Product Review: Paintables Dye System
Paintables Dye System is a new product for painting, designs onto nylon spandex, silk, and wool. The set I bought includes all three primary colors: red, yellow, blue, as well as black and containers of what’s called gel extender which thins the paint for pastel shades. All of these are sold separately if you need more of one particular product, but the set is a great way to get started. These paints will work on silk, wool, and any protein fiber, and where they’re really invaluable in a costume context is painting on nylon spandex. (Nylon functions like a protein fiber in dye processes, but this post is not about the particulars of which classes of dye function on various fibers. Just trust me that this product also works on nylon spandex.) Technically speaking, these paints are acid dyes mixed into solution and thickened with a gel medium to be applied like paint, which is “dye paste,” something any artist can mix up for themselves; but it takes time to get the color...
