Dyeing a faded BCD wing?

[PSUSciDiver]

Thank you for the solid info!

 

[RayfromTX]

Hardly a day goes by that Tom doesn't impress me. Twice today.

 

[buddhasummer]

Hardly a day goes by that Tom doesn't impress me. Twice today.

Yes, he knows stuff.

 

[RayfromTX]

Lot's of people know stuff. Tom shares it tirelessly and respectfully without coming across as someone that is trying to convince himself that he is special.

 

[buddhasummer]

As do many others on this board. Fortunately there a few of the same ilk. Well, one less now awaps gone.

 

[ManImCool]

Quals for this post. I'm a textile engineer, with backgrounds producing ballistic nylon, as well as making tennis ball felts *which is a dyed wool and nylon blend*

The bladder is made of ballistic nylon. Nylon is meant to be used as a synthetic version of wool and was specifically designed to use the same dye stocks as wool so blends can be made without having to go through two dye baths. Wet finishing is horrifically expensive, so it's very important that they dye similarly.

Black wool dye, with all steps followed should get the nylon back to jet black.

Now, reasons nylon fades. Nylon, like the rest of the Amide family *Nomex, Kevlar, etc* are all pansies. They are very strong, but they don't like any chemicals, and they don't like sun. Breakdown occurs fairly rapidly in warm chlorinated environments, and pretty quick in the sun. Some wings have been made with PET for their resistance to chlorine for pool use, but sacrifice abrasion resistance.
As the fibers start to break down, they let out their dye which means their strength and abrasion resistance are fading as well. For the Halcyon outer covers, the only thing you risk damaging is the zipper, but it shouldn't have an issue in the dye bath.

Thanks for the useful information. Does anyone have any particular "black wool dye" product that they'd recommend? I'm trying to achieve something similar as the OP - restoring a faded Halcyon outer wing back to black. I've tried to research how to effectively dye urethane-coated 1000D nylon, and *think* I should be using an acid dye (whatever that means), but I just am not sure and was hoping someone can point me in the right direction concerning an appropriate product!

 

[landphil]

You need this- Sea Urchin Dyeing - And if you're into a little cold water diving, I'm sure we can find someone to hook you up with a couple of thousand purple urchins.

 

[bletso]

I dyed my Dive Rite classic wing a couple years ago. It kind of faded after 20 years. Looked like new when done. Good for another 20 years and 100's of dives

 

[divezonescuba]

Don't use the Rit dye commonly available even though it says it can be used on wool. I tried this a few years ago on an oceanic probe bcd and it didn't last long at all.

 

[tbone1004]

Thanks for the useful information. Does anyone have any particular "black wool dye" product that they'd recommend? I'm trying to achieve something similar as the OP - restoring a faded Halcyon outer wing back to black. I've tried to research how to effectively dye urethane-coated 1000D nylon, and *think* I should be using an acid dye (whatever that means), but I just am not sure and was hoping someone can point me in the right direction concerning an appropriate product!

confirming it is a hot acid dye. Unfortunately I don't have any home dying recommendations for specific dye but if you search for black acid dye it should be pretty easy to find with clear instructions for use