UKH

Hello everybody,

Indeed, bought a 'technical fleece' for a very very good price ...and when it arrived the reason was evident.
http://www.rei.com/zoom/jj/58d09b74-0fa9-4b6a-a793-6f37a8795464.jpg/330
I think the photographer stopped the exposure down a few notches when they took that shot.

A tad vivid, garish and clashes with my complexion. I 've kept looking at it and using it for domestic duties, but age has not mellowed the impact and slight sickly feeling. So, how about dyeing it a darker hue I thought.
mmmmm.... its that word "technical", sounds like it could go pear shaped, or the opposite !!

Anybody any experience of this type of thing ? I know that some dyes require a boil wash which might not be good for the materials
Body Fabric: Stretch Fleece
Body Fabric Content: 93% polyester, 7% elastane

....unless my old Action Man needs a new mid-layer.

Thanks for any tips...

Sean.

In reply to sbc_10:

I wouldn't have thought it would dye that well, but google dyeing polyester.
I think its a nice colour

In reply to sbc_10:

It won't work. The good thing about polyester fleece is that it's totally non-absorbent so you won't find any dye that will take. So short of just painting something onto the surface of the fibres you're stuck with the colour you've got.

Look on the bright side, good climbing photos need some colourful clothing, photos of climbers dressed in black and grey climbing lumps of grey rock look rubbish.

In reply to gethin_allen:

Thanks folks.

mmmm....not convinced its a nice colour and I might need a few high E-numbers to warrant a cover shot on a climbing magazine. Well, maybe I'll sneak it out on cloudy days when the mists have come down.

In reply to gethin_allen:


So.....how do they colour it in the first place ?

In reply to sbc_10:
Could you try sending it back saying it's not as advertised, ie the colour shown is inaccurate?

Edit: ah, sorry just realised you said you'd been using it already!

In reply to sbc_10:

I think it's "self coloured", i.e. colour is added to raw polyester in the spinnerette feedstock.

If not, it's some unpleasant process.

Even dying nylon requires near boiling point. And elastane doesn't like hot washing...

Google 'dying polyester' if you're not convinced.

If it's the colour in your image, I think it looks fine.

In reply to sbc_10:

They colour it using disperse dyes which work in a very different method to dyes such as reactive dyes (cotton). Some companies will even dye the polymer as opposed to the fibre, which makes a really high quality colour but at the downside of customisability. As others have pointed out, though, dyeing polyester is a nightmare to do at home.

In reply to sbc_10:

I'm no fan of garish colours on the hill but that jacket looks ok to me. At least it's not fluorescent lime.

In reply to sbc_10:

I like the colour. Send it to me please!

In reply to sbc_10:

You think that's bad. I had one of these for a while:

http://images.theepicentre.co.uk/images/products/zoom/1361546942-96121300.j...

I generally look like Worzel Gummidge in the presentable stakes, but I just couldn't take it after a while!

In reply to Tom Last:


The colour or the fashion comments ?
At least you can hide that under a few layers.

In reply to Tom Last:

You think that's bad, I've got one of these:

http://www.sportpursuit.com/catalog/product/view/id/511589

And the bad thing, i actually like it...

In reply to Mr-Cowdrey:

Could be worse I suppose....

http://content.fluofun.com/p/guidematos/70834/112464-preview.jpg

....and I bet this one aint a bargain bin item either !

In reply to sbc_10:
Ha, bit of both really!

I gave it to an even less discerning friend - he's American.

In reply to sbc_10:

That is pretty bad, worse than this though:http://www.scandinavianoutdoorstore.com/en/miesten-vaatteet/valiasut/triton...

I like 'contrast'.

In reply to Mr-Cowdrey:

Ay-yai!..... looks like a unfortunate collapsing paint shelf incident. Inspired by Piet Mondrian I'm reliably informed.

In reply to Dave Perry:


I would need to see the colour of your money , about £35.00 would wrestle it willingly away from me.
(It's an XL with a hood if you are seriously interested.)

In reply to sbc_10:

Seriously I like the colour (in the photo). I'm somewhat thinner than XL though - never mind!