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Green Alumilite dye turning blue

PostPosted: Mon May 04, 2015 2:10 pm
by Fomen38
So this past weekend I was pouring up some plastics, and I wanted to make some green ones. I slowly heated my Alumisol on low in the microwave to just above 350 degrees. I stirred in a drop of green Alumisol dye, and it turned BLUE! Not green! I though this was weird, and thought that maybe I had overheated the Alumisol and that caused it. So I started again with a new batch. I slowly heated and measured the temp with an infrared laser thermometer- 356 degrees. I mixed in the green dye, and BAM! BLUE AGAIN! Has anyone else noticed this? Also, I ordered some Florescent Orange dye and upon arrival it was more like paste than liquid in the bottle. I understand there will be some separation if the dye sits around, but what I've done to remedy this is pop off the "dropper cap" from the bottle, and take a small slotted screwdriver to stir. This is to no avail with the florescent orange. There's no separation. It's just thick like paste. I know it's nothing I've done, because I store it next to my other colors, and they are just fine (with the exception of the green and it's erroneous color of course). However, the main reason I'm writing this is regarding the green dye. It looks green in the bottle, and it looks green on the small metal applicator I use to transfer it from the bottle to the hot Alumisol. But as soon as it touches the Alumisol and I stir it in, it instantly goes blue. Fortunately I was able to make my own green with yellow and blue dye, but the way I look at it, I shouldn't have to concoct my own color of green if I ordered green dye. Just frustrated.

Re: Green Alumilite dye turning blue

PostPosted: Tue May 05, 2015 5:19 am
by Mike - Alumilite
We've only seen this when using very small amounts of Green in the Amazing Clear Cast but never with Alumisol. I will experiment with it this morning and try to figure it out and let you know. And yes, the Flo Orange is thick ... all of the Flo's are thick but the orange specifically. I also remove the dropper tip but then simply stick a popsicle stick in the bottle to extract what I need. Cutting the tip low and storing it standing up also works (I just lean it up between other bottles or place in my little bucket of Alumidust containers with the tip down). Unfortunately its the nature of the beast of that product but green should be green. Let me look into it.

Mike

Re: Green Alumilite dye turning blue

PostPosted: Tue May 05, 2015 9:14 am
by Fomen38
Thanks Mike. I appreciate you looking into that for me. I wish I would have taken a picture. It was saphire blue.

Re: Green Alumilite dye turning blue

PostPosted: Wed May 06, 2015 6:48 am
by RhettWheeler
hey did you by chance mix up your dye really good before using? Just a thought.

Re: Green Alumilite dye turning blue

PostPosted: Wed May 06, 2015 11:40 am
by Fomen38
I don't recall. I shook it really well, but it's very viscous, so it's hard to shake. When I get home tonight I will stick the bottle into a water bath to warm it up, and I will stick a slotted screwdriver into the bottle and stir it up. Then I will try it again. I have a guy coming over tonight to pick up some lures, so I will be in the process of heating and pouring Alumisol already. I will set aside some Alumisol to experiment with the green dye. Thanks for the recommendation. First rule of troubleshooting: K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple Stupid). Start with the easy stuff first, right? Thanks Rhett. :mrgreen:

Re: Green Alumilite dye turning blue

PostPosted: Thu May 07, 2015 8:43 am
by RhettWheeler
I find a small nut and drop it into my bottles, seems to help shake it up really well. I've noticed that on certain dyes I use, there can be a bit of separation, so it's always good to try to mix it up as much as possible before dripping any into your plastic. It may not be the issue but worth testing out.

Re: Green Alumilite dye turning blue

PostPosted: Thu May 07, 2015 9:15 am
by Fomen38
GREAT IDEA RHETT! I love the addition of a small nut to help in the mixing, like the mixing ball in a can of spray paint. When I get home tonight, I'm going to put a small nut in every bottle of lure dye that I own. :D

Re: Green Alumilite dye turning blue

PostPosted: Mon May 11, 2015 10:12 am
by Mike - Alumilite
I did test the day you posted but then was travelling. I added a small amount of Green Dye into Alumisol and it turned almost an aqua green color. Wasn't blue but wasn't pure green either. No completely scientific but couldn't reproduce blue. If possible, please email me a pic of your cured Alumisol piece. And if mine looks different, I will email you mine back. mike(at)alumilite(dot)com

thx,
Mike

Re: Green Alumilite dye turning blue

PostPosted: Mon May 11, 2015 4:48 pm
by Fomen38
Hopefully I can remember to do that tonight. I will do a small batch and see. Even if I get the same result as you, I still think the color is off. Maybe it works better when added to casting resin than it does to Alumisol. It's just crazy to me though, because it looks as green as green can be in the bottle. I hate to jump ship, but I ordered some dye from a competitor that's specifically designed for lures made from plastisol. They had about 100 different colors, so I got some dark green, fluorescent green, and emerald green. I've used their dyes before, and they work very well, and they stay true to their color. They also don't bleed at all. That being said, some of the products from Alumilite cannot be beat, and I am committed to them wholeheartedly.

Re: Green Alumilite dye turning blue

PostPosted: Tue May 12, 2015 7:36 am
by Mike - Alumilite
Understand Formen and no worries. I think the reason mine was such an aqua light green is because I used such a very very small amount and if we were to look at the exact shade of our green in its lightest form, I'm guessing that is what we would see. But why your's turned blue is a mystery to me that has me stumped ... one quick thought ... was your Alumisol virgin material or remelted/recycled a few times? Was there any yellow color to the Alumisol before adding the green? I'm guessing not but if there was a little yellowish tint to it from being remelted a few times, I'd like to test mine the same way to see if I can reproduce the blue.

As you mentioned, there are a ton of different shades of green from army green to forest green and a million in between. We simply don't have that spectrum covered without blending our dyes. I'm sure what you found will work well. Please send us some pics of the lures you are making. Its always fun to see what people are coming up with.

thx,
Mike

Re: Green Alumilite dye turning blue

PostPosted: Tue May 12, 2015 12:55 pm
by Fomen38
Alumisol was virgin. Temperature was PERFECT, because I monitor it with an infrared thermometer. I heat it VERY slowly (low on the microwave) to achieve the optimum curing temp. I will try doing it again, but I will mix the heck out of the dye first to see if that makes a difference.