Post by Ray (Flock Man) on Mar 4, 2010 1:55:24 GMT -5
I was trolling around the net and found this post. It doesn’t really matter what site, but to me it is valid enough to comment on because some assume the wrong idea.
THE POST!
Note, I'm not insulted by this, but I do want to clear a few things up.
First off- this is not for everyone. It’s not meant to be the quick fix- buy it and you’re done!
This is not meant to take people away from pro- Re-Flockers! I do have to say that color is everything and with every batch I try to beat the last batch. We all know just by looking at a picture “who” has done any given re-flock (mine included) My goal is to get to the point where you see it, but you can’t say for sure it’s a re-flock. This may be impossible since you can put 5 vintage heads together and see shade differences between most or all of them. Hasbro was not big on the quality control back in the day- and not even now on many things.
This has a learning curve! You will fail- maybe once or many times, but you will quickly see the possibilities and potential of it if you do try it for yourself.
The money made by me goes right back into the project- maybe I get a large black coffee here and there, but for the most part the sales pay for the flock to be sold.
Anything worthwhile takes effort. Put the time in and you’ll be happy. Many are.
Know- that I am working on a tutorial to show everyone how to Dye, Treat, and mix 2mm nylon flock fiber. I am just waiting for and order of plain flock fiber to come in because I know that no one is going to spend the money to cut their own (something that I see now as a big- expensive mistake on my part, but one thing leads to another and I did it)
I plan on showing others how to buy the right size flock in either neutral or white colors that can be dyed, treated (for electro-static), and mixed into vintage colors. This may or may not hurt sales- either way it’s fine with me.
It’s not a windfall business by any means- so it’s not about the money (though my wife would disagree when looking at how far in the red the month end totals go…lol!)
The trouble with teaching others this- comes from suppliers. Some suppliers are hobbyist friendly - Nyatex, Acteo, Claremont, Van Dyke, etc.- and others are not. Some suppliers will cut you a break with samples and others will not talk to you unless you apply for a $10,000+ credit line first.
Bottom line is- if you’re a collector who wants to try this?
A re-flocker who wants know some color tips?
Or both and you want to do all of this yourself?
I will try and help you if I can. I will not go broke doing it, but as much as I can I will try and help you out. Anyone that knows me or has dealt with me knows this.
Things you will need! IF this seems like something you want to try, then start getting the supplies. Odd thing is, I live in a Textile based city, but most times, I have to go elsewhere for supplies that originally come from my city. You may be lucky and your job has many of these things or similar that you can work with.
Hardest two things to get on the list are:
Flock Fiber( in the right size)
Floctan 3
THE LIST!
Buckets! 5 gallons are good with covers (around 10)
Water distiller (homemade or store bought) Tap water can cause issues.
PRESS
Spin dryer (homemade or store bought)
Good chemical resistant cloves
Large mixer (homemade or bought)
Cyclone dryer (homemade or bought)
Water filtration (for used water before disposal or reuse)
Dye (you could start with rit type dye, but there are better dyes out there)
Flock (.070-15 to .080-20) Nylon in white, natural, or light colors to be dyed darker.
Chemicals:
Aluminum Sulphate,
Low foam Non-IONIC surfactant,
Anionic surfactant,
cationic surfactant
dye fixative
Floctan 3 (tannic acid pure food grade & color stable),
acetic acid/ citric acid,
PH test strips,
ammonium Sulphate
Soda ash
Bags: 2 gallon, 1 gallon bags for storage
Relative humidity gauge
Hot plates,
Lrg stock pots (for dying that cannot be used for cooking ever again)
newspaper & rags
Garden fabric (this is the black cloth that you put down to stop weeds- it has to be the cloth type not plastic trash bag type)
Cooking thermometer.
Various strainers, sifters and or screens.
Each one of these items I will go into more detail on in the future!
Ray
THE POST!
…I saw that too on ebay and wondered if it was something I could do…
The way I see it is, he says, he is out to help collectors repair their heads, but I think it’s just to sell what he sells. That’s fine, but is it worth the money really? I send my heads out all the time and don’t mind paying for it. The colors are good enough. Seems like too much effort. Then again I’m not as handy as others. JMO. I see that he doesn’t show anyone how to make the hairs???
