HOW I PROCESS MILITARY SURPLUS GEAR

HOW I PROCESS MILITARY SURPLUS GEAR
what i do when i first bring home a piece of military surplus gear. if you dont have military surplus brick and mortar stores near you try some online stores such as venture surplus, colemans or armynavyoutdoors

[@irwinpollock974]

RIT Dye has a section on their website that gives you a formula to make different colors. I just tried making OD Green with a mix of RIT Dye Camel, Kelly Green and Dark Brown. Test dyed some Coyote Brown and ACU with mixed results. Heavily used gear seems to dye better than new/ almost new gear.

[@roberthamm9304]

That’s where I went to look and see what I could find for colors that would match the environment around me.

[@josephdixon1827]

I spray painted mine. But I used spray on fabric dyes. Black, Brown, Tan/ sand, and two shades of green. Two coats, after the dye dried, I washed the pack three times in the washing machine on the gentile cycle, then let air dry outside for two days. Changed it, it looks woodland tiger atac now,LOL. I need to get on my own channel, I do a bunch of stuff with gear and I need to share it.

[@jerryrichards8172]

I seen someone use Rit peacock green looked really nice. Thanks for sharing ❤

[@goodredman]

Very nice! Makes me think Saint Patty’s day rucksack. Used Rit graphite synthetic dye to turn a three color desert blouse into more of an urban gray almost like a coyote tan gray combo shade. Used very hot water on the stove top almost boiling. Had no idea what to expect. Thought the extremely hot Waterwood weaken the nylon material possibly causing stitching to loosen. Surprisingly it held up perfectly fine. Some materials absorb color better than others that’s for sure. Thanks for the video and your sharing this experience.

[@roberthamm9304]

Yes they do

[@kj3n569]

If you use dish soap to add "stripes" or blotches on the fabric before dying it will create lighter areas. Just use the soap straight on the item, letting it soak in. It stops the dye from adhering to the fibers. I've had varying degrees of success doing this, depending on the materials. I suggest trying a practice run first to get an idea of what it will turn out like. I've also tie-died gear, bunching up areas and wrapping rubber bands around it. Makes for some interesting patterns.

[@WOODENNICKEL1]

I always add citric acid and salt to my dye, it works well. I used to add salt and vinegar but found the citric acid worked just as well without the stink. Cleaning wise I use borax and dawn, it has worked on some really nasty gear.

[@roberthamm9304]

I used 1 whole bottle of apple green RIT dye and 1/2 bottle dark woodland green, to dye 1 set of ACU uniform, 4 ACU bandanna’s, 1 patrol cap, 1 boonie hat , 1 combat shirt, and 4 mag pouches. My bandannas, patrol cap, and boonie hat came out darker than the uniform did. 1 tip: leave it in your dye bath while you still have the heat going on the pot. Let it sit for 10 min, then stir and push below surface for a few min, then let it sit for 10 min. Repeat process again. If color darkened just a little bit, but not enough, you can keep it going, or you can take it off the heat and let it sit overnight. It should be the color you’re looking for. If not, add the rest of the dark green dye and put it back on the heat, and see what happens after 30 min. The color should be where you want it by now. I even did a set of ACU’s, 1 boonie hat in a brown color. I used 1 bottle of mocha and 3/4 of a bottle of dark brown. They came out a little darker than I expected, but after a few washes, they should start to lighten up. I hope this information helps you and everyone else who wants to try this.

[@ErickChurch-gz4jn]

Cool brother

[@MegaSweets06]

Hello RM, I absolutely love your channel. I suffer from the same sickness as you! I've discovered that by using a new plumber's plunger and about 3 capfuls of SimpleGreen cleaner my gear comes out looking almost new ! Thanks for your work and passion.

[@renaissancemarinetv3536]

made my day, man!

[@JD-bd5uu]

Maybe I missed it in the video, but the box of iDye you showed said it was for natural fibers, not synthetics. RIT has a different dye for natural vs synthetics also. Thanks for the video

[@lesliepaulkovacs6442]

SurvivorMetalMan did the same thing a couple of years ago on some ACU gear he had. But the Dye color he used turned it almost the same shade of Green as the Russians have. Worked well in Spring/Summer forests.

