ESB Flightsuit Dye Recipe

[Cadet]

I'm getting ready to dye a new flightsuit for my ESB Boba and I have down a lot of digging and reading on the dye colors, but many of the threads I have found have been several years old. With the tendency of companies to tweak dye lots, formulations, and colors, I was just wondering if anyone had dyed an ESB flight suit recently, and if RIT Evening Blue and Pearl Gray are still the best mix? Additionally, what ratio did you use and did you get liquid dye for both of them?

 

[Badgerdash]

I used Dylon powdered dye, since it doesn't require boiling hot water. The “antique grey” colour is nearly perfect, though you can mix in some navy blue if you want the suit a bit bluer. Experiment on a scrap of cloth if you're worried, but the process is easier than I expected. It's best to tint it several times until you reach the shade you want.

 

[mainst69]

I used an old wash tub filled with tap water from the hose and 4 cap fulls of the evening blue. Then I mixed a spray bottle of grimy water and sprayed it while it was still wet. This faded it and gave it a first layer of weathering.

 

[Fettastic]

I got a lonestar suit and it was a cool color blue but just too clean and perfect looking...it was also too dark. I ended up lightly bleaching the suit to damage it a bit and give it some inconsistancies. Then I stripped the color with RIT color remover. Then I got a big plastic tub and re-dyed the suit with 2 packs of the Dylon Fabric dye powder in "China Blue" note that I only used 2 packs when for a full dye would have really needed 3 packs. I followed the instructions and let it air dry. Then I got it damp again and did the normal weathering with blacks Browns and greys with acrylic paints using my airbrush and hand.





Here's a picture after it was weathered...I'm not finished just yet...I need to add more black at the bottom by the boots.

 

[Cadet]

Okay, so I decided to split the difference between Blue and Gray and went with one packet of Rit "Pearl Gray" powder and one packet of Dylon "China Blue. Flight started as white, for reference.

This is the flightsuit outside in Natural light with no Flash:



Inside with flash under incandescent bulbs:


Inside with no flash under incandescent bulbs:

 

[Gregory]

It's hard to tell if it looks right with all the different looks depending on available light conditions. FWIW, I used only Pearl Grey and lots of weathering.