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notmetoo

Coloring polymer stuff, including bleaching

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Okay, this discussion got kicked out of the MidwestPX forum :onthequiet:

 

Seems RIT Dye will colorize PMAGS, and other polymer. Okay, that opens up some options.

 

Now, how do we go the other way? What's a safe way to "whiten" polymer? I'd think bleach would weaken the structure of the plastic. Is there a paint that will work well on polymer without peeling?

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If anyone can tell me what the polymer used for Pmags is, I can help out much more. However, I can tell you that you're not getting the base color out of them. It's through-coloring done with the base polymer pellets. You can successfully dye most polymers using automotive-grade dyes.

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I believe the more important question is:

 

What coloring options are available that do not involve submersion? As PX's floor plates are pinned to the mag, I would assume that dunking the springs in boiling water wouldnt be a great thing no?

 

I believe the springs are stainless steel, so they should be okay... right?

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Springs are spring steel and may have sufficient chromium content to resist corrosion. I've not really bothered to look at mine for that much detail. I can tell you that no polymer dye requires boiling. 180 degrees is generally tops, and such temperature is too slow to change the spring constant of every spring grade steel.

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According to the Magpul site, they're stainless steel springs, so technically they should be about 10-11% chromium. Corrosion should not be an issue. I think the mags will be okay for a few minutes of submersion in below boiling water.

 

 

"The PMAG 30 AR/M4 GEN M2 MOE is a 30-round 5.56x45 NATO (.223 Remington) AR15/M4 compatible magazine that offers a cost competitive upgrade from the aluminum USGI. It features an impact resistant polymer construction, easy to disassemble design with a flared floorplate for positive magazine extraction, resilient stainless steel spring for corrosion resistance, and an anti-tilt, self-lubricating follower for increased reliability."

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Update time! Starting with the FDE 15/20 PMAGs from MidwestPX (thanks Ty!) I tried creating some unique colors. I went to ritdye.com and ordered the colors to mix in order to get the colors I wanted to try, but starting with FDE as the base definitely throws things off.

Anyhoo, here's the result:

 

file_zps03cf420d.jpg

 

The two orangey/copper ones actually used different ratios of dyes (Sunshine Orange and Violet).

The two blues on the right are a mix of Teal and Navy Blue and also used different ratios of dyes.

(Like I said, non-white base screws with you.)

The brown is straight Cocoa Brown.

The two blue ones on the left are straight Royal Blue.

The brick red one in the upper right started out looking exactly like the two copper ones, so I re-dyed it in straight violet.

 

Have fun!

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