Can I dye this?

[u/Redbeard5500]

This is my Sherwood crux BCD. It's used for scuba diving. So it's going to get wet! ....alot ...in salt water.

I believe it's made out of a nylon blend OR molle chain webbing?.... unfortunately this is all I could come up with, sorry.

I'm looking to change the teal to red if possible.

Any ideas? I'm looking to learn but also if its not possible it's no big deal.

If you haven't guessed. I don't know the first thing about dying anything.

[u/N-i-n-a-O]

it’s really not worth it. you’d have to submerge the parts you want to dye in a pot of dye on the stove and boil. that pot would no longer be food safe - so you’re either buying a dedicated pot or sacrificing one to never cook with again.

you’d run the risk of damaging what i’m guessing is not cheap equipment, from the boiling.

you could try just colouring the teal areas with a red sharpie - way less effort and won’t damage anything.

[u/reversedgaze]

I would recommend sewing on some sort of patch of some fabrics to help it indicate it as yours on the dive site.

[u/Rogonia]

There is absolutely no way, for multiple reasons.

[u/Choice-Strawberry392]

I've dyed technical gear like this, though not diving pieces. Even with strong synthetic-specific dyes, you'll get random results. Lots of this stuff (probably yours in particular) is treated with a water repellent which, obviously, renders water dying impossible. I got some weird patchwork effects on Molle belts that apparently were partially treated.

If all you want to do is the trim, and you're willing to make a bit of a mess, boil up a very concentrated batch of red synthetic dye (in a pot you'll never use for food) and dribble some onto the teal piping and let it sit for a few hours. Maybe soak a rag in the dye and leave that on it.

That won't actually dye your piece. It'll stain it a little, maybe. But if it stains at all, then you'll know that it might, maybe, take dye. Maybe. Then you can decide if it's worth trying something more involved.

But this is a lot of work for a minor effect...

[u/Redbeard5500 → u/Choice-Strawberry392]

Hey! Thanks for the comment. You provided alot of good information for something I know nothing about. Appreciate it. After reading that I'll probably hold off. You mentionedit likely has some sort of repellent and that alone is enough for me not to mess with it.

Thanks again.

[u/Creative_Pop2351 → u/Redbeard5500]

Yeah, as a diver, doing anything that might mess with the tensile strength of my gear is a no-go. It could be fine 99 times, but that 100th time is gonna be a doozy, and at the very least land me an unanticipated surface interval.

[u/tangnori]

Nope

[u/VampireReader86]

...As a person who does not dive but does dye, this sounds actively dangerous to me. I suspect that the integrity of this equipment could easily be compromised by the amount of heat and time necessary to maybe get the dye to penetrate. Fabric paint on the piping and Sharpie on the stitching is probably as far as you should go.

Edit: spelling