# Keeping blacks black



## Nikgwolf (Aug 10, 2008)

I didn't know quite where to put this thread, but I figure 'General Advice' will suffice....

Does anyone have any products or tips for keeping blacks black? I was humorously considering putting a few sharpies in the washer...and then I really thought about it.

Any ideas, my black jeans will usually last about six months, but they start fading in about two.

Nik


Flickr: nikgwolf512's Photostream


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## Footer (Aug 10, 2008)

You could re-die them. Rit black dye and Rit navy blue dye together will get you to a convincing black. Colors fade, its just what happens. Try a better detergent or something like that.


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## lieperjp (Aug 10, 2008)

If you REALLY want to keep those blacks dark... there's always dry cleaning!!! But if you don't want to spend $6.00 just to wash a pair of pants, hand wash your jeans in COLD water with as little soap as possible. Air dry is preferred, but at least allow time to get most of the water out before you put them in your dryer. 

Do not try Dryell or any other home-based dry cleaning agents... they really are not cleaners, more so they are just "fresheners" that make your clothes smell nice...

This is what we recommended at the Dry Cleaners I worked at for several years... It's worked for me on my black dress pants.


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## Van (Aug 10, 2008)

Do not bleach them! I've always found that bleaching my blacks destroys their effectiveness.


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## Wolf (Aug 10, 2008)

Footer4321 said:


> You could re-die them. Rit black dye and Rit navy blue dye together will get you to a convincing black. Colors fade, its just what happens. Try a better detergent or something like that.



why use a blue and a black dye combined, why not just the black dye?


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## derekleffew (Aug 11, 2008)

Nik-
Some Tips 'n' Trixx I've used/use:
1) Cold Water only (duh) and all blacks in the same load (duh).
2) Minimal amount of detergent.
3) Close all zippers and button all buttons to prevent abrasion. Before laundering, turn all garments inside out, until they come out of the dryer.
4) Washing new black jeans with older blacks is just as effective as using dye.
5) Front loading washers are gentler than top loaders with an agitator.
6) Develop a "Black Wardrobe Hierarchy." Newest blacks are for show run only. Console operating clothes are nicer than deck crew clothes. As articles age, they get demoted, the lowest rung being for scene painting.
7) When working with electricity, your garments DO meet/exceed the NFPA 70E guidelines, correct?


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## Footer (Aug 11, 2008)

Wolf said:


> why use a blue and a black dye combined, why not just the black dye?



Its an odd thing, you actually get a truer black with 3-4 parts black to 1 part navy blue. Its just how rit dye is. This I learned from my prop master in college, and she dyed a lot of stuff, so I just took it as truth. Done it myself a few times to dye muslin black and its the only way to get something really black. However, dying things that are white black is not the most fun thing in the world.


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## derekleffew (Aug 11, 2008)

Footer4321 said:


> It's an odd thing, you actually get a truer black with 3-4 parts black to 1 part navy blue.


 In the olden days, Prussian Blue or Pthalo Green were often added to Black dry pigment to achieve a darker black, right Van? Char5lie?


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## Van (Aug 11, 2008)

derekleffew said:


> In the olden days, Prussian Blue or Pthalo Green were often added to Black dry pigment to achieve a darker black, right Van? Char5lie?


 
'Tis true! I always choose black paints that have a bit of blue in them when I need a perceived dark black color. Oddly enough If you deck bleach on a piar of black 501's the bleached area turns a redish color before it goes to a light brown , then your wife yells at you.


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## mixmaster (Aug 12, 2008)

Nikgwolf said:


> I was humorously considering putting a few sharpies in the washer...
> Nik



Been there, done that, sharpies left in shirt pockets explode in dryers, the wife explodes in laundry room, and I get one heck of a mess to clean up.

As a practical matter, I'm yet to be able to find anything that works well after repeated washing. I think Cheer makes a bottle of stuff that my wife swears keeps clothes looking dark but I've never paid that much attention. I just do my laundry with whatever the wife has on the top shelf and use the faded stuff for paint clothes.


