Name: Jack
Message: I would like to know how to dye braided nylon rope. I want to use a black or (hot)pink color. Can I use a Rit dye from the store and boil the mix and put the rope in to soak? I am not able to find a good source for colored braided nylon rope so I thought I would try to color it myself. I noticed you cover a lot of other nylon fabrics but no mention of rope on your site that I could find. Your advice is very important. Thank you, Jack

Yes, you can use all-purpose dye, such as Rit brand dye, to dye nylon rope. One caution, however: are you using this rope for climbing purposes? Some aspect of the home dyeing process, such as its heat, might reduce the strength of the rope (I'm only guessing here), which could be a very serious matter for rock-climbing robe.

Heat and acid (vinegar) are required for nylon to dye as well as possible when using acid dye, which, for nylon, is the active component in the all-purpose dye mixture. A recipe for immersion dyeing dyeing nylon, which you should closely examine, provided by PRO Chemical & Dye for use with their products, suggests heating the dye bath to 205 degrees F (96 C). Note that if you were to use all-purpose dye with this recipe, you would need a much larger volume of dye to be added, since all-purpose dye includes other ingredients besides acid dye. If you have the few days necessary to wait for some mail-order dye to arrive in the mail, it would make sense to buy some of ProChem's Washfast Acid Dye or Kiton Acid Dye, instead of using all-purpose dye. They also have an excellent technical department which you can consult if you want truly authoritative answers to your questions.

Some novice dyers have boiled all-purpose dye in water and then let it cool before adding the item to be dyed. Note that using a cool dyebath on nylon is ineffective; you must actually heat the item to be dyed, in the hot dyebath, when using acid dye or all-purpose dye. In some cases you can compromise by heating the material to a lower temperature, for example 185 degrees F. (85 C.), in order to avoid damage to fiber, as, for example, in the case of silk dyeing.