Tye Dying?

[Smart-Resins]

Someone had given me some advice on how to do a tye dyed body. I just attempted it and failed miserably. Does anyone here know how that might be able to help me? I am trying to do a red/white and blue tye dye job on a grave digger body! Thanks. Jody

[Scalefinishes]

If I can explain this without too much confusion, I think I can help.

Disclaimer: I have not tried this. This is from my memory of a magazine article.

1. Get a Tupperware container. Fill it with enough water to dunk the entire car body in. I doubt you will be able to reuse the container.

2. spray or pour the oil based paint colors you want to use on the water. Oil based paints will float on top of the water. Testors enamels will work for this.

3. GENTLY stir the paint on top of the water until you have the design you are looking for.

4. dip the body, and you will see the paint adhere to it. The oil based paints will not react to the water. slowly pull the body out of the water, and Presto Change-o you have a "Tye dyed" car.

I Hope I remembered this right, it seemed easy enough when I read it.

Hope this helps.

Jameston

[GOTH KUSTOMS]

Heck I'm gonna have to give this a shot just becouse it sound's kool...

[Smart-Resins]

Well, thatss along the lines of how I did it. But the body did not fit in far enough to pull the paint onto the bottom of it(I dunked head first) so when I pulled it out, the paint folded over and wrinkled up. Big mess! Also, was advised that if I painted the body white, it would show through in spots after spraying the red and blue onot the water. Well where the apint layed, no white showed through. Dont know if I had the water too hot, or if I sprayed too much paint onto the water or what? Thanks. Jody

[lonewolf01]

that sounds like fun ,but do you put it in top first or bottom first

[crazyjim]

You have to put the body into the water first - right side up. Then you spray the paint on top of the water. Just spary the different colors around. Don't try to mix the paint because it will just adhere to whatever you stir it with. Lift the body slowly out of the water. Let it dry for a few days and then start with several coats of clear. There was a magazine article about the process maybe twenty years ago. The car they worked on was the Moonwind as I recall. I have the magazine in the shop.

[randx0]

perhaps trying the process more than once would work . start with the red then blue maybe for the red dunk have a little blue and for the blue dunk use a little red I don't know just thinkng out loud. seems like a technique that just takes some experimenting .

[Smart-Resins]

Thank you crazyjim, that makes a lot of sense to me!I had asked someone who used to be a body man and has done many tye dyed models. But it just didnt add all up and the way I did it totally sucked.LOL. You way would eliminate the issue I had. Yes, I had heard not to stir it. Also was advised strongly against double dipping. Wich is a process of dipping for each color. Now someone had mention maybe blowing on the paint with a straw to help swirl it? Any one have any thing to add to that? Thanks. JOdy

[crazyjim]

I've done it a feww times and it looks really cool. I forgot to mention that if you're doing red,white, blue, to have the body primed in white and then just use the red and blue for the dip. I usually use one of those plastic/vinyl wash basins you get when you're in the hospital.

If you decide to spray the paint on the water and dip the body, you have to make sure that you skim the left over paint off the water before raising the body.

The article I referred to was the "Moonwind" and it appeared in the March 1972 issue of Car Model maagazine. I'll bet everybody has a copy of thatlaying around.

[cruzn]

The article I referred to was the "Moonwind" and it appeared in the March 1972 issue of Car Model maagazine. I'll bet everybody has a copy of that laying around.

I do In My Library in the Bsement..

[crazyjim]

You gotta be kiddin' me! I didn't think there were any other modelers were out there that are as old as me. It was tough being the busboy aat the Last Supper. I've been building model cars/trucks since 1958. I'll have to take pictures of the Nova and Bantam roadster that used the above mentioned sytem to lay the paint down. I hardly ever post and have never posted pictures. Should be an experience.

[Smart-Resins]

Thank you crazyJim that is what I was told, but apparently I sprayed too much red and blue down as there was no white showing! LOl. Triel and error.If at first we dont succeed, try try again! Thats what the Kernel did with Kuntucky fried chicken! LOl. Jody

[crazyjim]

I took pictures of my Bantam roadster and Nova that have tye dyed but I can't figure out how to get them posted here. The Kodak camera I have downloads the pictures into the kodak software. Sorry.

