Micarta Cover Coloring (Straighten Me Out) FINAL PICTURES

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Modoc ED

Modoc ED

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Is colored micarta color dyed from natural micarta? I just can't remember with my old haggard brain.

The test Mudbug I put on our woodshed had bright, red, micarta, covers when I placed it there. I checked it a few minutes ago and it has almost completely faded to the natural micarta color. Almost all the red is gone.

I thought they colored the micarta as they made it (colored through and through) but I guess my old arse mind is fading.

So, is the way to describe micarta; red dyed linen micarta, green dyed canvas micarta, etc.?

An old man needs a little help here.
 
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Interesting question. I've seen sawn slabs of micarta on GEC's site and it looks colourless, so I assume they dye or stain it? But does it take? If the Red disapears like you say, it's extremely annoying!:mad:

This old git needs to know too :D:thumbup:

Thanks, Will
 
KBA said:
Ed, would oiling the micarta bring back the red?
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I honestly don't know and don't want to interrupt my test of the Mudbug to find out. Heck, it's only been out there for eight days. You'd think it would hold it's color or at least hold it's color longer than this.

I'm not sure when I'll end the test (maybe X-Mas or so) but when I do, I'll take pictures of it as it comes off the roof and after I clean and oil it.
 
I look forward to reading more on this one. It sounds fun as well, or at least has drawn my curiosity. I may have to make this a project for my class one day with a piece of micarta. :thumbup:
 
Micarta takes on the color of the raw materials used....canvas, linen or paper. Color can vary a lot with amount of sanding and a bit of buffing. It normally takes months to years for color change. Color change tends to be darker....not lighter.
 
John L said:
Micarta takes on the color of the raw materials used....canvas, linen or paper. Color can vary a lot with amount of sanding and a bit of buffing. It normally takes months to years for color change. Color change tends to be darker....not lighter.
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Does that darker change not occur because of oil from use? Being exposed to the elements of wind and sun I would think it would change lighter due to it drying out. It may also depend if it was matte or not I suppose. All of mine would go lighter when I didn't use them for a while.
 
so it can be worn off as well then? for example if i put my maroon linen micarta 48 in my pocket and in a few years it can wear to a red? or even lighter color?
 
What I'm wanting to know is where does the color come from. For red, linen, micarta, do they use colored, linen, to get there or do they dye it after it is made. For green, canvas, micarta do they use colored canvas to get there or do they dye it after it is made.

Jeez!!! Turns out I don't know as much about micarta as I thought I did. I could claim old age but ....... Hey! that's it! I'm old and just forgot.:rolleyes:
 
Ok. After thinking on it some more, I went out and took a picture of it. On second look it isn't as faded as I said in my OP but it is well on it's way.

The day it went on the roof - 15 Nov 2015: Nice and bright and really, really, red.

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Today - 23 Nov 2015: Fading fast and dull, dull, dull. NOTE: - 24 Nov 2015 - Edited picture to turn it to a horizontal position and to magnify it to more clearly show the affects (or is it effects) of the weathering.

1658850111753.png

Rust is forming nicely on the lock back release lever and there are a few specks on the blade. Coming along nicely.
 
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So - you bought a brand new knife just to leave it out in the weather for a month to see what would happen to it?
 
Wow, that's pretty faded for such a short time! I would guess that the material is dyed before it is made into micarta, but I really don't know. Question, is it as faded on the pile side as the mark side? Wondering if it's an effect of UV or weather, maybe a combo of both.
 
trevytrev said:
Wow, that's pretty faded for such a short time! I would guess that the material is dyed before it is made into micarta, but I really don't know. Question, is it as faded on the pile side as the mark side? Wondering if it's an effect of UV or weather, maybe a combo of both.
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Seconded, UV rays and sun can do quite a bit to natural materials in washing them out.

jc57 said:
So - you bought a brand new knife just to leave it out in the weather for a month to see what would happen to it?
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edit:: Gotta second this too aha. I'd be interested in knowing the purpose of this experiment.
 
jc57 said:
So - you bought a brand new knife just to leave it out in the weather for a month to see what would happen to it?
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John. You oughta know me by now. There are some knives I have that I just like to mess with. I use em hard and for dirty tasks. Just the way it goes. They usually clean up real nice and except for some minor marks, pitting, etc. they come out fine and are ready for more. I don't happen to like this knife so I thought I'd set it outside for awhile to see what happens. I find it interesting that the micarta covers are fading so fast. I think it has steel liners so we'll see how they weather also.

Just experimenting.
 
Ive always thought micarta to be a bit like fibreglass.
material eg a layer of natural canvas or say blue denim for instance is what gives it the colour. The resin is clear.
remember a while back there was talk of a fire hose micarta handled #73? the idea kind of died sadly. One of the members made some .It was the the old hose that gave the micarta its colour. It wasn't dyed.
So as a control experiment leave a piece of whatever material the micarta is laid up from on the wood shed and see what happens.
I'm certain that if I left an old pair of blue jeans on the roof of my shed they would be faded almost white within a month. Not only that the denim would be all crackly and broken down.
I could be totally off the mark .
 
Modoc ED said:
John. You oughta know me by now. There are some knives I have that I just like to mess with. I use em hard and for dirty tasks. Just the way it goes. They usually clean up real nice and except for some minor marks, pitting, etc. they come out fine and are ready for more. I don't happen to like this knife so I thought I'd set it outside for awhile to see what happens. I find it interesting that the micarta covers are fading so fast. I think it has steel liners so we'll see how they weather also.

Just experimenting.
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Little ED's house of horrors for knives you don't particularly like :D
 
The most common resins to use for Micarta are epoxy or phenolic. It is possible to dye plastics based on epoxy and phenolic. But it is more likely that colorants were added to the resin prior to processing it into Micarta.

Re: fading.
Neither epoxy nor phenolic has good resistance to UV. UV attacks the surface and causes the resin to break down.

Whether they added color before or after making the micarta, most red colorants are not very resistant to UV either.
 
knarfeng said:
The most common resins to use for Micarta are epoxy or phenolic. It is possible to dye plastics based on epoxy and phenolic. But it is more likely that colorants were added to the resin prior to processing it into Micarta.

Re: fading.
Neither epoxy nor phenolic has good resistance to UV. UV attacks the surface and causes the resin to break down.

Whether they added color before or after making the micarta, most red colorants are not very resistant to UV either.
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Modoc ED, got some SPF 50? :D

Also, if you like to torture test knives, i gotta few for you to test! Email address if interested
 
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