Can you buy a White band and dye it any color you want?

[GrimmsGirl]

The results from this morning:





It went one shade darker, but that's it. So you can see the three bands of grey, the first being the initial dip in the dye last night before I pulled it back a bit and clipped it to the side of the container to soak for 10 minutes. The 10 minute dip is the 2nd band. The 3rd is the result of being soaked overnight, 8 hours.

 

[mynameisjosh]

The results from this morning:

[url=http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/dd385/kmustack/IMG_0992.jpg]Image[/URL]

[url=http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/dd385/kmustack/IMG_0991.jpg]Image[/URL]

It went one shade darker, but that's it. So you can see the three bands of grey, the first being the initial dip in the dye last night before I pulled it back a bit and clipped it to the side of the container to soak for 10 minutes. That's the 2nd band. The 3rd is the result of being soaked overnight, 8 hours.

You delete the photos already?

 

[GrimmsGirl]

You delete the photos already?

No, but i just did something funky with my photo bucket account. If you're not seeing them, let me see if I can get them back. Sorry about that!

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You delete the photos already?

Still missing?

 

[GrimmsGirl]

After doing a bit more reading, it looks like constant heat and a higher concentration of dye will help. I think I'm going to try orange, at 2x or 3x the suggested concentration for 2 or 3 hours on low heat. I'll post back later with the results.

 

[roddenshaw]

I was intending to sell my white band, but it could be cool to have a unique colour instead.

The most popular fabric dye in the UK is Dylon, which I have used successfully on clothes many times. Does anybody know if this is likely to work?

As an alternative what about a plastic/rubber spray dye like this: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Autoglym-dry.../dp/B00AJ0GC5S ?

Edit: I may try dying my blue band a darker blue, since I don't really like how light the colour is.

 

[roddenshaw]

It will be fine, won't disintegrate, the band is made with FKM, one of the most highly resistant polymer made.

http://www.dupont.com/products-and-.../elastomers/brands/viton-fluoroelastomer.html

Frankly it's a bit overkill to use for a watch band.

I'm finding Apple's material choices odd in general. They're using high grade polymers, but giving them a coated finish that seems to wear off easily/quickly, and they're using sapphire crystal glass on the higher end devices, but giving them an oleophobic coating that seems to scuff/scratch quite easily. Odd choices.

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I'm going to try this navy blue fabric dye on my blue sport watch tonight: http://www.robertdyas.co.uk/dylon-navy-blue-hand-dye

I'll let it soak for a while, but a blue that is any deeper than the current shade will be a win for me.

 

[GrimmsGirl]

I went out and purchased a dark purple, and a sunny orange dye. I cut the band in half and decided I would die the half that was all white with the sunny orange and the half that was already half grey with the purple. So far the results are really disappointing.

After 30 minutes the band in the sunny orange dye was still white, but the grey bumpers in the portion of the band where it attaches to the watch were actually dyed orange. It's still soaking, but I don't have high hopes.

After 30 minutes the half grey/half white band in the purple dye is still mostly white where it was white, and the grey is much lighter than it was this morning!

It seems like the constant application of heat is not the way to go as it appears to be lifting previous color and not allowing new color to penetrate the band. Really odd. It also makes me question the longevity of the color on a dyed band.

Both colors are cooling now, and I'll let the bands pieces soak a few more hours and see if anything changes.

 

[roddenshaw]

I went out and purchased a dark purple, and a sunny orange dye. I cut the band in half and decided I would die the half that was all white with the sunny orange and the half that was already half grey with the purple. So far the results are really disappointing.

After 30 minutes the band in the sunny orange dye was still white, but the grey bumpers in the portion of the band where it attaches to the watch were actually dyed orange. It's still soaking, but I don't have high hopes.

After 30 minutes the half grey/half white band in the purple dye is still mostly white where it was white, and the grey is much lighter than it was this morning!

It seems like the constant application of heat is not the way to go as it appears to be lifting previous color and not allowing new color to penetrate the band. Really odd. It also makes me question the longevity of the color on a dyed band.

Both colors are cooling now, and I'll let the bands pieces soak a few more hours and see if anything changes.

Wow, thanks for your sacrifice!

