How to Dye a Golf Disc

1. Find the right disc - For the purposes of this demonstration I chose a "Gold Line" Latitude 64 Saint, and a "Pro" line Innova Destroyer. When choosing a disc for dying, your decision should revolve around a few things:

   • Plastic:
     Pick a plastic that will actually dye well. The solid SHINY plastics take dye very well. The clear plastics dye great, but need a little extra time to really get a deep color. The cheaper hard plastics reject dye. It's not worth trying. I once spent 2 hours trying to dye a DX leopard, it doesn't work. The rubber blends are hit or miss. Pro works well, R-Pro seems to reject dye and even melt/tear when you try and remove the mask. Softer discs have a tendancy to blur/bleed faster over time, also.

   • Design:
     Hopefully you already have an idea of what you want to dye. If not, find a cool design. If you are artsy, make one!

   • Color:
     Dying a logo or something with vibrant colors? Start with a white disc. A yellow disc dyed with blue will make green, red on yellow makes orange, etc! This is kindergarten stuff, but it's worth considering.



2. Materials you will need -

   • Vinyl or Paint Mask:
     Vinyl works great for making masks and stickers, but most of it is rated for 2 years. Not very necessary. If you're going to go to a sign supply store, ask for paint mask. Paint mask works best because the adhesive is less tacky making it easier to remove. It's intended to be used as a temporary mask!

   • Transfer Tape or Contact Paper:
     Wal-mart has rolls of clear contact paper for cheap. It's the stuff you put in your cabinets to keep the dishes from coming in contact with the wood. Sign supply stores will have transfer tape.

   • Scraper or Credit Card/ID:
     Gotta get those bubbles out. You drag this across the vinyl to make sure the edges are sealed tightly against the disc.

   • Dye:
     Rit began changing over their formyla in 2011.. apparently some new RIT stock still works, some doesn't. Anything production number ending in 10 should work, at least black in 11.

     I've read that Jacquard iDye poly and Abbey Color plastic dye work as well.

   • Acetone:
     We use this to dissolve the hot stamp and remove it.

   • * Light Box:
     This isn't a necessity, but definitely makes your life a lot easier. If you don't have one, you can find one on ebay for cheap, or probably even make a decent one with a lamp and glass table, or hold it up to a sunny window. Be creative ;D

   • * Shaving Foarm (Barbasol): Mix dye and foam together to create tye-dye style designs by painting it on the disc, letting it sit, and cleaning it off. Practice with float dying first, and you will be able to guess what color tone is under your foam by how long it has been sitting. You can alternate techniques, or even combine them by creating a design with dye/foam on a plate, and "floating" the disc on top of the foam.

3. Clean the disc - We want to remove the hot-stamp from the disc. Some color hot-stamps are multi-layered, if you don't remove the stamp quickly it can stain the disc. Take AT LEAST TWO paper towels. Put some acetone on the first and in a circular motion, rub the hot stamp. After a few seconds the stamp will begin to fall apart and disappear. After about 6-10 seconds, switch to the second paper towel (add acetone) and finish cleaning the disc.



4. Create the stencil - You can hand cut your designs... and I have done few freehand by putting vinl on a disc and lightly dragging a razor across it. The steps for cutting a printed design go something like this:

   • Lay your design on a lightbox.
   • Put the piece of vinyl on top of it.
   • Trace the edges with your x-acto knife or razor.
   • "Weed" the vinyl by pulling out the sections that you want colored. Whatever you take OUT of the design, will end up dyed ON your disc.



5. Transfer - Now that you have a mask, unroll strips of transfer tape over the freshly cut design. Cover it, and rub it with your scraper from the middle -> out. Once you're satisfied with that, peel the tape and vinyl slowly apart from the backing paper. Lay it sticky side up on your lightbox. Hold the disc upside down, and center your design. Press it down, flip it over, and work your scraper from the middle out. Discs aren't very flat near the edge, but vinyl will stretch to compensate if you scrape from the middle -> out. After you're done scraping, slowly peel the contact paper off. You should have a disc with an awesome custom vinyl mask on it. Check all of the cut inner edges of the mask to check for lifting. Work out any air pockets that are near an edge.

6. Dye theory - If you are working on a multi color disc, start with the darkest color. You can use contact paper to cover the parts of the disc you do NOT want to dye initially. Don't assume dye won't seep into small cracks -- it will. Work out folds or air pockets.

7. Dye prep - I have a collection of old-stock Rit and a wok that I use exclusively for dying discs. Woks are great, because the shape helps to keep bubbles to a minimum. If your range goes to 10, set the heat around 2.5 and add an inch and a half or so of water, and 1/4 teaspoon of dye. Stir it well, and use a fork to collect the bubbles left over from stirring. If you can't see THROUGH the dye, you're in good shape. If you can not see through it, add a little more dye while stirring until the water is opaque.



8. Float it - Lay the disc upside down in your dying pot. If you lay the disc down from one side slowly, as opposed to dropping it flat, there's less of a chance of an edge creating a bubble. After it's been in the dye for 10 seconds or so, take it out slowly and check for bubbles. If there are none, you're good to go! Lay it back in the dye. If you want the design to go all the way to the edge of the disc, you may have to add ballast to the center. The easiest way to do this is by placing a small plastic cup in the center of the disc and add water until the desired depth is reached.

   You might want to check it every 5 minutes or so; 20-30 minutes in the dye will create the richest color possible. You can achieve many different tones from one color of dye with good timing.

9. Clean it - You'll want to clean the excess dye off the disc before applying another color, or removing the mask. Before you begin to peel the mask off put a little bit of soap on the disc and hit it with luke-warm water and a sponge or paper towel.



10. Peel it - Vinyl works in funky ways in different temperatures. If it's too cold it won't want to come off. If it's too warm it will leave adhesive on the disc... the perfect temperature for removing vinyl is just warmer than room temperature. Practice will help you find it. If there is adhesive left over, clean it with ISOPROPYL ALCOHOL. Work the alcohol on the sticky stuff and it will dissolve.



11. Extra steps - I like to put a layer of contact paper over the entire freshly dyed disc and toss it in the freezer overnight. I like to think it helps set the dye. The next morning, let it thaw and peel the contact paper off. Any dye that was going to bleed will now be on the contact paper :D

    I'm always a lot more confident throwing a dyed disc. Don't know why... it just feels more personal. Enjoy your new shizzle.