm not sure if the original green scales are here - if I can find them I'll post pics once the sun is up. I'll show some of the DYEMORE scales, too.
 
Thanks gentlemen. I never knew there were all these different dyes. Glad I asked here.
 
Uncle Timbo said:
Thanks gentlemen. I never knew there were all these different dyes. Glad I asked here.
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Go to the Rit website. They have color charts with formulas for each color shade (more than 100 varieties). The forest green I used required blue and yellow dyes, as I recall. The ratios of each to the other are included on the website. Very handy.
 
I think that picture is 3 years old - a glamour shot after removing the signs of use and neglect. The BK9 had gotten dirty plenty of times since then (left that waya few of them)...I was just thinking it deserves another cleanup.
 
the.flying.gearman said:
Man that dyemore looks real good. Whats the exact name of particular color?
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You don't really think I remember the exact name of a dye color I bought over a year ago, do you?
Look for the green one, that'll be it :thumbsup:

Heck, at this point, I don't even remember if that was the batch I mixed in some grey or black. (I'd wager against it; but I make bad choices sometimes)
 
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hhmoore said:
You don't really think I remember the exact name of a dye color I bought over a year ago, do you?
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Actually I was hoping you might...in these crazy days we live in one sometimes buys stuff over the internet and receives a confirmation via email that usually lasts longer than 12 months. And rit dye usually has quite a lot of colors. Maybe not so with this particular product. Never mind.
 
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