I need to change the colour of this pipe, as white is seemingly the only colour that a pipe of this size and material can be found in. Speaking of which, the material is once again, polypropylene.
I’ve made a very crude test of primer and acrylic paint so far, and I feel like even if I had more resources, like an airbrush, paint just wouldn’t quite cut it on this, as the paint could just get peeled off gradually when the pipe gets bent or moved (it is going to be bending and moving)
Does anyone have any ideas? Is there a type of dye out there that can work on plastic? Please let me know.
I think you may face a lot of issues trying to paint this.
It’s non absorbent, flexible - so will crack when paint applied and moved - so the paint may make it rigid and alter the material’s intended use - flex-ability, and finally - the cost v’s replacing it.
My suggestion would be - subject to heat / fire risks and at your own discretion - please check thoroughly for safety in your design needs and choices.
wrap it in a thin fabric - the colour of your choice, in thin strips, wrapped as if you were wrapping a ‘Mummy’.
I’m not so hot on fabrics, but maybe a muslin, polyester, or maybe cotton or Satin- may need to spray with a flame guard material if somewhere hot or exhibition space.
I would phone Flints and ask them - 'Theatrical Chandlers - if Carlsberg made shops and all.
Possible options for paint are - Flexi paint (£7-£10 or Plasti-dip.- at around £15 per can)
The latter may make it too rigid for your needs
If not too much movement needed,
2 -3 x black A2 sheets of paper from an Art suppliers.
Wrap it around it - tape it up - black electrical tape - check and clear your fire risks and any other H&S risks with a qualified tech on site, before taking any advice or decisions .
Fair enough; I was basing my question on what Screwfix ones are made from (PVC apparently).
Polypropylene is waxy and needs dye incorporated when it’s made - think washing-up bowls or, in expended form, what computers etc. are packed in.
As they’re cheap, could you buy a PVC one instead, which might take paint?
Oh yeah, I called Screwfix earlier to inquire about the tubes that they sell, the non PVC ones, but those ones of there’s aren’t flexible. So never mind. As for PVC ones, at first I wanted to use one of those but I hate their appearance - they look like scrunched-up bin bags. And their weak material isn’t fun either. Hence why I’m going with the PP ones
I’m not gonna lie, wrapping the whole thing up in bits of electrical tape sounds pretty good-
Also, another alternative I heard of would be getting a large heat shrink tube and heating it up so that it envelopes the whole thing. How does the latter sound to you?
I feel like with the heat shrink, it would eventually start to come off and might even tear in some areas when the tube bends. That being said, I am no expert on heat shrink stuff
The most common heat shrink is the one used in the electrical industry, and unless you attack it with a knife, it will never get damaged!
But it has 2 major downsides:
cost - At that diameter, it’s not exactly cheap at all.
flexibility- once shrunk, the material is fairly thick and rigid; more than good enough on a big cable, but I doubt that it would be suitable for your needs.
You could try with other kinds of heat-shrink plastics, but I can’t think of any ready solution.
What about trying with black Saran wrap? The stuff shipping companies use to wrap the palletised goods with. A couple of layers of that lightly stretched may do?
I think it may be easier if you describe the application, intended use, environment and a little bit more about desired colour and why you need it changed.
Then it may be easier to find a suitable solution.
If you just use elec tape without the paper card, it will likely rip the hose, and cost a small fortune.
Oh dear.. maybe it’s not the best idea after all then. That’s alright, as I found out last night that wrapping electrical tape around it works a charm, so it’s similar to your idea about the saran wrap
alright so, it’s for an upcoming cosplay project of mine, where a ducting pipe needs to fit around my leg. Thankfully my legs aren’t that big, so a tube of 150mm in diameter does the job.
Of course, I will be walking around whilst wearing these things, so the pipes will be moving, particularly around the middle/knee section, which is why I worried that any type of paint would easily come off.
As for the pipe that you posted, originally, i was going to use one of those PVC ones, but I’ve grown to dislike the fact that they look like scrunched-up bin bags, so I’ve switched to this smoother and sturdier PP tube. I need the PP pipe in a different colour so that it is accurate to the character that I’ll be portraying, and the colour being white is not acceptable at all.
Okay, that’s a cool project and great to know as it puts my mind at rest over the fire risks etc.
Understand on the plastic bags, but the tube wrapped in tape may get very hot.
If a one off or occasional use, then the spray cans of flexi-paint may work a treat, as used a lot in cosplay.
I think I’m just gonna go with the whole electrican tape method. I’ve already tested it and it’s been going really well. Plus, the 3D printing option just sounds like it’s gonna be a lot of trouble. I’ll just have to try and find ways to keep the tape from overheating.
I hear that Polypropylene is a fairly heat-resistant material, and the tape that I’m using can withstand temperatures from -5°c to 60°c. So… hopefully it works out.