[@MrVegasTube]

Good video stuff. Glad I subbed.

[@renaissancemarinetv3536]

thank you sir!

[@Aura-vv2dl]

Mixing a darker dye like a black will help darken the olive

[@mrmicro22]

I appreciate seeing the process and realize this is an example. My only thought is I try to accumulate similar jobs. If it is wash day, I'd stack up everything I want to hand wash. If it is sharpening day, knives, axes, shovels all get ready for a touch up. Essential Craftsman convinced me to do as many of the same step at the same time as possible.

[@reallyhappenings5597]

I have a complete MOLLE II setup in ACU/UCP. I got it all new and it's just for camping so I'llmlm probably leave it as is for a while. Gotta attend to the urgent needs first. Nice to have complete sets of gen1 and gen2 MOLLE systems though.

[@paul7754]

$20? Wow that's a smokin' deal sir! Assault packs in the ACU pattern with no holes, frays or tears are about $50 - $75 on the surplus websites or eBay. Multicam, OCP are $100 -$150 all day and I've never seen a woodland pattern assault pack - ever (but I know they exist - you have one and a patrol pack!). You truly have an advantage working on and living near so many military bases. Like most I'm not a huge fan of the ACU digital 'sage' pattern either but I do like the Air Force 'Tiger Stripe' pattern (not sure of designation) in the same color. It just works pretty well here in the much dryer deserts of the Southwest. I like your 'process' but I've heard the heavy nylon based material that packs and pouches are made of don't seem to take dye very well. It was hard to see much of a difference (except for the straps in the video). I've never attempted and have lots of gear in the ACU pattern so if you have had better success in the dying process please let us know. I've seen the surplus uniforms take dye well but the gear not so much. I might be resorting to spray paint. Good video - thanks!

[@roberthamm9304]

You won’t find an assault pack in woodland camouflage. The only ones you’d find are the MOLLE rucks. The ruck I have came with a small 1 day assault pack. You’d almost be better off getting an OD green 3 day pack. With that, you can attach either Camo netting, or earth tone colored burlap, for a Camo pattern.

[@paul7754]

@@roberthamm9304 Okay - kzbin.info/www/bejne/n16qcpmdmp6of7c

[@Stoney_AKA_James]

I think it turned out pretty good, especially considering the original "camo" pattern

[@marodriguezsr]

That's an awesome buy for $20. I soak my gear the same way but in addition i pour a bit of vinegar as well. Never tried the dye but gonna do so.

[@LeatherNeck-0331]

good vid...thanks for the info...as always stay frosty brother

[@davetiberius7120]

I've learned the hard way that I can't always go by the lightness or darkness of the color. Nylon, especially 1000D is very resistant to taking the dye. I use 1 cup of equal salt/vinegar mix with boiling water. For UCP/ACU I use 1 cup of Rit Dye (3/4 Apple Green 1/8 Dark Green 1/8 Dark Brown). The real secret is to just whip it around and hit it continuously. Beat it furiously around in the pot. I can satisfactorily dye it in 4 min or less. It's something to do with the vinegar/salt permeating and expanding/contracting the fibers to let the dye in between the strands. Bruce@CampArmament did straight Apple and it was so natural looking. I use straight apple on desert/coyote tans because they are already darker in the spectrum. Use my formula and you can get UCP to almost Cadpat. I believe your dye should have took better. I've found that certain synthetic fibers can resist certain dyes.

[@thomashastings5694]

You should you some sort dye remover to prep your gear

[@doloinc]

Hey Renaissance, To echo what someone already said: you used the natural instead of the poly dye. I just ordered the olive poly dye (hopefully they don't send me the wrong one) and a assault pack off the bay. Will let you know how it turns out.

[@renaissancemarinetv3536]

i would love that! thanks.

