Friday, July 4, 2014

Some common types of plastic coloring agents

There is a large variety of plastics available in the market. Different materials are used for making different types of plastic. This difference requires the use of different dyes for coloring.

If a plastic product is made out of nylon (a regular material that is commonly used for making Frisbee discs), it can be dyed by adding water to the acid Dye. The plastic is then heated in that water. Mild acid like vinegar is added to the water to achieve the required pH value. Nylon works well with acid dyes, whether it is in the form of woven textile fiber or plastic form.

The dye bath should be kept at 185 degrees Fahrenheit. If the temperature is higher, it may distort the shape of the nylon product, and may damage the fabric. But, at the same time low temperature is not going to work well either, because it will not allow the dye to bond perfectly with the fiber. 

Another common material used for making plastic products is polyurethane, which can be dyed using acid plastic dyes. This material can easily be damaged if the temperature is set high. Polyester is a material that cannot be colored using any of the dyes that have been mentioned above. This material can only be colored using colorants from the category of Disperse dyes.

Acid dyes do not blend well with polyester. The process used for disperse dyes demands higher temperatures, preferably above a hundred degree centigrade. If the temperature is set below this, it may result in a disappointing output. This material is a preferred choice when it comes to coloring synthetic materials like acetate and acrylics.

This material cannot be used for dyeing acrylics, which is the safest choice of material for regular usage. Acrylics can also be colored by using basic or cationic ones. When using the basic ones it is essential to have a safe laboratory. When using it at home, we must be very careful as it may stain everything that it comes in contact with, real bad.

You simply cannot color some plastics at home. Some of them have to be dyed only when they are in the liquid form. For instance, polypropylene that is marked with recycle log 5 is used for making water bottles, sports clothing, stain-resistant carpets, and upholstery materials, etc.
This material requires special material for coloring, because it repels water molecules.

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