Still a lot of dying to do and of course the logo and the name badge still need to go on as well as belt details but the main parts are together.
The flight suit is made by Propper and is Nomex. The pads, belt and gloves are from the ever awesome GBProps shop and the boots (not pictured well here) are from Quartermaster.
For those of you not sure what size suit to buy, here are my basic measurements to go off of.
The suit is a size 40 short. I am 5’4 and have a 30" waist (normally wear 30 x 30 jeans). If you go to a website selling the Propper suit, they should have a size chart to gauge how much over you will need to go. The suit is loose in all places with full clothing on underneath but it isn’t overly baggy.
I’m going to try dying the Nomex next ::crosses fingers::
I’m going to put the suit in a dye bath tonight and see how it turns out. I ran out of time last night but I’m hoping tonight I will get it a bit closer to being done.
Dying is commencing as we speak. I am going to leave the suit in the dye bath for 4 hours, so expect an update around 9-9:30 pm.
Thank you for the heads up on the hose connectors. Certainly saved me some headaches as I haven’t been checking the Shop as often lately but that was one of the “out of stock” pieces I needed.
As far as if I have a pack yet, I do not BUT I am slowly collecting the pieces for one. My goal is to have a basic uniform done by this Halloween and to worry about the pack for next year but if the uniform needs extra time and I don’t make the Halloween deadline life will go on. This isn’t something I am going to throw together overnight. I am sure my pack and uniform will have its flaws and inaccuracies but I’m not going to purposely cut corners in the process.
Haven’t forgotten about the group yet… dye bath has been drained- still need to rinse the suit and put it through a final wash per the dye directions. It is looking very promising- the suit did change a consistent color and it doesn’t look to be TOO dark gray. Once it is washed and dried I will post the results.
I know it doesn’t look like much of a change, but it is definitely a lot grayer than when I started. I’ll try and get some better shots of it and post the recipe as well.
Ok, what I did was took a picture of the uniform in about the same lighting as was present last time when I originally wore the suit. I also put up the removed velcro which was the same color as the suit for comparison.
Now, the velcro that remained on the suit took a lot more dye than the actual suit. What I may do is cut that velcro off and get some khaki velcro to put in its place to make that transition less apparent. The actual fabric however is a good color for me.
The suit as I started with it was straight out of the box, so there were no “pre dyeing” rinses or washes. What is posted here is EVERYTHING the suit went through in its dye transition.
Here is the dye recipe for those of you who like this color:
Ingredients:
1 Propper brand Desert Tan Nomex flight suit (not sure how other brands pre-treat their Nomex but this was the brand I used)
4 boxes of Rit Pearl Grey dye
1 cup salt
1 tbsp laundry detergent
Instructions:
Remove velcro nametag from front by carefully cutting the stitching.
EDIT: remove all velcro if possible, especially any that will be exposed when the suit is worn. Just be careful and take your time to make sure you cut only the stitching that holds the velcro. The velcro will take the dye to a much greater extent than the actual suit fabric, leaving VERY apparent dark spots as seen in the picture above. Once the dyeing is done, the original velcro can either be sewn back on or replacement velcro can be purchased.
Start washing machine filling with hot water. Since the water in the line will probably be cold at first, let that run out and set the washer on “spin” to empty that bit out. Start the washer filling up again with the now hot water. Use a full load’s worth of water.
While washer is filling, dissolve each packet of Rit dye in 2 cups of hot water (I put 2 boxes into a Pyrex measuring cup that was 4 cups in size to save time) and dump into washer.
Put 1 cup salt into Pyrex measuring cup and dissolve in hot water as much as possible. “Rinse” any remaining salt out with hot water, emptying the cup into washer each time. Add 1 tbsp of detergent. Allow the washer to finish filling.
As soon as the washer is done filling, it will start to agitate (duh). I let the washer agitate for 3-4 minutes to let the dye, water and salt mix as much as possible. During this time I ran the suit under some hot water in the kitchen sink to presoak it. As soon as you are satisfied that the dye is mixed, shut the washing machine off and allow the dye to remain. Place the suit in the dye bath and close the lid to better retain heat.
Wait 4 hours. I timed it exactly so I would have actual numbers to post instead of approximations. After 4 hours is done, turn the washer back on and allow it to finish through the rest of the cycle.
Remove the suit and start a new wash cycle, this time with warm water. Add detergent like you would with a normal load of laundry and place the suit into the water. Allow washer to continue normally.
Dry the suit for about 30 minutes on regular heat in dryer.
Done! Hopefully this is a cut and dried recipe someone can use to create their own suit. Credit goes to GBFreek83 on Proptopia.com for his dye recipe which I used as a base and tweaked a bit to get exact quantities. His recipe calls for “3 or so” boxes of dye and says to let the suit sit for “a few hours”. I interpreted “3 or so” to mean 4 and “a few hours” to mean 4 hours. All in all I’d say it turned out decent. Thoughts?
