How To Dye Your RC Wheels and Other Nylon Parts Using Rit Dye

[@sqweezzstr]

for someone that may live in an apartment like myself and worried about fumes possibly bugging others by rattling canning, this is a good method, thanks!

[@RCHobbyShed]

That's something I didn't think about. Yes, this will be prefect for someone in an apartment. There's no fumes at all, at least none that I could notice. So it should be perfect for you. Just keep in mind the wheels need to be made of Nylon, which does limit which wheels can be done but there is plenty out there. 👍

[@mattiasrc]

Nice how to video, the wheels turned out great.

[@RCHobbyShed]

Thanks mate! 🙂👍

[@jeffquast5162]

nice concert shirt \m/ and of course great vid

[@jadc]

Just followed this ant great results on my race buggy. Thanks!

[@andrewmagro7703]

Aw3some video here mick , just another little tip ive picked up on one of the groups you can place a saucer or small plate inside the pot to stop the plastic making contact with the base and not melting any of these plastic wheels , cheers mick and thanks for sharing and i love the idea of the bottles , cheers mate 🙂

[@RCHobbyShed]

Thanks Andrew! The saucer trick sounds good. Means more stuff to clean up though... Better handball the dishes to the misses 🤣. Cheers! 👍

[@MarkBryanRC]

Hi Mick - great how-to video, mate, the wheels came out looking like they were always black in the first place! Great tip, I will try that in the future. All the best, take care mate!

[@RCHobbyShed]

G'day Mark! Yeah, I think they look great. Cheers mate! 👍

[@3dconceptsofutah757]

Cheers! Thanks for the info and demo

[@ShenRC]

Boy I remember doing this back in the day my RC 10 had all orange parts! what a messy job it is. Did not know you could do this with the tamiya wheels I thought they would warp and get all messed up. Now I know! Thanks

[@RCHobbyShed]

Haha yeah, it was very popular in the 80's, especially on RC10's. Not all Tamiya wheels of course, they have to be Nylon. Cheers Steve! 👍

[@DavidSmith-wn6pw]

Was the video in real time? I imagined they'd need longer in the dye than that?

[@RCHobbyShed]

Yes, David. It's in real time, it's a pretty quick process. 👍

[@yellomello71]

Great idea! Double thumbs up. I will try it myself instantly

[@RCHobbyShed]

Thanks! Yeah give it ago. 🙂👍

[@AddamsPlayground]

I haven't done this in years but I used to do it fairly often, Used to be able to get traxxas wheels dirt cheap and made a ton o messes doing this in the kitchen. Wife finally banned me from doing it! it is a penitence game trying to get that perfect shade sometimes but works great and like you said, no worries about scratches or chipping!

[@RCHobbyShed]

Oh yeah it used to be real popular for the Traxxas and Associated cars. I noticed there was a lot of pink wheels getting around back then for some reason 😂. Haha, yeah it would wear thin with the wife after a while. Cheers mate! 👍

[@povestipentrucopii1217]

Nice share, 👍stay connected, good luck further!👍

[@RCHobbyShed]

Thank you 👍

[@sustorres765]

Great tip episode dude, nice one 👍

[@RCHobbyShed]

Thanks mate! 🙂👍

[@ericchristopher9037]

Thanks Mick, new to your show and now subscribed, great!

[@RCHobbyShed]

Thanks Eric! Welcome aboard. 🙂👍

[@dexterbeattie7884]

AWESOME! Thank's for sharing.

[@RCHobbyShed]

Thanks Dexter! 🙂👍

[@JF-RC]

Hi Mick, hope you’re keeping well, great tip for dying the nylon, as opposed to painting them. Might look into whether or not the dye is available in the UK. Take care, keep well and all the best to you and the family. 😉😊😉

[@RCHobbyShed]

G'day John! Thanks mate, hopefully it's available in the UK. If not, I'm sure you can get it from overseas on eBay if your keen. Cheers mate! 👍

[@Facts-R-Real]

Great vid.

[@mattarnold5599]

Thanks for this, Mick. I have two sets of buggy wheels that need to be black, my original VQS wheels and the set that came with my Optima Mid rerelease that I just received today. They'll be getting tarmac tires when all is done. I ordered some black Rit dye from Amazon, I should have it next week. This process is easier than cooking rice!

