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HIROBO zerda HELP

Posted: Wed Mar 09, 2016 12:17 am
by DemZ
Hi fellas i have a question, i just bought a hirobo zerda the built version with the red roll cage and i was wondering has anyone tried dying the red roll cage black and if so how did it turn out. Thanks in advance

Re: HIROBO zerda HELP

Posted: Wed Mar 09, 2016 8:20 am
by Stumpy
I have dyed the red suspension parts, diffs and gearbox pieces black before, and they came out quite good.. I guess that the cage is made from the same plastic/nylon as the other pieces..??

The black dye doesn't go right into the red plastic all that far, so any deep scratches will show as being red, but you can always re-dye the piece if that happens..

OH, and we like photos... LOL..

Re: HIROBO zerda HELP

Posted: Thu Mar 10, 2016 2:26 pm
by Coelacanth
You can successfully dye nylon a darker color, but I'm not sure you can dye ABS plastic...I'm pretty sure the roll-cage isn't nylon. Here's the thing: nylon can actually be strengthened by the boiling water in the dyeing process. That's good. ABS plastic, on the other hand, might become more brittle or even melt if you follow the same process. I wouldn't recommend it.

What I would suggest is Krylon Fusion for Plastic spray paint. It's not actually a paint, it chemically bonds to any plastic or vinyl surface, and I've used it to restore several old hard plastic & vinyl auto interior parts. The prep is very easy too, just make sure the surface is clean of any grease; wipe it down with rubbing alcohol or mineral spirits, then spray on the Fusion for Plastic. No primer is needed.

Re: HIROBO zerda HELP

Posted: Sun Mar 13, 2016 1:59 am
by DemZ
Coelacanth wrote:You can successfully dye nylon a darker color, but I'm not sure you can dye ABS plastic...I'm pretty sure the roll-cage isn't nylon. Here's the thing: nylon can actually be strengthened by the boiling water in the dyeing process. That's good. ABS plastic, on the other hand, might become more brittle or even melt if you follow the same process. I wouldn't recommend it.

What I would suggest is Krylon Fusion for Plastic spray paint. It's not actually a paint, it chemically bonds to any plastic or vinyl surface, and I've used it to restore several old hard plastic & vinyl auto interior parts. The prep is very easy too, just make sure the surface is clean of any grease; wipe it down with rubbing alcohol or mineral spirits, then spray on the Fusion for Plastic. No primer is needed.
Thanks for the advise and the paint sounds like a good idea, but as stumpy was saying he has dyed the parts with great success and i wouldnt think the suspension arms are a different plastic to the roll bars, any way i have a used roll cage which i may try that one first to see if the dye will take, and again thank you to both off you for the advise.