Dyeing a pony- lots of questions!

[Luminary]

How do I dye a pony? I bought Frost Gray and Royal Purple Rit for SYNTHETIC fabrics .

1. Would you recommend Rit Colorstay Fixative? I didn't purchase that on my recent trip to the craft store because ponies don't have the fabrics listed (cotton, linen, rayon, ramie, acetate). So instead I bought spray-on acrylic coating. The sales person let me spray it on surfaces in the store and it was both matte and non-sticky. Will this stuff keep dye in pony plastic that would normally rub off?

2. Does masking tape alone protect the eyes from hot water?

3. Will I have to hold the tongs above the steam? How long should I do so, and how do I keep from burning myself? Will regular rubber gloves work?

2. I want a purplish-gray, light or medium, and the custom pony base is a light colored Rainbow Uni Windy. Should I add like eight ounces of Frost Gray to 3 ounces of Royal Purple in like a half gallon of water (eyeballing the gallon and measuring cup for the dye)?Does a half gallon submerge a pony for the full length of time I will be holding it over the stove?

Obviously I have a lot of questions, which is why I numbered them....hope I'm going in the right direction. Here is a picture of the non-sticky matte fixative, that is also a UV block. I worry it will seal the mane holes before rehairing. I have had issues in the past with hair needles getting dull and hard to work with.

 

[OctoberMoon]

I recently purchased the frost grey and have practiced on a couple of bait ponies I plan on working on. I also wanted a purplish grey. One of my ponies is s white based (Sundance) and one was light pink based. They turned out really good. I let them cook a little bit too long and the pink one was darker than I wanted but still a purplish grey. It was really simple and goes super fast with the synthetic so be ready to take them out. These were my first attempts ever so I am interested to hear what others say as well. I didn't do any other treatments afterwards (yet). I brought it to a boil to get it to the right temperature on the bottle and then put it on a simmer to keep the temperature consistent. I have a great thermometer. I set out plastic and cardboard next to the stove to set things on as I didn't want to mess up the cabinets and countertops. I also used latex gloves. I really didn't measure, that's not me so I eyeballed the water to keep the pony submerged I used tongs. And don't forget the cold water bath. Some people use vinager but I didn't. Here's a picture. Left is Sundance and right is a secret surprise for someone so I can't reveal too much hopefully it helps a little!

 

[Luminary]

I recently purchased the frost grey and have practiced on a couple of bait ponies I plan on working on. I also wanted a purplish grey. One of my ponies is s white based (Sundance) and one was light pink based. They turned out really good. I let them cook a little bit too long and the pink one was darker than I wanted but still a purplish grey. It was really simple and goes super fast with the synthetic so be ready to take them out. These were my first attempts ever so I am interested to hear what others say as well. I didn't do any other treatments afterwards (yet). I brought it to a boil to get it to the right temperature on the bottle and then put it on a simmer to keep the temperature consistent. I have a great thermometer. I set out plastic and cardboard next to the stove to set things on as I didn't want to mess up the cabinets and countertops. I also used latex gloves. I really didn't measure, that's not me so I eyeballed the water to keep the pony submerged I used tongs. And don't forget the cold water bath. Some people use vinager but I didn't. Here's a picture. Left is Sundance and right is a secret surprise for someone so I can't reveal too much hopefully it helps a little!
View attachment 49808

That is gorgeous! maybe I should mix the gray with pink instead of purple....Did masking tape protect the eyes?

 

[Skybreeze]

That is gorgeous! maybe I should mix the gray with pink instead of purple....Did masking tape protect the eyes?

You don’t need to worry about paint when dying it doesn’t stick so no need to tape.
These are two that I dyed and added to the eyes but dye doesn’t effect anything that’s got factory paint.

 

[OctoberMoon]

That is gorgeous! maybe I should mix the gray with pink instead of purple....Did masking tape protect the eyes?

As @Skybreeze said no I just tossed it in! All paint was good. The symbols on the pink pony had already faded to white so they kind of turned grey but I think if they had been in good shape, they would have been fine. The eyes were fine though!

 

[LadyMoondancer]

As far as the eyes go, the paint will repel dye, so unless you plan on having her in the dye a LONG time, you don't really have to do anything.

If you're dying a HQG1C pony, you need to use RIT DyeMore, not "regular" RIT dye because they have very smooth plastic. For G1 ponies and G3 ponies, you can use regular RIT dye because they're more porous.

