Dying Plexiglass

[craigrobbo]

Hey guys,

Is it possible to dye plexiglass a solid black?

If so, whats the best way to go about it?

Thanks

[birchy]

I don't think you CAN "dye" plastic after it has been formed. The colour is added to the mixture before the plastic is heated and formed. I believe the only answer is "paint it" but will be interested to see if anyone suggests otherwise...

[craigrobbo]

I know Nylon can be Dyed I have done this plenty of times, but never acrylic or plexiglass

[birchy]

I think Nylon is porous, whereas the thermoplastics are not. You might be able to treat the surface to make it porous using a solvent or Corona Treating (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corona_treatment).

Have you seen this? The results in making my own colored plexiglass. [Archive] - [H]ard|Forum (http://hardforum.com/archive/index.php/t-1486887.html)

[GEOFFREY]

Black self adhesive film? From signmakers etc. G.

[Reg]

Window tinting film comes in some fairly dark shades. A Google search throws up various options and suppliers. Might be of some use?

[m.marino]

You can pigment print on to acrylic but on pure acrylic it is a touch and go at best. If you want it one color I would suggest buying it in that color and let someone else deal with the headache of color set up. If needing multi-color can you do inserts? That way you could bond it with Methyl based super glue or resin and it would do the job. Or if it is a small sheet you could always make the color by doing a resin pour. Just some ideas to think on.

Michael

[WandrinAndy]

Don't know if this is same material as plexiglass, but have noticed someone on eBay selling acrylic persplex such as
Acrylic Perspex Cast Block Opaque Blue ideal for lathe or cnc modelling | eBay (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Acrylic-Perspex-Cast-Block-Opaque-Blue-ideal-for-lathe-or-cnc-modelling-/151072256313?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item232c9bb139)

[martin54]

Best bet is to buy it in the colour you want, quite a wide range of colours available & some suppliers will sell small pieces. Alternatively you can cover it with self adhesive vinyl, just watch out for dust as acrylic generates quite a bit of static.
Direct printing is an option but not very hard wearing as it scratches off very easily plus if you don't have the correct gear to do it then getting someone to do it for you probably won't be cheap.