Need Help with Dalexs NH Re-dye

[midwestwhips]

Ok, this is going to be the 4th time this shirt has gone through the process...

I bought this shirt from a member on indygear who had gotten to the point of the color removing process that the shirt turned pink. So when I got it, it was bright pink. After attempting to remove the rest of the color in the washer, and wasting 2 packets of remover, the shirt was still pink. So I went out and bought a stainless steel pot, and tried it in that, and Presto! The color was gone. Although the shirt looked white, it had a little bit of a light blueish tint to it.

I followed the directions on Dalexs page, 1 tsp Pearl Grey : 3/4 tsp Tan : 3 gallons of water. When it was done it had a not so attractive lima bean green color to it, and actually looked just a hair darker than the normal color.

So, I went out and got some more remover, tried again, and this time after doing the remover part, it looked whiter than last time, but again had a little hint of light blue(at this point I am not so sure that is normal anymore).

So I went ahead and did the redye, and again, the shirt turned out with a green tinge to it, this time even darker than the last. So I decided to take a couple pictures, and see if anyone can help.





Here it is with a really bright flash:



I will likely remove the color again tonight, and I am thinking the tan is somehow mixing with the blue to give a yellow and blue make green color. I am leaning towards using less tan and smaller amounts of both dye colors. Or perhaps only the pearl grey. My other thoughts are if it doesn't work in the next try or two that I will either keep it white(with the hint of light blue), or dye it black or a royal blue. But part of me is also getting tired of doing this, and throwing money away on dye remover and dye.

Any help from those who have done the re-dye?

Thanks in advance,

Paul Nolan
www.midwestwhips.com

[Dalexs]

Paul, feel free to send me a 12 plait 6' bullwhip and the shirt, and I should beable to fix it for you! ;-)

Although the shirt looked white, it had a little bit of a light blueish tint to it.

I think you are correct about the blue tint mixing with the tan.
Its been a few years since I've done this. So it is possible RIT has changed its formula.

Most of my shirts just before the redye stage, have had at most a yellowish tint, and that actually helps.

I seem to recall having a similar issue once on someones shirt.
It really took getting the shirt down to as white as possible to get the correct color.
After you dye remove it, make sure you toss it in the wash with bleach.
That should help.

I've made adjustments to redye baths off and on for just such problems.
It really depends on the shirt.
But the bulk ofthe ones I've done usually came out fine base on the original recipe.

Dalexs

[midwestwhips]

Hi Dalexs,

Lol, unfortunately we don't have any 6fts in stock at the moment, otherwise I'd consider it. ;-)

Thanks for your input. After hearing what you said I am even more convinced that the blue tint is the problem. My theory is that maybe I used too much dye remover or for too long, or somehow the dye remover reacted with it in a strange way.

But I did check the RIT website last night and it says that for Bone to use:

"1/2 tsp Tan
1/2 tsp Pearl Grey"

So they may have changed their formulas. I never saw a Yellowish tint when removing the color, and I wonder if it had something to do with the previous owners attempt to remove the dye.

I snapped a couple of pictures after removing the dye the other night so you can see the blueish tint. It's mostly white, but in bright light you can see the blue. I used 2 packets of dye remover every time, and let it cook for over 2 hours each time. Afterward, the first 2 times I used 1 cup of bleach with a little detergent, the last time I used over 1 cup of bleach(maybe 1 1/2 cups) and no detergent in it. Still didn't get rid of the blue.

I took the pics both without flash and then with flash, and also have them compared to two other NH shirts:













So, I decided last night to give up on the bone re-dye with this particular shirt, but I may try it again with a different shirt. With this one, I went ahead and dyed it Black, which is something I had thought might look cool with an indy shirt, but didn't want to spend $100 plus on the shirt just to re-dye it. It looks pretty cool, and I'll post some pictures of it in a little bit.

Thanks again!
Regards,

Paul Nolan
www.midwestwhips.com

[midwestwhips]

Here's the pics of the Black Indy shirt! It turned out well, and I think it looks pretty cool. Whaddya' think?







http://www.midwestwhips.com/indygearpho ... on%20A.jpg

http://www.midwestwhips.com/indygearpho ... k%202a.jpg

http://www.midwestwhips.com/indygearpho ... k%202b.jpg

http://www.midwestwhips.com/indygearpho ... on%20B.jpg

Regards,

Paul Nolan
www.midwestwhips.com

[indygr]

Hi midwestwhips,

I would like to offer my input also since I have redyed my Wested shirt once. The only difference is that I used Dylon dyes instead of RIT.

First, it's true that RIT have changed their recipe. In order for you to achieve the original colour you should mix 1/2 Pearl Grey and 3/4 of Tan. Just a personal guess.
Second, the shirt that you have from the previous owner, was not redyed but it probably lost its colour due to the washings or sun exposure. The explanation might be that the NH shirts since they are costume shirts, they are dyed with non colourfast dyes, as the RIT or Dylon multipurpose due to cost issues. Therefore, under extensive sun exposure and after many washings the shirt might have lost its original colour. I would suggest you to keep your new shirt away from the sun and to wash it separately in a delicate cycle with woolite to keep it as a reference.
Third, the black colour is very cool!! Congrats!

Indygr

[Dalexs]

I'm curious if the last owner tried to just use Gray dye.
I know RITS gray used to have an ever so slight blue base to it, which is why I never used that much in the original recipe.
It was just enough to offset the tan, which is red/orangish based.

The images on my monitor actually don't look that bad.
The color is probably so subtle, it can't be made out except up close.
Which was the problem with the original pinbish shirts...

(And I would have settled for an 8 footer! )

[Baldwyn]

Paul, I think that turned out really good! Instead of selling my Wested, maybe I should redye it black!!! You now have an SA shirt to wear when you buy a symbiote Indy I jacket and it turns you evil.