HQG1C Cowboy hat *Updated!

[LadyAmalthea]

I'm not sure if the Corral is the proper place for this post, sorry if I put it in the wrong place!

I ordered the clear glittery cowboy hat so that Tex would have one. It was super clear and glittery when it arrived. I read about how it was designed to be dyed whatever color you wanted to make it, and I thought I would try to get it as close to Tex's aqua as I could get it. I suppose I should have just bought some aqua dye, but I like to use what I have on hand (especially when it's negative temperatures out!), so I used RIT Dyemore Kentucky Sky with a little bit of custom green dye I had mixed for another project last night. The color came out awful and dull, but even worse than that, the boiling water made the clear plastic turn cloudy! It happened within seconds of dipping the hat in the dye bath, so it's not a matter of leaving it in too long.

Has anyone tried dyeing one of these hats? How did it turn out? Is there something I can do to get it to clear back up, or am I stuck with it this way? I'm so sad and disappointed...I bought this hat specifically because it said it was meant to be dyed with RIT Dyemore. Did I do something wrong?

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Update: Well, interestingly enough, after sitting overnight, some of the cloudiness seems to have cleared up! Perhaps there was humidity that was trapped in it, and it has dissipated over time, especially with as much as my heat is running right now. I'm feeling a little better about it now.
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[starrynights]

Sadly dyeing is always a gamble - I tried to dye a pony green and she turned gray!
Maybe you can still paint the hat?

[tailrustedtealeaf]

I would be wary of dying them. I forgot dye can transfer and I had a dyed G3 rub off on some G1 that were in my bait box and now they have stains. Tex is such a light color that I would worry he would get transfer on his ears.

Of course, that is how the product was intended to be used. That's such an odd color for it to turn. Sometimes dying goes awry.

[Wardah]

I think even if it's not what you were aiming for that it still looks pretty good.

[LadyAmalthea]

Sadly dyeing is always a gamble - I tried to dye a pony green and she turned gray!
Maybe you can still paint the hat?

Yikes! Thanks for the warning...I was planning on dyeing a pony green myself (hence the batch of green dye I made up last night; I was too scared to actually use it on my pony so I tried it on a test bait first and it wasn't quite the shade I was hoping for), I was actually thinking about making a post about that too! Maybe green is just a difficult color, and that's why it was so seldom used on ponies?

Post Merge: February 20, 2021, 02:08:12 PM

I would be wary of dying them. I forgot dye can transfer and I had a dyed G3 rub off on some G1 that were in my bait box and now they have stains. Tex is such a light color that I would worry he would get transfer on his ears.

Of course, that is how the product was intended to be used. That's such an odd color for it to turn. Sometimes dying goes awry.

That's something I didn't think of, color transfer...I guess I won't keep it on Tex. Maybe I have a darker pony that can wear it. Thanks for mentioning it...you may have saved poor Tex from having green ears!

As far as the color goes, that's probably my fault, mixing 2 different dyes together, I should just have waited until I could buy some new dye in the proper color...although that wouldn't have prevented the cloudiness.

Post Merge: February 20, 2021, 02:09:43 PM

I think even if it's not what you were aiming for that it still looks pretty good.

Thank you...it does look better in the pictures than it does in person though! I'm just gonna roll with it, not much I can do about it now!

[starrynights]

To keep the dye from transferring, maybe you can coat it real good in something durable like clear nail polish? May or may not work.
Also, you can always paint the hat if you don't like how it turned out!

[Ponybookworm]

Rinse what you can out of the dyed item as soon as you've dyed, then after a day or two, boil the Pony/ hat in clean water & rinse again. That is literally the best way I can think of to avoid transfer.

Aside from that, experiment experiment experiment!!! And NEVER mix two colours of dye, while always rinsing between applications, including the pan & ALL the tools!!! otherwise your dyes will end up contaminated, not to mention unrinsed tools adding unwanted stains

Last but not least, for certain colours make the dye weak & be very quick, as some dyes do go in in seconds. My purple cat took at most ten seconds in dye solution to go her correct shade (she was originally a white Bella).

Have fun!!!

[Purpleglasses]

If you choose to coat the hat, I’d recommend a permanent clear sealant like Crystal Clear or Mr. Super Clear over nail polish remover. Anything designed to be used on the body will be less permanent.

[reanna-mator]

I'm glad it's looking better!

Also I had no idea HQG1C did these. Very cool.

[LadyAmalthea]

@starrynights: it did say that the hat was also resigned to be painted as well! I was hoping not to if I don't have to, because I didn't want to lose the glittery look that it has, and I also worry that the paint would crack as the hat flexes (it does fit most ponies rather tightly, and I have to really pull it and stretch it a bit to get it over the pony's ears, especially Tex's). But if it comes out really ugly after I have a second go at dyeing it, it's good to have painting as a back-up plan!

@Ponybookworm: thanks for all the dyeing advice! Yes, you are right, some colors seem to dye in seconds, and others (looking at you, Kentucky Sky!) seem to take an age to take. So it makes sense not to mix them; the Daffodil Yellow is one of the quick ones and that's what I used to mix the green, so the yellow picks up first in a mixture. The Rit website gives all these color recipes, so I figured it was okay to mix them. Not doing it again!

@Purpleglasses: thanks for the recommendation, I'll look into those products! I've been looking for a good sealant anyway for eyes and symbols.

@reanna-mator: yes, they do sell the clear glitter hat separately! They also make an opaque brown one that comes with the pony Pepperjack, but I've never seen it available by itself. It's cool that they're expanding into accessories a bit...I hope we see more in the future!

[Wardah]

Mod podge used to make a transparent paint but I think they discontinued it. I have heard you can also make transparent paint by mixing food coloring with mod podge.

[Purpleglasses]

If you choose to coat or seal the hat, I’d recommend a permanent clear sealant like Crystal Clear or Mr. Super Clear over clear nail polish. Anything designed to be used on the body will be less permanent.

You’re most welcome! Lol, I meant to edit my first post but instead I quoted myself....😅