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I wanted to do some non-game related kitbashing and painting, and got it in my head to work with a figurine model. However, there are lots of little plastic parts that make up some pretty tight joints, and normal painting would only gum them up or rub off with any use whatsoever. I tried to do a bit of research on dyeing plastic, and the best results I could find was some pretty intimidating techniques involving boiling Rit dye with acetone, and I'm trying to find options that don't require a dedicated workshop with a vent.

Has anyone done anything like dyeing plastic to make sure joints still fit? And if you have, do you know of any 'cold' methods that might work for a small-scale, one-off operation?

Hi, the only product that I know of that may work is 'Alumilite'. It is a casting plastic that comes in two liquids and sets in 3 minutes(literally!), and you can buy numerous dyes to mix in which work really well. It feels like a kind of resin when set, the big difference is that you can paint it straight away without a primer. It is very tough( I cast bases and they were fine.)

The only downside is that you will get minor bubbling, depending on how much detail is involved. I've no idea about availability in the US(It may even originate from there) but if you type in 'Alumilite' I'm sure you'll find something.

Are you talking about the issues of painting in nucks and crannies? You prime black and just let shadow take care of that for you

I think it's the issue you get with modding action figures; the knees & elbows either rub off or gunk up. So he wants to dye the plastic so it won't rub/gunk.

The closest I've come to resolving this issue was to buy blank action figures already molded in whatever color I needed for my project (thank you Boss Fight Studios!)

Checking back again!

@Slipstream - I'm aware of being able to dye resin parts. Unfortunately, I'm looking for solutions for dyeing a plastic part that already exists.

@KidCthulu - I think at that rate, I may as well commission someone to make printable parts that I can either use directly or make casts of.

I -was- considering the alternative of sculpting and modifying the original parts, making a cast, and drilling holes for magnets to hold the pieces and keep them poseable, but I think I hit a stopping point when I realized how small and fiddly any joints past the hits and shoulders would be.

Thanks for the responses regardless. I'll need to give this a more thorough ponder.

Assuming you're doing GunPla figures or something similar then vinyl dye may work. Looks and sprays like a normal spray paint (there are also brush-on types), but it chemically bonds with the material and the color becomes part of the plastic once it cures. It's meant for re-coloring car doortrim, seats & dashboards and is used in a lot of PC case modding, game controller modding and NERF gun modding specifically because it's hard-wearing and permanent. I use it for priming PVC boardgame figures since it won't react and make them sticky like regular primers sometimes do and if paint rubs or flakes away it'll wear down to the properly colored plastic instead of grey. Needs to go onto clean bare plastic, it won't stick if the figurines are already painted, but it'll bond to itself if you want to mask areas and spray multiple colors. It does leave a very thin film of color, essentially becoming the outer layer of plastic, so an especially tight joint would eventually wear through

The brand isn't terribly important. I've used Rustoleum, Duplicolor, Colorbond, SEM and VHT and they're all very similar, it's really just whatever color you're looking for. The paints will be specifically marketed for "Vinyl, leather and plastic" and sometimes carpet