The McColorful
By Max McCool

     
WARNING: Ovens, lighters, matches, knives, and other tools called for in this tips section can be dangerous when not properly used. If you intend on trying any of these tips at home, you must tell your parents exactly what your plans are before proceding. Improper use of some of the tools suggested can result in cutting, burning or staining yourself or your family's property. So ask FIRST, and be careful!
This month, we're going to cover some of the finer points of dyeing. Dying with electrical tape and hot glue are cool effects, and when combined with a cool color combination can really make a sweet stick.


Dye-O-Meter rating:   Advanced level - But Everyone Can Try It!
 
Stuff needed:

INTRO:

The McColorful is created using Exacto knives and electrical tape. It really lets you decide what kinda designs you want, and lets you get as detailed as you want as well. It leaves a really clean look to, which is cool when you’re using multiple colors. On this job, I’m going to use 3 colors, Sunshine Yellow, Fuchsia, and Evening Blue. I’ll show you how to make 3 colors turn into 5 or 6 by just moving stuff around between colors.

Step 1: Prepare your materials.

The first step is making your designs. Roll out a piece of electrical tape onto whatever you can cut on, (a mirror works great) and go to work. Try whatever you want, see what works, see what doesn’t. Names are easy, circles are harder than they look, and anything is possible, so get creative. I based all the designs on this stick on some sketching my buddy did in class. If you have a central theme, its easier to cover a whole stick.

                T.  Wentz

So slice your shapes out of the tape and pull it away from the surface with the tip of the blade. This ensures that more of the adhesive stays on the tape and doesn’t rub off on your fingers. The less you touch and move the tape around on the stick, the better. If you replace it too many times it will come off in the dye. When you have the stickers on that you want, take a hair dryer and go over each section for like 15 seconds. This heats up the adhesive and secures the seal to the stick. Unless the tape is over a seam in the plastic, or at an odd angle, it should stay on after you heat it up and press down on it.


   
 

 


Step 2: First Color

So now it’s ready for the first color. Boil your water, and make your dye bath using one of your lighter colors. I tried using 3 light colors so that the stick would turn out brighter, so we’ll see….

The fist color is Sunshine Yellow in powder form, and I am sure at this point that the liquid dye is better for a truer color (its twice the concentration of dye). Make your first color a fade, slowly pulling it out of the dye as you go. Make it as drastic or as tapered as you like, both can look awesome.



Step 3: The Fade
To see what color I would end up with, and also to save a little time, I threw the fuchsia dye in the same pot that the yellow water was still in. What I ended up with was basically a red. I also faded this color, leaving a section of orange in the middle of the stick. If you wanna leave anything yellow or fuchsia, just put on more tape on the yellow or fuchsia after you dye it.



Step 4: Prep for the Final Blue

Now we have a nice 2 color fade job. This is cool enough on it’s own, but props to Steve Moore for the idea of the Tequila Sunrise. (2002 Dye Contest Winner) So like Moore, we’re gonna sling on some hot glue and throw it in another color. There are a couple things to think about here. Pick a color that mixes well with the two colors you already have. A green to purple fade will result here when we’re done. Think about stuff you want light blue, and take off the tape where you have it (if it’s still covering white stick) Otherwise, the blue will mix with whatever color is there to make something different.

By moving some of my dots around up top, I can keep some white, some yellow, and have the part that was white to become light blue. I completely took off the raindrops on the corner, because, well, raindrops are blue. Remember to whip out the hair dryer again, and make sure everything’s on there securely. If it’s not, you can always try and cut out anther piece, but sometimes it’s just easier to let it take the chance.


 

Step 5: The Evening Blue

Submerge your stick completely in the Evening Blue dye. Leave it in until it's dark enough for you, but remember that it ends up looking darker than it does in the tray.

                 

Step 6: Post-Blue

SOOO…. We pull it out of the blue and everything looks pretty dark. That’s fine. After you pull off all the tape and glue, it’s gonna be nasty. Peel off all of the tape with the tip of your exacto knife, but be careful not to dig into the plastic too deep. This just makes clean up easier, as it takes the adhesive with the tape. If you have leftover goo, Goo Gone rocks at cleaning up the head.


Step 7: Finishing Up

After the tape is off, throw your head into the freezer for about 30 minutes. This does 2 things. First, it cures the head and locks in the color, keeping it from fading (or at least delaying it). Secondly, it makes all the hot glue you put on become brittle, and easier to snap off. If your fingernails work, go for it. If the glue is being stubborn, try the back of a butter knife. Also, if the glue starts to get soft, throw it back into the freezer for few until the glue is hard again. When you get everything off your stick, you’re done… except for the stringing.

When I got this torque it had a nice wide mesh pocket in it, so I decided to throw it back in there. A hanging idea for the top string, and some basic sidewalls and bottom make a nice pocket. I just left the shooting strings how they came. That’s it! Throw it on a shaft and you’re ready to go.

 

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