 

[matthijst]

http://www.reddit.com/r/AppleWatch/comments/34juo2/apple_watch_hair_dye_new_band_color/

 

[zmunkz]

I went out and purchased a dark purple, and a sunny orange dye. I cut the band in half and decided I would die the half that was all white with the sunny orange and the half that was already half grey with the purple. So far the results are really disappointing.

After 30 minutes the band in the sunny orange dye was still white, but the grey bumpers in the portion of the band where it attaches to the watch were actually dyed orange. It's still soaking, but I don't have high hopes.

After 30 minutes the half grey/half white band in the purple dye is still mostly white where it was white, and the grey is much lighter than it was this morning!

It seems like the constant application of heat is not the way to go as it appears to be lifting previous color and not allowing new color to penetrate the band. Really odd. It also makes me question the longevity of the color on a dyed band.

Both colors are cooling now, and I'll let the bands pieces soak a few more hours and see if anything changes.

You should setup a company to do this for people... There is clearly a demand. Last week a guy on here setup a shop for his gold plating service, and is now being crushed by orders and featured all over the web. I bet you could make some major cash if you can perfect a few colors!

My 2 cents...

 

[GrimmsGirl]

You should setup a company to do this for people... There is clearly a demand. Last week a guy on here setup a shop for his gold plating service, and is now being crushed by orders and featured all over the web. I bet you could make some major cash if you can perfect a few colors!

My 2 cents...

Uh yeah. No thanks.

Dealing with picky people like me over providing perfectly dyed bands for their beloved Apple Watch does not sound like it would be an enjoyable side business.

 

[roddenshaw]

Uh yeah. No thanks.

Dealing with picky people like me over providing perfectly dyed bands for their beloved Apple Watch does not sound like it would be an enjoyable side business.

Yeah, low margins, low volume. Rarely a good combination.

 

[irentamac]

I went out and purchased a dark purple, and a sunny orange dye. I cut the band in half and decided I would die the half that was all white with the sunny orange and the half that was already half grey with the purple. So far the results are really disappointing.

After 30 minutes the band in the sunny orange dye was still white, but the grey bumpers in the portion of the band where it attaches to the watch were actually dyed orange. It's still soaking, but I don't have high hopes.

After 30 minutes the half grey/half white band in the purple dye is still mostly white where it was white, and the grey is much lighter than it was this morning!

It seems like the constant application of heat is not the way to go as it appears to be lifting previous color and not allowing new color to penetrate the band. Really odd. It also makes me question the longevity of the color on a dyed band.

Both colors are cooling now, and I'll let the bands pieces soak a few more hours and see if anything changes.

Did you prep with the soda ash at all? How concentrated are your dyes?

 

[GrimmsGirl]

Did you prep with the soda ash at all? How concentrated are your dyes?

I did not prep with the soda ash. I did some more searching and reading last night, and I'm not convinced that would be effective. It might be though, and if you experiment with it I'd love to see the results.

After soaking in purple and orange for 3 hours, the results were not good at all. The orange band is nearly white and the purple band stripped all the grey off and is white with a purple tinge. I'll post pics in a minute, but I tried something else just out of curiosity and I'll post about that in a minute as well. Right now I have to go retrieve the bands out of their final soak.

Forgot to add that my dye concentration was about 3x-4x the suggested mix. So 3 to 4 tsp of liquid dye per 1 cup of water.

 

[GrimmsGirl]

Purple on the left and orange on the right:



I started to wonder if somehow washing with the dish detergent or maybe something else I was doing was making the bands resistant to the dye, so I tossed the both back in black dye for another two hours after the disappointing results above. They are back to a light grey. I have them sitting on a white card for contrast. Maybe there is something better than RIT that would work, but unless someone else tests this out and shows better results than what I got, I won't be buying any extra white bands or using the good pieces of my existing white band to create a custom color.

 

[irentamac]

Purple on the left and orange on the right:

[url=http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/dd385/kmustack/IMG_0993_zpsxc0odciy.jpg]Image[/URL]

I started to wonder if somehow washing with the dish detergent or maybe something else I was doing was making the bands resistant to the dye, so I tossed the both back in black dye for another two hours after the disappointing results above. They are back to a light grey. I have them sitting on a white card for contrast. Maybe there is something better than RIT that would work, but unless someone else tests this out and shows better results than what I got, I won't be buying any extra white bands or using the good pieces of my existing white band to create a custom color.

[url=http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/dd385/kmustack/IMG_0995_zpsklzlbyxd.jpg]Image[/URL]

Hmm, do the ends where the cut part is exposed (aka no coating), do they take to the dye any more or is it the same as the exposed outer part?

 

[GrimmsGirl]

Hmm, do the ends where the cut part is exposed (aka no coating), do they take to the dye any more or is it the same as the exposed outer part?

The cut ends are the same color as the rest of the band. That was true of the purple and orange dye as well. The only pieces that dyed much better than the band are the small bumpers that hold the band in place when attached to the case. Obviously they are made of a different type of rubber, or maybe even plastic.

 

[matthijst]

Hair dye could do the trick. Seems to be the only thing that works on silicone as well:
http://chipmusic.org/forums/topic/8581/how-to-dye-silicone-startselect-buttons/

And these guys actually bake the rit dye:
http://www.speardiver.com/masks-snorkels/3458-how-dying-silicone.html

 

[GrimmsGirl]

Hair dye could do the trick. Seems to be the only thing that works on silicone as well:
http://chipmusic.org/forums/topic/8581/how-to-dye-silicone-startselect-buttons/

And these guys actually bake the rit dye:
http://www.speardiver.com/masks-snorkels/3458-how-dying-silicone.html

Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if hair dye would work on these bands. I get my hair professionally colored so I don't spend a lot of time in the hair color aisle at the local grocery store. I don't know how readily available any of the colors I'd be interested in would be to get my hands on. For now, my experimentation days are over.

My guess is Apple will come out with a (Product)Red band in the sport band and maybe even leather. For as many choices as there are, I still find them limiting. I would hope that there will also be a plethora of 3rd party Apple approved bands right over the horizon. Yeah, call me crazy, but I will have a problem putting a connector on my watch that isn't Apple approved, which is why i was so eager to try this project.

 

[tom2517]

I'm finding Apple's material choices odd in general. They're using high grade polymers, but giving them a coated finish that seems to wear off easily/quickly, and they're using sapphire crystal glass on the higher end devices, but giving them an oleophobic coating that seems to scuff/scratch quite easily. Odd choices.

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I'm going to try this navy blue fabric dye on my blue sport watch tonight: http://www.robertdyas.co.uk/dylon-navy-blue-hand-dye

I'll let it soak for a while, but a blue that is any deeper than the current shade will be a win for me.

Well, I don't have one yet so I can't say exactly what the problem is. But you do not coat the rubber after moulding. That's why I said it might be blooming, it's not exactly a defect, but basically some uncured materials will make their way onto the surface, making it seems like something is coming off.

 

[roddenshaw]

Well, I don't have one yet so I can't say exactly what the problem is. But you do not coat the rubber after moulding. That's why I said it might be blooming, it's not exactly a defect, but basically some uncured materials will make their way onto the surface, making it seems like something is coming off.

Well, my black band is going shiny on the high wear parts of the tail, but remains matte elsewhere. Having washed it thoroughly this effect remains. Are you certain that Apple aren't using any coatings?

 

[sb22]

General hair dye may work (with the peroxide part) but as someone who dyes their hair pink, Special Effects hair dye is seriously pigmented and even my bath suffered-no bleach gets this stuff out. My pebble strap went pink eventually just with wear on my wrist

 

[roddenshaw]

So my blue band is in a Pyrex dish filled with blue dye, in the oven, at 95 centigrade. I will report back in a couple of hours.

 

[Eightyone]

I'm going to follow this thread and see where this goes...

I have a 38 SS ML combo, currently.

I ordered a spare 38 white Sport band, which should ship this millennia

Does the band come with 3 pieces, like it does with sport watch?

If so, I'll experiment with the 'extra' piece and professional hair color; as I'm a licensed cosmetologist, I have full access to whatever professional hair dyes are purchasable.

 

[GrimmsGirl]

Yes, the spare band will come with 3 pieces. I was just checking out hair dyes on Amazon, but I'm not sure if a semi-permanent would work just as well as a permanent color would. I have a friend who could purchase any professional color I want, I just don't know how much more I want to invest in this endeavor without knowing the results.