[@RCBirds]

Very intersting. Reminds me somehow of colouring easter eggs. I'll test this method, hope I find this stuff or similar here. Looks muore durable to scratches than normal paint.

[@RCHobbyShed]

Haha colouring Easter eggs, that takes me back about 45 years! This works great, far better than paint. 👍

[@KaiCityRC]

Great video and very helpful! 👍

[@RCHobbyShed]

Thanks! Glad it was helpful. 🙂👍

[@JKZ979]

Nice shirt! Thanks for the video

[@RCHobbyShed]

Thanks Jonathan! 🙂👍

[@MrSteveESQ]

Definitely better than painting.

[@RCHobbyShed]

Absolutely, Steve! 👍

[@keithrx3c]

Could you go from yellow to red Mick?

[@RCHobbyShed]

Hard to say mate. It's usually a trial and error type thing. I would say the yellow would need to be quite pale and the red would need to be dark. Otherwise you may end up with brown lol. Best to try it on nylon (PA) parts frames or something rather than a set of wheels. 👍

[@charliebeatnik]

I'm wondering if you've ever tried this on GRP (glass reinforced plastic) parts? I'd love to dye some black to make it look more like carbon fibre.

[@outbackrcaustralia4895]

That turned out great Mick👌🏆 Thanks for the tips on dying, I hope you were able to hide any spills under something for now 😁 I have some bike parts I'm going to dye instead of buying new plastics👍. Thanks for sharing your video Mick👍🦘🇦🇺

[@RCHobbyShed]

Thanks mate! No probs mate. Haha yeah, some strategically place dishes did the trick. 😂 Lol, you're gonna need a bigger pot! Thanks mate, glad you enjoyed it. 👍

[@outbackrcaustralia4895]

@@RCHobbyShed Yeh.... I didn't think of the pot size🤔... Bath tub! 😃

[@RCHobbyShed]

@@outbackrcaustralia4895 Lol You're gonna need a BIGGER stove! 🤣👍

[@outbackrcaustralia4895]

@@RCHobbyShed 🤣😂

[@redblue40rc33]

Can you use food coloring to dye wheels???

[@yorintheplace]

Wow, I didn't know this trick. I will try this too for my grasshopper wheels which I will fit on my rx fighter.

[@johnnycoolness]

As Mick says early on, this does not work on Grasshopper wheels.

[@yorintheplace]

@@johnnycoolness grasshopper 2 wheels, the 1 piece ones

[@emilfericire7706]

Is the dye scraping off easily?

[@rcneanderthal7914]

Thanks for the ´DYE hard 1´ video before Xmas 😂

[@rcneanderthal7914]

This was not done in the Nakatomi building…

[@RCHobbyShed]

Hahaha 😂👍

[@RCHobbyShed]

Lol no, not even close. 😂👍

[@puertomusumeci1855]

I Tried the amarillo yellow on the white mad Bull wheels and it didnt work... i used Black and it comes out pretty Good. Thanks for the video

[@RCHobbyShed]

Black would look better on a Mud Bull anyway, I call that a win! lol. No problem, thanks for watching. 👍

[@Likwidfox]

You might be able to get Fiberglass reinforced ABS to dye, its a lot more porous.

[@KevW-z7z]

Trying neon green on the badlands bead lock grey rings. Not looking too hot after 30 min..... should have done navy blue to match my xrt body i think. Gonna let it keep going to at least an hour and see. I'll update. Subbed

[@yorintheplace]

Hey Mick, I have tried this with white top force wheels and yellow holiday buggy wheels with tangerine. The yellow wheels turned out a different colour than the white wheels. They are orange, but more a combination with yellow.

[@CarminesRCTipsandTricks]

That looks GREAT!! Would you know if the Grasshopper II Wheels are Nylon? I can't find any info...

[@RCHobbyShed]

Thanks mate. I think the Grasshopper II are nylon . The easiest way to tell is to look for PA, which mean Polyamide (Nylon) either on the wheels somewhere or on the parts frame. 👍

[@CarminesRCTipsandTricks]

Thanks Mick! I'll have to take a look.... I'm hoping so, I just bought Kelly Green Dye. I want a GREEN Hopper!! 😎

[@RCHobbyShed]

@@CarminesRCTipsandTricks You can also try dying the parts frame (if you have it) before attempting the wheels. IF it turns out they're ASB wheels, it's likely they will warp in the hot water. So best to try the parts frame first if you can, if it takes the dye, you're good to go. Good luck! 👍

[@CarminesRCTipsandTricks]

GREAT IDEA! Thanks!

[@gregory9157]

Is it a Dey normally used to color clothing?

[@RCHobbyShed]

Yeah it is. This one is good for Nylon clothing, so work well on Nylon parts too. 👍

[@MrSneakyGunz]

Beautiful.

[@TheBarnz91]

Good job dude

[@RCHobbyShed]

Thanks mate! 🙂👍

[@bluraycaper]

What happens if you use cold water, will they still dye? Have you tried? Thank you!!!!

[@RCHobbyShed]

Sorry for the slow reply. I haven't tried cold water with dye. But I worked with Nylons (and other plastics) for many years in the industry. Nylon takes in moisture (water and dye in this case) a LOT easier when it's hot. So you'll be much better off doing it with hot water. 👍

[@stelarmagt]

Will it work with room tempature water? Or must be boiling

[@RCHobbyShed]

The water should be very close to boiling but not actually boiling. I usually bring it to the boil then drop the heat a little. The Nylon will take on the colour much better at this temperature. At room temperature you probably won't get much more than a slight hint of colour and it will probably be uneven at best. 👍

[@hyster16t]

Funny you've uploaded this video. I've got a turbo scorpion build I'm about to start and thought of dying the wheels black...or orange🤔 Reckon it would work on the chassis tub?

[@RCHobbyShed]

It should be OK for the wheels, I memory serves me right the wheels are nylon. I doubt it will work on the chassis though, most plastics chassis are ABS. It should be printed in fine print somewhere on the chassis, either ABS or PA (nylon). Hope this helps. 👍

[@rworden96]

Which rit dye you think for that yellow florescent look?

[@RCHobbyShed]

I'd go for the Neon Yellow. 👍

[@rworden96]

Thanks !

[@rworden96]

@@RCHobbyShed Neo yellow worked! After about 30min of soaking, the wheels were yellow but not very bright. I looked at directions and it said to put some vinegar with nylon so I did... It immediately turned the rims bright Neo yellow. I let soak for another 10min just because and they came out sweet. Seems if I just used the vinegar from the start, I could of saved a lot of time but now I know. Thanks for your help!

[@RCHobbyShed]

@@rworden96 Glad it worked for you mate. I've not used vinegar as yet, I guess it helps if the plastic is a bit stubborn. Good to hear you got the results you were after. 🙂👍

[@rworden96]

Dyed another set, this time Kyosho front and rear wheels. Oddly enough, the rears did not get to be the same brightness as the fronts even though they were in the same pot.

[@RCsoandso]

I really wanted to give this a go on some wheels I have that are white, but I keep being advised that it negatively impacts the wheel shape and they buckle, its seems you did not have that issue, so I may give it a go 🤞

[@johnnycoolness]

Too hot or sitting on the bottom of pot for too long and it might damage the wheels.

[@RCsoandso]

@@johnnycoolness might be time to get Mrs RC so & so Jam thermometer out of retirement 😂😆

[@johnnycoolness]

@@RCsoandso haaha

[@madsrcbuggy]

If you dye a lot, would it then be Megadeth? Or if you don't do it enough, will it just be Mustained? Oh, damn me, that's bad... Anyway, great video, finally a nice tutorial on this! I tried this on my Aqroshot a year ago, but I didn't realize it had to be that brand, so I just kept boiling and boiling, the wheels kept being white but warped oval, ha ha!

[@RCHobbyShed]

Hahaha, nice! Keep em coming mate! 😁 Thanks Mads. I'm not sure what the Aqroshot wheels are made of. Maybe the problem was the wrong dye, but I think even standard food dye can work to some extent but Rit is just better as it's made for nylon. I'm thinking more likely the Aqroshot wheels are ABS, it only works in Nylon (PA) wheels. I actually did the same thing with Grasshopper wheels a while back as I was unsure what they were made of, I soon found out! 😁👍

[@K8Stuff]

With ABS add some acetone to the mixture

[@TAMIYALegends]

Excellent I’m guessing this was made when the wife was out lol 😂

[@RCHobbyShed]

Thanks mate! Oh yeah, all my best ideas come to fruition when I'm home alone. 🤣👍

[@shawnh1890]

Always saving me

[@TheTurboPer]

Dave Mustaine is king!