 

[Luminary]

This was a nightmare:

I mixed basically a whole bottle of gray with two thirds cup purple and the the body came out rich lavender, while the head was ugly red-based royal purple. It looked like the pony was embarrassed (or something). Despite my best efforts to acetone and clean the pony beforehand, it was streaky and cloudy like Japanese watercolors. periwinkle, lavender, and royal purple all over the place, as if I had used some special tie dye technique.

Then I realized I could pour out the colored water and boil the pony in Oxy Clean to try to lighten the color. FOUR HOURS later I got Windy to be completely gray with a beautiful violet undertone ...but the metal tongs scratched the eyes. I had to scoop out the streams of red/brown/purple dye from the water/foam, and continue to add Oxy. The Oxy boiled over the top until I realized smaller explosions were working better. I had to stand over the pot and keep dropping Oxy on the head especially, holding it under, then scooping, then adding more water when I scooped too much out. Good thing I didn't give up, but I am now worried that what I have will fade (after all that work!).

It still looks like I can rehair and give it a symbol and everything, but I hope the color stays. I might commission someone to repair the eyes at the same time as I commission a G4 version of my ponysona.

QUESTION: Youtube videos are telling me to let the pony sit for a month...Will a pony that has been dyed with RIT really *not leak* after a month? Should I just use the Krylon spray from my first post? Keep in mind the warm colors were already boiled out with Oxy before it touched cold water and vinegar. The vinegar was still clear after a half-hour soak (no leaking).

:stir::stir::stir::stir::stir:

 

[LadyMoondancer]

Was it G1 (80s) Windy or Basic Fun Windy? I think I would dye BF Windy in the way I'd dye a HQG1C because they seem non-porous. But admittedly I've never tried it.

Never let a pony who's been bathed in RIT dye touch another pony. Even after years, the dye can still "leech" onto a pony that's touching it. This is the case no matter how many times you rinse them, put them in vinegar, handle them without your hands staining, etc.

Personally I wouldn't use / trust a fixative spray, I would just keep them out of contact with other ponies. Like, even a millimeter of space means the surrounding ponies will be unaffected.

 

[OctoberMoon]

This was a nightmare:

I mixed basically a whole bottle of gray with two thirds cup purple and the the body came out rich lavender, while the head was ugly red-based royal purple. It looked like the pony was embarrassed (or something). Despite my best efforts to acetone and clean the pony beforehand, it was streaky and cloudy like Japanese watercolors. periwinkle, lavender, and royal purple all over the place, as if I had used some special tie dye technique.

Then I realized I could pour out the colored water and boil the pony in Oxy Clean to try to lighten the color. FOUR HOURS later I got Windy to be completely gray with a beautiful violet undertone ...but the metal tongs scratched the eyes. I had to scoop out the streams of red/brown/purple dye from the water/foam, and continue to add Oxy. The Oxy boiled over the top until I realized smaller explosions were working better. I had to stand over the pot and keep dropping Oxy on the head especially, holding it under, then scooping, then adding more water when I scooped too much out. Good thing I didn't give up, but I am now worried that what I have will fade (after all that work!).

It still looks like I can rehair and give it a symbol and everything, but I hope the color stays. I might commission someone to repair the eyes at the same time as I commission a G4 version of my ponysona.

QUESTION: Youtube videos are telling me to let the pony sit for a month...Will a pony that has been dyed with RIT really *not leak* after a month? Should I just use the Krylon spray from my first post? Keep in mind the warm colors were already boiled out with Oxy before it touched cold water and vinegar. The vinegar was still clear after a half-hour soak (no leaking).

:stir::stir::stir::stir::stir:

This was a nightmare:

I mixed basically a whole bottle of gray with two thirds cup purple and the the body came out rich lavender, while the head was ugly red-based royal purple. It looked like the pony was embarrassed (or something). Despite my best efforts to acetone and clean the pony beforehand, it was streaky and cloudy like Japanese watercolors. periwinkle, lavender, and royal purple all over the place, as if I had used some special tie dye technique.

Then I realized I could pour out the colored water and boil the pony in Oxy Clean to try to lighten the color. FOUR HOURS later I got Windy to be completely gray with a beautiful violet undertone ...but the metal tongs scratched the eyes. I had to scoop out the streams of red/brown/purple dye from the water/foam, and continue to add Oxy. The Oxy boiled over the top until I realized smaller explosions were working better. I had to stand over the pot and keep dropping Oxy on the head especially, holding it under, then scooping, then adding more water when I scooped too much out. Good thing I didn't give up, but I am now worried that what I have will fade (after all that work!).

