Correcting acid-bleached areas on an acetate/cotton/nylon blend coat

Name: Susan

—ADVERTISEMENTS—

Dye polyester and poly/cotton blends

Country or region: USA

Message: I have a coat that is a blend of acetate, cotton and nylon and the lining is 100 acetate. Bad story, my son became car sick and my coat was next to him. By the time we got home (we were out of town) the acid discolored my coat. it is not wearable now. Is there a dye I can use on this blend? the texture of the coat is plushy (if this is a word) and wavy.

Is the coat washable, or is it labeled "dry clean only"? My experience with "dry clean only" acetate-lined clothing is that, when washed, the cotton exterior shrinks, while the acetate lining does not. As a result, the lining hangs down below the outer garment, and the way the sleeves lie becomes distorted. A skirt may become wearable again by cutting out the lining, if shrinkage has not left it too short, but it's hard to see that as being possible for a long-sleeved coat.

Step one is to wash the coat well. Anything you do with this coat must start with a thorough washing to remove not only any remaining traces of acid, but also any sort of dirt that might interfere with dyeing. Even the most thorough dry-cleaning is not sufficient, if you're going to do any dyeing, because dyeing in itself involves the same problems as washing, and the excess unattached dyes must always be washed out after application. Since washing is inevitable, you may as well find out up front whether or not it will destroy the coat.

After you have washed the coat, evaluate how well it survived. If it is still wearable, then you can go ahead and dye it. However, it is very difficult to dye over a discoloration like the one you describe. All dye is transparent, so the original bleached-out area will usually remain visible after dyeing, unless you use a multi-colored dye technique to cover up the variation. Take a look at my page, "How can I fix the bleach spots on my favorite clothing?". Try a permanent fabric marker to color in the bleached spots.

I would recommend that you try to remove the remaining dye in the coat, insofar as possible, before you dye it. Do not use chlorine bleach (common household bleach, which is based on sodium hypochlorite), because bleach destroys nylon. As a general rule, you should never use hypochlorite bleach on synthetic fibers. Instead of bleach, use a sulfur-based color remover, such as Rit Color Remover. You can find other suitable brand names of dye removers on my page, "What chemicals can be used to remove dye?". The easiest way to use color remover is in the washing machine, using the hottest water available; you may need two packets of color remover, depending on the size of your washer. Color removers are more effective when used at higher temperatures, so, if the washing machine method does not work, the stovetop method may; however, it's hard to find a non-aluminum pot large enough to heat a coat in on your stovetop.

If color remover doesn't work, perhaps it would make sense to use an acid to try to remove the color on the unaffected portions of the coat, since the problem was caused by the sensitivity of the dye in the coat to acid. Try washing it with hot water, along with a quart of distilled white vinegar. This might work well, or might not not at all, but it's probably worth a try.

After you've removed as much of the existing color in the coat as possible, then you can dye it. There are two choices for how to dye it. Probably your best choice would be to use an all-purpose dye, such as Rit dye, but only if you can find the old formula, not the new one; their recent change in formula means that new boxes cannot dye acetate, though they can dye cotton and nylon, while the old packages can dye acetate in addition to cotton and nylon. I don't usually like to recommend all-purpose dye, because it is poorly washfast, and the boxes or bottles of all purpose dye contain large quantities of detergent and salt, and only a tiny amount of dye, so they're more expensive than other dyes, but for a blend like your coat's, it's probably a good thing to try. Be sure to weigh your coat when it is still dry, so that you can judge how many packets of dye you will need to buy. A coat might weigh five pounds, while a single box of Rit dye will color only half a pound of cotton fabric to a bright or dark color, though it will color nylon a darker color with the same amount of dye, and less dye is required for paler shades.

Finding the old formula of Rit dye, the one that works on acetate, can be difficult, but it is not yet impossible (as of late October 2011). In my local Joann's fabric store, half of the boxed colors are from the old formula, and half from the new, but all of the bottled liquid dyes are from the new formula. If you order directly from the Rit dye company (Phoenix brands), you can request the old formula, which is still available in some colors but not in others. If you open a box of Rit dye and look at the paper packet inside, or look at the cap of a bottle of liquid Rit dye, you can see a color number; if the letters "ND" appear, then it is the new formula. Since the boxes are not sealed, it is possible to non-desctructively open the boxes in your local store to check for this.

Your other choice would be to use a combination of Jacquard's iDye, which is a direct dye that works on natural fibers such as cotton, with Jacquard's iDye Poly, which is a disperse that works on synthetic fibers such as acetate and nylon. The difficulty here is that iDye Poly gives rather pale colors on acetate unless you boil the fabric in the dye. Finding a cooking pot large enough to boil a coat in is a difficult problem, as, for solid colors, the pot must be large enough to allow the garment to move freely. I think it would cost less to buy a new coat than to buy a suitable huge dyeing pot.

If your coat is mostly cotton and nylon, then even the new formula of Rit all-purpose dye should be adequate. You can then use it in the washing machine, using the hottest water possible, so it's not necessary to invest in a dyeing pot. The acetate will stay its original color. This may not be a problem for the lining; it will be a problem for the outer portion of the coat, with its cotton/nylon/acetate blend, only if there is a large proportion of acetate. A small amount of acetate, such as 10% acetate, won't be a problem even if it remains completely undyed, assuming you've been able to remove enough of the original dye, but 50% acetate will make a huge difference and doom the project.

Covering the acid-belached stains with a permanent fabric marker may turn out to be your best bet, if you can find one in just the right color.

(Please help support this web site. Thank you.)

Posted: Saturday - October 29, 2011 at 01:53 PM

Follow this blog on twitter here.
Tweet

getBlogName(); > getCategoryName("<$EntryCategoryFolder$>"); >

Correcting acid-bleached areas on an acetate/cotton/nylon blend coat

> >