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## cdub260 (Aug 12, 2008)

lieperjp said:


> If you REALLY want to keep those blacks dark... there's always dry cleaning!!! But if you don't want to spend $6.00 just to wash a pair of pants, hand wash your jeans in COLD water with as little soap as possible. Air dry is preferred, but at least allow time to get most of the water out before you put them in your dryer.
> 
> Do not try Dryell or any other home-based dry cleaning agents... they really are not cleaners, more so they are just "fresheners" that make your clothes smell nice...
> 
> This is what we recommended at the Dry Cleaners I worked at for several years... It's worked for me on my black dress pants.



If you're going to air dry them, turn them inside out. I had to hang my clothes to dry on a clothesline for years, turning them inside out really helped to slow the fading process.


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## Nikgwolf (Aug 14, 2008)

Thanks for everyone's advice....but seriously, nobody's tried throwing a few Sharpies into the wash?

Nik


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## erosing (Aug 14, 2008)

i don't know about them keeping your blacks from fading, but they will keep your washer/dryer spackled black/purple.


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## Kelite (Aug 14, 2008)

The agitation in the washer (kinda unavoidable) and in the dryer (very avoidable) certainly fade jeans quicker than most other factors (not including bleach). I would strongly suggest the inside-out approach followed by line drying. In an effort to keep our energy needs low, my family has gone with line drying all clothing. The clothing lasts a LONG time when this avenue is followed...

Not sure about Sharpies, but what about throwing a few chocolate dipped doughnuts in with the wash?


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## Serendipity (Aug 14, 2008)

Kelite said:


> Not sure about Sharpies, but what about throwing a few chocolate dipped doughnuts in with the wash?



Bad choice! 











(On the actual topic, make sure you only wash blacks with blacks. My dad tried to be helpful and put one of my work shirts in with a white shirt and it attracted white fuzz that's still not completely gone, not to mention really mucking up the white shirt. Sigh.)


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## Van (Aug 14, 2008)

Serendipity said:


> Bad choice! ......


 
Keiths just trying to sell new Apollo stuff. I don't know what they were thinking when they came up with the "Chocolate Dipped Doughnut" but let me tell you I've tried them. They are very messy, the chocolate runs all over the lens and patrons complain when the hot chocolate drips all over thier nice clothes. All in all a bad product.


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## derekleffew (Aug 14, 2008)

City Theatrical has solved the issues you've experienced, Van. Theirs is candy-coated, so it melts in your mouth, not in the fixture.
http://smiliesftw.com/x/cookie.gif


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## Serendipity (Aug 14, 2008)

derekleffew said:


> City Theatrical has solved the issues you've experienced, Van. Theirs is candy-coated, so it melts in your mouth, not in the fixture.
> http://smiliesftw.com/x/cookie.gif



Thanks for the tip, Derek! I'll spec them on my next show for sure.

However, I was wondering if we had any jelly-filled donuts, so that way you could essentially have a delicious tasting gel inside of your donut?


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## Van (Aug 14, 2008)

Serendipity said:


> Thanks for the tip, Derek! I'll spec them on my next show for sure.
> 
> However, I was wondering if we had any jelly-filled donuts, so that way you could essentially have a delicious tasting gel inside of your donut?


 So it would act as a doughnut and a gel at the same time ! Brilliant ! Think of the money it'll save! 

What do you think a R04 "gelly doughnut" would taste like ?


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## LightStud (Aug 14, 2008)

A yeast infection?


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## Serendipity (Aug 14, 2008)

Van said:


> So it would act as a doughnut and a gel at the same time ! Brilliant ! Think of the money it'll save!
> 
> What do you think a R04 "gelly doughnut" would taste like ?



Uh, R04? Don't think that'd taste half as good as R42 Raspberry-flavored one.

"Gelly" huh? Excellent.


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## cdub260 (Aug 14, 2008)

Nikgwolf said:


> Thanks for everyone's advice....but seriously, nobody's tried throwing a few Sharpies into the wash?
> 
> Nik



What? And ruin a perfectly good sharpie? Never! Well, at least not on purpose.

I've put sharpies through the wash which I'd left in my pants pocket. The only result was a ruined sharpie.


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## Nikgwolf (Aug 15, 2008)

Aww shucks. So much for the sharpie idea. Anyhoo, I remember seeing a comercial for detergent a few years ago that was designed for black clothes only. I assume that it included some black dye. Do they still sell such a thing? Has anyone used it?

