It would interesting to know if anyone has tried to use the above method to turn something like this:
into something a bit more subdued for vegetated areas like this:
Monday, May 2, 2011
Praxis: Dyeing cordura.
I'm curious if any readers have tried this method of dyeing cordura nylon gear. There is a lot of stuff coming out of DRMO by way of Government Liquidation that is desert tan, and except perhaps for guys in the truly desert portions of states like Arizona and New Mexico, it is going to stick out like a sore thumb. (Bob Wright of New Mexico tells me that he still prefers woodland in the "Fort Stinking Desert" region of southeast New Mexico and West Texas.)
It would interesting to know if anyone has tried to use the above method to turn something like this:
into something a bit more subdued for vegetated areas like this:
It would interesting to know if anyone has tried to use the above method to turn something like this:
into something a bit more subdued for vegetated areas like this:
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15 comments:
Something to consider for any area when changing the color of a piece of equipment: Spray paint.
Especially when you have a good base color like desert tan or coyote brown.
Brown or tan is actually a better base than OD for all areas in the US (other than Alaska). Evidence? Check how ASAT is used, as well as Multicam. ASAT (All Season All Terrain) patterns are tan, brown, and have a smattering of black in them with absolutely no green. It blends well and breaks up your pattern. If you take the multicam pattern apart, you will find that there is basically no black, but browns, light tans, and a shade of OD/Forest green. Even in the summer when the foilage is at peak, the Multicam pattern works at breaking up patterns.
My point? Experiment with the spray paint, because dyeing canteen covers and other gear will not provide a decent ROI for time and money spent.
In our AO (the great north woods), we have a mix of pine and hardwoods with lots of undergrowth. We have no problem with using browns as a base. Coyote brown is a favorite, spruced up with some shots of OD and dark brown to break up the pattern.
And here's the beauty of it on gear like the canteen covers shown: The spray paint doesn't wear off very easily because it dyes the material when it soaks in.
We use spray paint on LBV/LBE, weapons (nice thing about them is that when the paint gets scratched, you get to make it even uglier, which breaks up the pattern even more!), rucks, you name it. It is cheap, it works, and it's easily 'fixed' when you need to....
That should work okay. Sounds like a lot of simmering & stirring though. You could pretty much do it cold with BIG green, brown, and black Magic Markers and do about the same thing, cold. It's alcohol soluble so it shouldn't rub off or run when wet with water.
http://www.jacquardproducts.com/products/dyes/aciddye/
Mike, I've had modest success with spray paint on nylon surfaces. It wares over time but that adds a bit of variation to the color scheme and it can be reapplied in later years. Of course, getting it good and dirty also is preferable to high contrast tan. But, ultimately, nylon is smooth stuff and getting anything to stick to it for long is a trick without chemically etching the surface and then filling those micro-voids with pigment.
I ran across this forum thread not quite a year ago. This gentlemen dyes some of his desert/tan equipment. Hope it helps.
http://www.mrlockandload.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=782
Michael from Mississippi
Just spray it with krylon or bowflage...
AR15.com had a thread on dying DCU.
See page 5 near the bottom for a dye recipe.
http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=6&f=10&t=270564&page=5
Green isn't that good of a camo color. Browns are better. Browns will blend into a forest fairly well, even when there are no green leaves. Green does not.
Animals have alright natural camouflage, right? Every notice any green bunnies, deer, or elk?
Exactly.
The problem comes from the nature of modern synthetic fabrics. They aren't "dyed" per se in the manner that cotton or wool is dyed. Natural fibers absorb color due to the porosity of their structure. Nylon, Dacron and the rest are colored as molten plastic and then formed into fibers that essentially have no inner structure that a dye can penetrate. Worst case scenario is that you have the body of the piece come out one shade, any pipeing or seam tapeing another, and the stiching a third. I've watched my wife and daughter throw up their hands in disgust and toss a ruined garment more than once over this one.
2nd the spray paint. I've also used Testor's model paints, too. And in my teenage quest to obtain "authentic" Vietnam Tiger stripes (long before the wonders of the internet) I used q-tips, bleach and shoe polish to hand craft them.
The US Army Fighting Load Carrier has two canteen pockets on i and at least five double magazine pockets, in ACU pattern. One size fits all.
Typically these run about $45.00 new, but can be found used. Take care to get all of the pockets with this MOLLE vest, some sellers take the pockets off and sell them separately.
This is just any example, take a good look, in fact download the images for informational reasons.
Army FLC
Army FLC photo one
Army FLC photo two
Army FLC photo three
I agree on the spray paint. Sometimes clean cordura has a shine with it and even a flat grey fleck pattern helps break it up. Also, black is not a natural color in nature so this tends to draw the eye. In general breaking up an objects outline reduces the minds ability to resolve and understand a 3-D object.
IIRC, all "issue" equipment is treated to reduce or eliminate IR reflectivity.
From what I understand, painting/dieing/etc has the potential to not only increase such reflectivity, but actually cause "flourescence" that can be seen from miles away in NVG/IR equipment.
IIRC (again) certain brands of soaps also are destructive to these treatments...
Hopefully someone with actual knowledge will chime in!
The IR treatment don't last forever....believe me. And after you paint something, you oughta be putting it in the dirt.
I know my own vest, Coyote Brown with OD break up on the mesh cannot be seen with NVG any better than issue BDU's (almost new).
As for the wash, try "Sport's Wash" or any other UV killing detergent. Then turn your BDU's inside out and button up the shirt and pants when washing. They'll fade less that way, and as they stay newer longer, your IR treatment lasts longer...especially when washing in tepid or cool water.
At least, that's worked for me.
The issue is... Check your gear (all of it) under 3rd or 4th Gen. night vision. Some dyes will light up like a ghost. Ask a vet.
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