As per the title really. I use proper mechanical keyboards (IBM Model M's and a Wang 724 (Yes, really!)), but really really want a black one. I have a spare Model M. People have tried Rit-Dye, and while it works on the keys, it seems to have little or no effect on the casing. Has anyone tried Vinyl Dye on a thick ABS Plastic? Anything I need to know about it or watch out for?
I've used Halfords vinyl dye on keyboards both black and red. Give the parts a good clean before you start, greasy marks will prevent the dye sinking into the plastic leaving an uneven finish. Use loads of very thin coats, don't be tempted to get a full coat the first time or even the third or fourth. Leave each coat the recommended time before applying the next, it's not long so be patient. Don't be tempted to touch, even to see if it's dry, the surface will be very soft and it's easy to leave a perminant fingerprint Leave it a good 48 hours to harden after you've got the finish you want. Put it all back together and admire your l33tness. You can use the dye for the cables as well although it's a bit trickier getting a good finish, I tend to use slieving for mine, gives a good old fashioned look.
Well... i went down, they said to come back, they'll have a look for it. Went down today. Apparently, they stoppped stocking it a year ago. anyone else got any idea's?
Try your local motor factors, if they don't stock it they ought to know who does, you'll probably get a better better range of colours too.
As opposed to making a new thread I thought I'd just revive this one as I'm in the same boat. Any recommendations on acquiring vinyl dye in the UK, online or off? Phoned halfords and again they don't stock it any more. Only thing I could find was THIS. Emailed the company to confirm if its a typical penetrating dye and they still haven't responded three days later. Suggestions?
This post is just for future reference, for those who come across it down the line. There is a little misinformation out there when it comes to what constitutes dye and what is labelled dye but is effectively still paint. The general rule of thumb seems to be if its recommended for leather, upholstery or fabric then despite the fact it might have vinyl in the label it's not what your after if your looking to spray plastics such keyboards/bezels/speakers etc. With that in mind I'd say you'd probably (your call, ymmv, etc) want to stay away from Plasti-Kote Vinyl, Duplicolor Vinyl Dye and the Magix/Brillo Vinyl shoe dyes. The first two are flexible dyes for soft materials and a big clue that they're not typical penetrating dye's is the fact that both companies make and recommend an additional clear coat spray your supposed to use. These sprays can be used and produce acceptable results (search youtube for 360 controller mods) but they're often glossy and in the cases where they haven't been clear coated have been said to chip. The two that seem to be consistently mentioned as giving great results are Halfords Vinyl Paint (363408, it is called flexible paint but has been tested to be a proper penetrating dye) and VHT's Black Satin Dye (VHT-SP942). Anyhow, I managed to track down the halford one myself, not every store has it but they can order it in and at the time of writing it's available on their website. I used it to dye a set of 2.1's and it came out great, left the same texture on the plastic and it wasn't glossy. This thread can be buried again now.