It still looks like I can rehair and give it a symbol and everything, but I hope the color stays. I might commission someone to repair the eyes at the same time as I commission a G4 version of my ponysona.

QUESTION: Youtube videos are telling me to let the pony sit for a month...Will a pony that has been dyed with RIT really *not leak* after a month? Should I just use the Krylon spray from my first post? Keep in mind the warm colors were already boiled out with Oxy before it touched cold water and vinegar. The vinegar was still clear after a half-hour soak (no leaking).

:stir::stir::stir::stir::stir:

I'm sorry it didn't go well! That's exactly why I started with a very simple one. I am sure it will be great once you add the details to it. Yes the dye can transfer if stored in direct contact with another one from what I understand.

 

[Luminary]

So I didn't take a pic while she was purple- It was an old squishy Windy, not white or purple, but just not really gray. I wanted a boy uni and the Glory pose lends itself to that IMO because of the porcelain groom Glory, Sports Time, and that disturbing book from the early 80's where Glory loses her horn combined with some Discovery channel specials I saw 20 years ago that talked about how gender was viewed at the time (yes that last one is a weird reason, lets not expand on it!).

 

[Luminary]

Aaaannnd here: my comp was acting up and I couldn't post two pics.....

 

[Tak]

Aaaannnd here:View attachment 49919 my comp was acting up and I couldn't post two pics.....

Personally, I find this color to be gorgeous. Plus you can pair it with so many different colors for hair. I used to have an rl Arabian that was almost this color.

 

[LadyMoondancer]

Ohhh, she / he looks beautiful!

You mentioned streakiness, and I noticed that too the few times I dyed G1 ponies. And they would have random little flecks of color that were more intense than the rest of the body. By contrast G3 ponies usually take dye in a very uniform fashion. (So do HQG1Cs.)

I think it has something to do with G1s being more porous than other pony gens.

 

[Luminary]

Thank you! It is a good color -I feel like a celebrity hair colorist because it took so long ("Lindsay Lohan was seen leaving the salon eight hours later...."). I really want to stick with a ponysona so I have been obsessed with the hair color because I don't want to change my mind. Cool pastel colors seem like an obvious choice, but it isn't a random color scheme, it has to be something I can "flow" with as "me" (that sounds healthy ).

So flourescent orange with a chartreuse or glow in the dark uni stripe (and maybe tail) it is! I was obsessed with Light Heart and Sunny Daze's purple/orange look but I feel that is too complex, it should be simple for this, and it's already a uni. Those ponies will still be pretty without me referencing them in my ponysona.

Dollyhair has a color called marmalade which has a "bronze" undertone in the sun and would look great with electric banana. Since the pony is a little gloomy, flourescent hair won't be obnoxious.

The symbol will either be a chartreuse star or light bulb. Glow paint! Also, maybe the tail will be marmalade (orange) like the mane, or maybe electric banana to match the uni stripe/ symbol. Still deciding. Haven't even ordered the hair yet.

 

[OctoberMoon]

Thank you! It is a good color -I feel like a celebrity hair colorist because it took so long ("Lindsay Lohan was seen leaving the salon eight hours later...."). I really want to stick with a ponysona so I have been obsessed with the hair color because I don't want to change my mind. Cool pastel colors seem like an obvious choice, but it isn't a random color scheme, it has to be something I can "flow" with as "me" (that sounds healthy ).

So flourescent orange with a chartreuse or glow in the dark uni stripe (and maybe tail) it is! I was obsessed with Light Heart and Sunny Daze's purple/orange look but I feel that is too complex, it should be simple for this, and it's already a uni. Those ponies will still be pretty without me referencing them in my ponysona.

Dollyhair has a color called marmalade which has a "bronze" undertone in the sun and would look great with electric banana. Since the pony is a little gloomy, flourescent hair won't be obnoxious.

The symbol will either be a chartreuse star or light bulb. Glow paint! Also, maybe the tail will be marmalade (orange) like the mane, or maybe electric banana to match the uni stripe/ symbol. Still deciding. Haven't even ordered the hair yet.

I love your ideas! Can't wait to see how the finished product looks like!

 

[strawberrypony32]

Aaaannnd here:View attachment 49919 my comp was acting up and I couldn't post two pics.....

She looks beautiful!! :O Ive always been too scared to dye but she turned out great! Im sorry for the complications you had. Orange and chartreuse sound perfect! So unique!!

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