Trying To Dye/Stain Vinyl

[WhiteDove01s]

Ok, everything I've read says vinyl stains if you so much as look at it funny. Apparently, I don't look funny enough.

I'm trying to turn some Barbie parts - specifically hands from a Bedtime Barbie - purple. It doesn't have to be a dark purple. I'd settle for lavender. I have a few scrap pieces I was using for tests. I soaked those in food coloring for hours with no result. I've tried permanent marker just to have it rub off. I don't have any RIT dye in the house, but I'd be willing to get some if I could be sure it would work... but that tutorial was for resin, not vinyl.

Should I just give up and paint the hands with acrylics like I would for a faceup and then be really careful not to rub it off? Or is there some way to get vinyl to stain when you actually want it to?

[Linteia]

Was the food coloring hot? I've dyed some MLPs and the hotter the dye was the better the color turned out. I don't know if food coloring will work on such a smooth plastic, but you could try boiling it, maybe with a little vinegar and plopping them in, or look for some clearance egg dying kits and try those. Those would be my guesses, hopefully someone will know for sure.

[yarwel]

I have heard of dying barbies with RIT before, so that would probably work. My understanding is that the hard plastic parts don't take the dye as easily as the soft vinyl(or for that matter, resin) which is what you have probably heard of staining easily, but it can be done. A couple good coats of acrylic would probably be easier.

[WhiteDove01s]

>> you could try boiling it
I probably should have. I can't now, though, because boiling them again would undo where I shaped the fingers. Oh well, I'll try that next time! Thanks.

>>A couple good coats of acrylic would probably be easier.
Yeah, I'm thinking I'll go with that. I shouldn't have to touch the hands too much to pose them, and I did something like that when I was 12 or so to turn a Barbie Stacy that my cousin had broken the neck peg on into a catgirl, and when I found her in the back room the paint hasn't held up too badly considering how long it's been - and I didn't have or think to use thinner or MSC back in the day. If they even had MSC then. XD

Which puts "Project: FF9 Black Waltzes" on hold until I scrape up to order good thinner, detail brushes, and the MSC. Still gathering supplies. XD I think I'll start looking for good wing tutorials while I wait, and try to remember where I stuck the yarn and the pipe cleaners...