I sometimes need something a certain color, and this time it was a purple button. I could not purchase a purple button, but I could purchase a white button and some purple dye. So the idea is that you can dye plastic like anything else… sort of. It’s complicated.
I got some Rit Dye Liquid after I had ready you could mix it with a bit of acetone and dye plastic with it. Now, there is a Rit product called DyeMore which supposedly will also work, and maybe work better, but the tutorials I found talked about heating up the dye and acetone to a specific temperature, and that seemed like a lot of faff and not something I wanted to do in the kitchen and while I could attempt it in the shop I opted to try the “cold” method first.
As you can see I was excited that it seemed to work. I tried just the bottom end and it turned purple!
Sadly when I tried to do the important part (the part you actually see when the button is mounted) the color I got was much different. I don’t know what changed. I probably did add more dye and more acetone, so maybe I threw off the ratio or something?
The dye job itself turned out pretty good! It’s just… not the color I wanted. I started to wonder if the plastic is more finished / polished at the top side. It’s possible, but unlikely. This is probably another case of me doing bad science and not properly measuring things and recording things. But to be fair, this was my first attempt.
I don’t know if there will be a second attempt. It would mean using (wasting) more buttons, and I don’t know that I want to color a bunch of buttons without a client paying for it just in the name of science. But it’s good to know it does work if needed. Though getting the correct color may prove a challenge.
I really wish I could have got that nice purple color throughout the whole thing! It could also be timing… Maybe I let it sit in the solution for two long. Again, lack of good data here.
I should note than when I asked for advice a few people said “What kind of plastic is it?” but sadly, I do not know. These are just arcade buttons I buy from a reseller, and they come with no such information. Oh well!
Note: This post may contain Affiliate Links. Read More.