[Smart-Resins]

I took pictures of my Bantam roadster and Nova that have tye dyed but I can't figure out how to get them posted here. The Kodak camera I have downloads the pictures into the kodak software. Sorry.

Do you have photobucket or fotki account? As for the kodack pictures, when you go to upload them, should be able to browse under documents, then under kodack, then in the folder they were saved. That is if I remember correctly. Its been a little over a year since I replaced my kodack camera with a HP photosmart. Also, you can change your picture settings in kodack easyshare to save them under my pictures as well. Hope this helps. Jody

[crazyjim]

I transferred the pictures to my Kodak folder and tried to copy/paste into a reply but no go. The files are too large. I don't have a photo bucket or fokti account. I'll look into them and keep on trying. Do you have a regular email that I could send them too? Mine is IMcrazyjim@aol.com.

[mageckman]

There is a newer article on this technique. It was in issue 95, the February 1995 issue of Scale Auto Enthusiast( I figured this reference would be ok on here as SAE is actually defunct, the "other" SA magazine is just a sad shade of this one.) It is in the tips and tech section. For those that don't have the March 1972 issue of Car Model magazine( I don't, before I was born), You might be able to order this backissue from Kalmbach publishing( I think their backissue archives go back that far). Hope this helps. Mageckman

[Smart-Resins]

Alright. Well today I tried luke warm water and placed the body in first. Misted the paint on and not very much at all. Enough to give it a speckled look.Drew the body up and the paint acted just like a Turkey skin again and it was a no go! ISo I will certainly need to hunt copies of these articles down! Thanks. Jody

[crazyjim]

First shot at posting a Photobucket picture.

[crazyjim]

I might be getting the hang of this - thanks to my wife. I built the Bantam roadster in about 1973 and the Nova in 2008. Maybe I'll be posting more of my models in the near future.

[Jantrix]

Hey Jim would you mind giving us a step by step on how you accomplished that Nova? It looks incredible. Should the base coat be wet sanded (roughed up) first? What brands of paint, temperature? Please.

[James Flowers]

I tried that way back when the Car Model magazine came out.. I could never get it too turn out right.

[crazyjim]

After completing any bodywork, I prime my models with Plasti-coat sandable primer in either red oxide, gray, or white depending on the final color. I let the primer dry for a couple of days before wet sanding with #400 paper. The Nova was in white primer.

I use painters tape to hold the body to a bent metal clothes hanger. Doors, hood, trunk need to be taped from the inside at this time too.

You need to fill a container with warm water. I use the wash tubs they give you in the hospital, but any container that's large enough to submerge the model will work. The container size will be dependent on how you want the swirl to flow and that is dertermined on how you insert/remove the body from the water.

With the body attached to the hanger, I submerge it in the water and then start spraying Testor's enamel on the water. In the Nova case, I used several different blues and reds. If you try to stir the paint it will stick to whatever you used - so don't try to stir.

Lift the body from the water, hook it on to something to let it hang dry and start 3 or 4 coats of clear the next day or two. DON'T TRY DOUBLE DIPPING - IT DOESN'T WORK!!

You can get different effects by lifting the body at different angles. Straight up will look different than lifting the front end first. Or rear end first. Other effects will be had by spraying the paint over the water and submerging the body into the paint and water. BUT BE CAREFUL - once the body is dipped, you need to remove any & all paint that might be floating on the water. Use a stick, hanger, paper towel, whaatever to remove excess paint. If you lift the body up through the paint agian it will look terrible.

If you're not haappy with the results, just soak the body in Purple Power and start over again.

Hope this helps and don't forget to post your results.

[Abell82]

I wonder if it would be possible to attach a body, to a box fan, and spray it while it spins?

[Smart-Resins]

I can testify that dipping into the water and not being able to take it deep enough to fully cover( if you try it this way youll understand) then pulling it back out with the paiont still in there is a serious mess!Jody

[DR Dubois]

What if you sprayed the paint into a container like a paper cup first, then poured the paint onto the water in a swirling motion starting wide and spiraling tighter towards the middle? Wouldn't this give you that ty-dyed effect?

Just an idea!