The way I see it is, he says, he is out to help collectors repair their heads, but I think it’s just to sell what he sells. That’s fine, but is it worth the money really? I send my heads out all the time and don’t mind paying for it. The colors are good enough. Seems like too much effort. Then again I’m not as handy as others. JMO. I see that he doesn’t show anyone how to make the hairs???
Note, I'm not insulted by this, but I do want to clear a few things up.
First off- this is not for everyone. It’s not meant to be the quick fix- buy it and you’re done!
This is not meant to take people away from pro- Re-Flockers! I do have to say that color is everything and with every batch I try to beat the last batch. We all know just by looking at a picture “who” has done any given re-flock (mine included) My goal is to get to the point where you see it, but you can’t say for sure it’s a re-flock. This may be impossible since you can put 5 vintage heads together and see shade differences between most or all of them. Hasbro was not big on the quality control back in the day- and not even now on many things.
This has a learning curve! You will fail- maybe once or many times, but you will quickly see the possibilities and potential of it if you do try it for yourself.
The money made by me goes right back into the project- maybe I get a large black coffee here and there, but for the most part the sales pay for the flock to be sold.
Anything worthwhile takes effort. Put the time in and you’ll be happy. Many are.
Know- that I am working on a tutorial to show everyone how to Dye, Treat, and mix 2mm nylon flock fiber. I am just waiting for and order of plain flock fiber to come in because I know that no one is going to spend the money to cut their own (something that I see now as a big- expensive mistake on my part, but one thing leads to another and I did it)
I plan on showing others how to buy the right size flock in either neutral or white colors that can be dyed, treated (for electro-static), and mixed into vintage colors. This may or may not hurt sales- either way it’s fine with me.
It’s not a windfall business by any means- so it’s not about the money (though my wife would disagree when looking at how far in the red the month end totals go…lol!)
The trouble with teaching others this- comes from suppliers. Some suppliers are hobbyist friendly - Nyatex, Acteo, Claremont, Van Dyke, etc.- and others are not. Some suppliers will cut you a break with samples and others will not talk to you unless you apply for a $10,000+ credit line first.
Bottom line is- if you’re a collector who wants to try this?
A re-flocker who wants know some color tips?
Or both and you want to do all of this yourself?
I will try and help you if I can. I will not go broke doing it, but as much as I can I will try and help you out. Anyone that knows me or has dealt with me knows this.
Things you will need! IF this seems like something you want to try, then start getting the supplies. Odd thing is, I live in a Textile based city, but most times, I have to go elsewhere for supplies that originally come from my city. You may be lucky and your job has many of these things or similar that you can work with.
Hardest two things to get on the list are:
Flock Fiber( in the right size)
Floctan 3
THE LIST!
Buckets! 5 gallons are good with covers (around 10)
Water distiller (homemade or store bought) Tap water can cause issues.
PRESS
Spin dryer (homemade or store bought)
Good chemical resistant cloves
Large mixer (homemade or bought)
Cyclone dryer (homemade or bought)
Water filtration (for used water before disposal or reuse)
Dye (you could start with rit type dye, but there are better dyes out there)
Flock (.070-15 to .080-20) Nylon in white, natural, or light colors to be dyed darker.
Chemicals:
Aluminum Sulphate,
Low foam Non-IONIC surfactant,
Anionic surfactant,
cationic surfactant
dye fixative
Floctan 3 (tannic acid pure food grade & color stable),
acetic acid/ citric acid,
PH test strips,
ammonium Sulphate
Soda ash
Bags: 2 gallon, 1 gallon bags for storage
Relative humidity gauge
Hot plates,
Lrg stock pots (for dying that cannot be used for cooking ever again)
newspaper & rags
Garden fabric (this is the black cloth that you put down to stop weeds- it has to be the cloth type not plastic trash bag type)
Cooking thermometer.
Various strainers, sifters and or screens.
Each one of these items I will go into more detail on in the future!
Ray
