SoliForum - 3D Printing Community — Can you tint ABS plastic?

Re: Can you tint ABS plastic?

2013-05-23T19:35:35Z

It may not be tinting but knowing that legos are made of ABS plastic I found some threads on dying legos. They were using fabric and vinyl dye on legos. The Vinyl dye this person used had acetone in it and seemed to work well.

The Dying Process ( http://www.classic-castle.com/forum/vie … hp?t=6876)
Dying bricks with Vinyl Dye - the result (http://www.classic-castle.com/forum/vie … php?t=6353)

Re: Can you tint ABS plastic?

2013-05-21T14:21:49Z

IanJohnson wrote:

I've read that RIT dyes will color ABS if you use a mix of acetone and water. If you google for RIT ABS and acetone, some tutorials will show up.

Maybe two birds with one stone? A dying/smoothing station that uses a tinted acetone/water mix to smooth the object?

Re: Can you tint ABS plastic?

2013-05-21T05:51:27Z

I've read that RIT dyes will color ABS if you use a mix of acetone and water. If you google for RIT ABS and acetone, some tutorials will show up.

Re: Can you tint ABS plastic?

2013-05-21T02:15:20Z

water based dyes work well on nylon

I don't think abs tints that well...Would love to hear more, though.

Re: Can you tint ABS plastic?

2013-05-21T01:54:48Z

When I get around to trying some of these things I will report back. Thanks.

Re: Can you tint ABS plastic?

2013-05-20T21:52:03Z

In my military figure customizing hobby, I've used RIT dye in boiling water to dye figures and vehicles. Granted, these are usually made of PVC, but I've used the method on Styrene, so it should work on ABS. The key is to get the water to boiling, add in the dye, then let it cool some before adding the part to avoid warping. The warmer the water, the faster the dye will set, but if you're worried about the heat warping a part, you can use cooler water, but you'll have to let the part soak for longer periods.

Re: Can you tint ABS plastic?

2013-05-20T21:26:51Z

You can try running it over a marker on the way into the extruder. Look around on Thingiverse, there have been a few marker mounts made, including one for Solidoodle.

Re: Can you tint ABS plastic?

2013-05-20T20:57:48Z

if you don't mind wasting a roll, put a roll in a 5 gallon bucket. Fill it up with water just above the top of the spool. Add moderate amount of food coloring and stir. Let sit for an hour. Remove spool and shake off excess water. Put in oven at 175F for 4 hours. Remove and check diameter to make sure the filament hasn't retained any water. Print and then let us know if it worked.

(I will not take any responsibility for damage to the filament or your printer.)

Can you tint ABS plastic?

2013-05-20T20:07:43Z

I have some transparent ABS. I would love to be able to get colored-transparent ABS, which is hard to find and expensive. Anyway I can just tint the ABS before or after printing. Has anyone tried to prime the surface and tried semi-transparent acrylic paints? Maybe food dye since I only need a tint?