[@doloinc]

@@renaissancemarinetv3536 reporting back. Did my first test on a UCP assault pack with the green you've used previously. Can confirm you used the incorrect dye in this video as the color took instantly and did not fade out after washing. Amazing what the dye did to a run down UCP pack. It turns to color and pattern into something reminiscent of an off color multicam tropic, though a little bit too blue for my liking. Still waiting on OD dye to arrive and just ordered another pack for testing to see if it's closer to a true OD. Will keep you posted.

[@Stillmaineiac88]

Are you still acquiring gear enough to outfit a home grown fire team, squad or light platoon? Seems like this would be perfect for giveaway gear.

[@renaissancemarinetv3536]

i am. i have packs for that already, not of this quality. but you have a good point.

[@fearnobizarre]

I used polyester rit dye in brown and it dyed everything splendidly. Didn't add anything to the dye.

[@strydyr1328]

I tried rit and it was a disaster. Turned everything purple.

[@fearnobizarre]

@@strydyr1328 I used the "rit dyemore synthetic". Did it on the stove top in a huge stainless steel pot. Just followed the directions. Not sure how the exact same dye on the exact same product would yield different results. The regular rit dye won't work for much other than cotton.

[@justmike4096]

@@fearnobizarre I also got good results with Rit DyeMore (not the regular Rit dye) on nylon gear. I do the whole item in green and then dip portions of the item in brown to make an overall green/brown ersatz camo.

[@justmike4096]

“camo” not “camp”

[@fearnobizarre]

@@justmike4096 yeah man, the synthetic dye is pretty great. I also had good results with the graphite color and some multicam bdu's. Not as dark as I had hoped, but it looked like a multicam grey (instead of black) and I was pretty stoked. 🤘🤘

[@keithricketts4867]

Real Woodland military gear is getting harder to find..

[@roberthamm9304]

Because it’s all going overseas.

[@3inTrooper]

This is a little lengthy, sorry. I couldn't help myself. When it comes cleaning my milsurp I do it a little different. Prior to the cleaning I look at my new arrivals, and determine if they need a clean. I don't clean everything, but the stuff that has definite field use or other unwanted bits, I do. If I choose to clean my stuff, I first begin disassembly. What I do is that I take as much off the item I am cleaning, this includes elastic keepers, buckles, the foam and plastic insert for the assaults pack, the soft ballistic inserts for body armor, etc. The only thing I clean from that list is the buckles, everything else I might wipe down with a damp rag. I use the kitchen sink instead of a pale, unless its large items like rucksack parts or body armor outer shells. I fill up the sink with warm water, and I use the same soap as you, dish soap. I don't let my surplus soak, I just throw it in and start handwashing it. For certain spots and buckles, I use an old toothbrush. I then rinse everything off with cold water in the other side of the sink to remove the soap, making sure it gets into the "deep areas." Then I place them onto a spot where I wouldn't care that got wet, and I place towels inside and lay towels on them. I regularly take the towels off, and place them into they dryer to dry them before putting back. This overall takes a few days to clean and dry.

[@strydyr1328]

Have you tried spry painting the acu ?

[@renaissancemarinetv3536]

i dont care for rattle canning tactical gear. in my opinion it makes it stiff and thick and heavy.

[@MrNpc81]

Interesting that it didn't come out as dark green as the first time you tried iDye Poly...

[@renaissancemarinetv3536]

yeah, who knows....

[@MrNpc81]

@@renaissancemarinetv3536 I wonder if it's a temperature thing - the other videos I've watched show a continuous heating of the liquid as the items are steeping in it

[@deadeye5155]

Rit dye brown or green works the best for ACU gear or clothes

[@olpepaw4747]

You should try dyeing with cheap instant coffee...seen it done with 1 cup of coffee grounds and the ACU pouches dyed came out coyote brown just like USMC gear...camo patterns showed thru like it was made that way

[@renaissancemarinetv3536]

AWW MAN, i got to try that! thanks!

[@olpepaw4747]

@@renaissancemarinetv3536 didn't say what brand...just cheapest instant coffee he could get...what I wanna know, does it end up smelling like coffee!...☕️👍😁

[@RangerRick-xv4mo]

Probably taster’s choice 😂

[@tannerfoust2346]

@@olpepaw4747 man that's smart