Looking good!!! Keep it up. Have you dyed your pads and belt yet? I’m getting ready to dye mine soon and I just wanted to see how anyone else’s turned out.
Sorry for the constant edits to the recipe post. I want to make sure these directions are as clear as possible and make sure I cover every step in the process.
I have not dyed the pads yet. I am thinking that some kind of grey spray paint may be the best option as the dye is rumored to not take well to the actual pads themselves. I am leaving the belt as is because the color is good enough for me. There are some posts here on dyeing the pads and belt but I have not tried them for myself.
BTW- for those of you who have posted recipes in the past containing approximations, I am not knocking your efforts or trying to make my post seem superior. From experiences with my first suit, I TOTALLY feel your pain. I had the 30 dollar version yellow / khaki flight suit. It must have gone through at least 6 or 7 different dye baths, some ending in color remover and in later phases additions of partial packets and extended wash cycles that weren’t timed. Even if I had gotten a color I was happy with I couldn’t conjure up a recipe for that to save my life because simply put the last known good mixture wasn’t the only thing the suit went through. All the previous dye baths probably contributed in part to the end result. Plus, I’m not sure someone wants to go digging up 7 or 8 boxes and running their washer straight for hours on end. So as frustrated as I was to read words like “about” and “approximately”, I couldn’t in good faith blame people either.
As specific as the post was, I will give some tips on what I did learn with the 30 dollar suit as well as the Nomex for those who want to experiment a bit with their dye.
Regardless of the material, salt will aid in the dyeing process and help the dye take to the fabric better. This is true especially in synthetic materials. I found this website which gave me some tips (such as using the hottest water possible, strengthening the concentration of the dye in the dyebath and extending the dyeing time) to dyeing the Nomex. Although salt is not mentioned, I would assume that it serves the same BASIC purpose (not the same chemical reaction, mind you) as the chemicals listed within the article.
The box of Rit dye will tell you to agitate the fabric during the entire dyeing process which requires extending the wash cycle. After so many extended cycles, my 30 dollar suit lost a fastener from being thrashed around for so long. If you are going to dye the suit (especially the cheaper ones) for anything longer than an hour I would suggest simply letting the suit soak in a still dye bath. Save some electricity while you are at it.
Pre-soak the suit in hot water before putting into the dye bath.
Periodically check on the suit and if the color is not dark enough allow it to soak longer. I made the mistake with my first suit to only let it dye for 30 minutes before draining the mixture. Had I actually waited longer I may have gotten the color I wanted on the suit I tried a year ago (not the one pictured here).
This is kind of a “duh” thing here, but remember that the suit will be lighter in color once it dries so if it appears too dark when it is wet it very well may be the right shade when it is dry. Also, after the dye bath is drained and the suit is allowed to rinse / agitate in cold water a little dye will come out but this nothing to panic over.
If you really HAVE to have the purple dye in the mix, put only a few drops in with an eyedropper or something similar. The purple will quickly override the pearl grey leaving you with a uniform that looks like it belongs on an Easter Bunny. You can always add more if needed, but it is really frustrating to take out because it starts you pretty much at square one (not to mention requiring purchasing more dye and color remover).
Both the Nomex and the 30 dollar suits will soak the dye up like a sponge in the velcro areas. Remove the velcro, dye and then stitch it back on after dyeing is complete.
BE CAREFUL where you put your suit especially following the dye process. DO NOT try to remove stains or imperfections with bleach. Bleach will remove all traces of dye on any parts of the suit it comes in contact with which will require the suit to be undyed and redyed over.
THE MOST IMPORTANT THING OF ALL- TAKE YOUR TIME AND HAVE FUN. These are only tips and my personal experiences and should not be taken as gospel. This Nomex suit is probably not screen accurate but I am happy with it and that’s what matters. I’ve seen people wear their suits right out of the package and others who obsess down to the last granule of dye to make their suit screen accurate. However, at the end of the day the suits are all awesome in their own right. Also remember that impatience can quickly lead to frustration and the death of a project no matter what replica you are working on.
Ok, time to end this lengthy post. Hopefully this will give some information to people who are new to dyeing fabric. If there are any other questions, feel free to PM me and I’ll lend a hand where I can. I’m not claiming my suit to be screen accurate or to be a dyeing expert but I’m not here to be a leech either and just take information and walk away.
I followed your directions to the T (even removed all the velcro tabs) and the color of my flight suit turned out great! I threw a white gun belt and Defender knee pads in the washer with the uniform too. The belt turned out pretty well, but I ended up dying the knee pads separately with one box of RIT black in a bucket to make it grayer. (word of caution, the black dye stained the bucket and my hands purple). Overall, I think it was a success.
I’ll try to post pictures soon. thanks for posting your recipe! :walterpeck:
Glad to hear it went well! I agree with you concerning the black dye. It is a mess to deal with. If I were to do things over again, I’d definitely mix my dye and water outside and then take it inside to put in the washer. If any of the dye gets into the air it will stain anything that it settles on. If there is anything else I can help with, let me know.
: