Coloring PVC pipe?

Bill, any spirit dye that is also soluble in acetone will stain PVC. PVC isn't _very_ soluble in acetone, but acetone will make it "swell" a bit -- sort of opens up the pores. If there's a dye in it, it will stain the PVC. Let dry thoroughly before using (the pipe will return to original dimensions after drying). Try Watco spirit stains. They are perfectly miscible with nitrocellulose lacquer, so ought to disperse properly in acetone as well. You could probably just tumble the short pipe sections in a barrel (like a concrete mixer) and simply spray on the acetone/dye mixture.

It's also possible to pastel stain ordinary PVC in plain ol' RIT fabric dye, with very (very!) hot water. But it has to soak a bit. IMHO, the acetone/spirit stain process would be faster, and just about as innocuous.

(boiling water vs. acetone fumes.... Oh, well! Toss a coin.)

LLoyd

Maybe touch with the purple PVC primer to make a mark? Touch inside so it doesn't show unless you are looking? FOr that matter, magic marker on a cut edge might work...or you could get a large stamp pad and just touch cut edge on pad to color.

Permanent color over the whole thing would probably require something that has a solvent effect on the pipe surface. You might be able to color a "light" solvent with an oil-based dye for dipping....check out oil-based cake coloring dyes at Michael's or other craft store. They are REALLY concentrated so if you can find a solvent that will flash off and leave the dye sticking, it won't take much dye to get a color difference.

I'd be a little wary though because of the usual flash point issues as well as gettin wasted on fumes.

Koz

Thanks Lloyd. I tried the Rit dye cold, didn't work worth a darn. Tried it neutral, acid, and basic---nothing. Didn't try it HOT. I'll go out and try a small batch of the Acetone/Spirit stain in a bit. The thought of turning the crew loose on a open barrel full of flammable liquid does give me a little twitch though. Maybe the boiling water is the lesser of 2 evils.

Bill

Might be a lead, maybe not, but this outfit supposedly makes a PVC dye:

Belco Chemical Ltd.,

6484 Congress Drive, West Bend, WI 53095, 262-628-7389, Fax 262-675-0629, E-mail: snipped-for-privacy@aol.com

The primer idea sounded pretty good.

Dave

The primer for joints seems to be ideal if you like purple. ...lew...

I'd be tempted to just stack them all up and wave a rattle can full of cellulose paint past them. Won't give an even colour, won't give good coverage. But you don't need that, all you need is to mark one end, inside or outside.

It works for lengths of steel...

Mark Rand RTFM

--There was a thread on this over at tribe.net; will see if I can find it for you. Saw a demo of how to do this at a gathering at the San Francisco coop garage (forgot what it's called) where a guy was making synthetic chainmail from cut pieces of pvc.

--Oh yeah; it's called "Mutant Vehicle Social":

A little follow-up on my original post. Tried a number of locally available dyes and solvents, an here is what I found.

Rit dye powder works . Rit Dye liquid does not.

Acetone works as a carrier, but MEK works a lot better. Mixed a little scarlet Rit with some MEK. Dipped in a piece of the PVC pipe. Contact time of just a few seconds. Let it air dry and the color seems plenty permanent. Could not remove the color with a MEK or Acetone soaked rag.

Bill

How did you get the RIT powder into the MEK? I've dumped powder directly into some MEK and it doesn't want to dissolve.