Nik


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## Radiant (Aug 16, 2008)

Xerox/Copier toner does _not _work, just so you know.


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## lieperjp (Aug 19, 2008)

Nikgwolf said:


> Aww shucks. So much for the sharpie idea. Anyhoo, I remember seeing a comercial for detergent a few years ago that was designed for black clothes only. I assume that it included some black dye. Do they still sell such a thing? Has anyone used it?
> 
> Nik



Ha... My friend just let a black mini sharpie slip into the wash. After the washing machine the clothes looked fine, but it was in the dryer where the marker exploded. It took him about half an hour to clean out the dryer with one of those Mr. Clean Magic Erasers and about 20 minutes on each piece of clothing (most of his shirts were in the wash) to get the stains out with a combination of Tide-2-Go, Oxi-Clean Pen, and Shout.

But that's not so bad. When I worked at the Dry Cleaners, each and every pocket needed to be checked because dry cleaning solvent melts plastic, so if a pen slipped in - 20 very expensive pairs of pants ruined.

You can pick up clothing dye at your local Wal-Mart and Target, look in the aisle where the Fabric Softener and detergents are. Or try a local Craft store.


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## cdub260 (Aug 19, 2008)

lieperjp said:


> Ha... My friend just let a black mini sharpie slip into the wash. After the washing machine the clothes looked fine, but it was in the dryer where the marker exploded. It took him about half an hour to clean out the dryer with one of those Mr. Clean Magic Erasers and about 20 minutes on each piece of clothing (most of his shirts were in the wash) to get the stains out with a combination of Tide-2-Go, Oxi-Clean Pen, and Shout.



So basically, what you're saying is I was lucky the sharpie fell out of my pocket in the washer and never made the trip to the dryer. Is that about right?


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## icewolf08 (Aug 26, 2008)

You know you are a techie when: your laundry sorting consists of a load of blacks and a load of everything else.

Seriously, the best thing to do is wash blacks with only blacks. Also, I know that Woolite makes a detergent specifically for blacks, and I am sure there must be others.


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## howlingwolf487 (Aug 26, 2008)

I wash my blacks with Woolite...or whatever they make that is specifically for really dark colors. As far as I can tell, it works fine. I'm back at college now, so I will find out if it still works well.


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## philhaney (Aug 27, 2008)

Wolf said:


> why use a blue and a black dye combined, why not just the black dye?




Footer4321 said:


> Its an odd thing, you actually get a truer black with 3-4 parts black to 1 part navy blue. Its just how rit dye is. This I learned from my prop master in college, and she dyed a lot of stuff, so I just took it as truth. Done it myself a few times to dye muslin black and its the only way to get something really black. However, dying things that are white black is not the most fun thing in the world.




Van said:


> 'Tis true! I always choose black paints that have a bit of blue in them when I need a perceived dark black color. Oddly enough If you deck bleach on a piar of black 501's the bleached area turns a redish color before it goes to a light brown , then your wife yells at you.



When making blacks (curtains) they get them black by super-saturating the fabric with blue or red dye. You can tell which method was used by looking at your curtains as they fade. They will either turn an odd shade of pink or blue. 

I would imagine they used red dye on your 501 jeans.

As far as keeping your blacks (clothes) black:

- Wash them with other blacks ONLY in cold water.

- Line dry them, or dry them on the lowest heat setting possible.


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## Serendipity (Aug 30, 2008)

icewolf08 said:


> You know you are a techie when: your laundry sorting consists of a load of blacks and a load of everything else.


And you do black loads twice as often!


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## achstechdirector (Dec 24, 2008)

i usually wear the tru spec army cargo pants when im working and i had to dye them about 6 days ago. surprisingly good results but after just wearing them to two productions they have started fading again. i really am just considering stocking up on rit dyes. Does it hurt pants to dye them?


Sorry didn't realize the thread was so old. At the theatre, they call me the god of tech so i guess i could use my godly tech powers to revive it .

hakuna matata it is revived


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## Sayen (Jan 4, 2009)

It shouldn't hurt the pants, at least not during the normal lifetime, but be careful with dyes. Some of them are very toxic, especially right against your skin in clothes you are wearing for long hours and likely sweating in. I would strongly recommend reading up on the dye you're using, both the legalise on the package and some quick research online.


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