I dyed some ACU to test

[TAB]

I have some ACU camo nylon pouches, and I think it works great on the eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains where there is lots of grey granite rock and light dirt. Although, I am currently no where near those mountains, and ACU does not blend in well in the Redwood Forest. So, I have purchased some Dharma Acid Dyes (for use on wool, silk, protein fibers, and nylon). It was easy to use: just mix some dye with water, add fabric, heat to just before boiling, add some vinegar, and stir occasionally. The directions say to let the fabric soak for about 30 minutes. I kept the fabric in the solution for about 15 minutes, so my results might have been darker.
I tried three colors, from left to right: soft tan, pistachio, and olive-brown.



I think I will mix the soft tan and pistachio and see what I get, and also both separately again but immersed for the stated 30 minutes to try for darker results. I like the both of them more than the olive-brown, which would have been great for my suburbia night missions (reminiscing on teen years) years ago.

I know many of you cringe at the mention of ACU, so I just thought I'd share.

[SteinUlf]

I personally loathe ACU pattern. However, I think you may have just found a way to make it workable. One of my favorite tricks to find people in the woods when I was still doing airsoft was not to look for people, per se, but to look for patterns. In Vermont, Marpat and Woodland BDU work pretty well. Cadpat isn't bad, Flektarn is okay, Tigerstrip sucks and ACU just screams shoot my ass.

If you try tie-dying that ACU with the tan and pistachio, you'll probably get a really good green/brown digital mix.

[6UNF1GHTER]

I don't cringe at the ACU camo itself, I think it is a good idea that was poorly executed in the end. From my armchair though, I do cringe at the thought of our countrymen using it in the current theaters, where it seems less than optimum.

Props for experimenting, and for sharing.
Methinks all three of them look damn good, and all would be useable in many AO's.
Looking forward to more on the topic!

[sworbeyegib]

I had a good friend about to do something very similar. Im going to pass this on to him.

[xxxDarksidexxx]

nice test!

i like both the tan, and pistachio, and woud love to see how they look mixed. i do like them on their own though. i really dont care for that pattern either. i have a boonie hat in ACU and i never wear it. i will probably dye it as well as the patter is ok when dyed.

your colors look great and cant wait to see more.

[Necrodamus]

I like ACU, Im not saying that it doesnt suck as a camo pattern, Im just saying I like it!
I love these dying threads though! Cool to see what you've done with it!
I might have to follow you on this one, once I see what you end up with.

[Frank]

quick question..why not just spray paint?

[Crimson Phoenix]

I'd wager probably to maintain the overall digital pattern but alter the colors instead of covering it all up, even if it's just in swatches.

[Frank]

I'd wager probably to maintain the overall digital pattern but alter the colors instead of covering it all up, even if it's just in swatches.

i thought the whole point was to cover up the ACU..i mean..who would want it?

[Thorne]

I personally loathe ACU pattern.

Are you guys talking about the cut of the Army Combat Uniform? Don't like the pockets or something

The US is now issuing OCP ACU's to deploying troops (Operation Enduring Freedom Pattern = Multicam).

This particular Camo pattern is called UCP.

Officially Universal Camo Pattern... IMO Ugly Camo Pattern.

I've got some UCP broad cloth that I was going to try tie-dying. My plan is using a blend of RIT Dark Brown + Lemon Yellow (comes out coyote like) to add some vertical brown streaks and a blend of Dark Green + Lemon Yellow for some diagonal patterning.

[SteinUlf]

I personally loathe ACU pattern.

Are you talking about the cut of the uniform? The Camo pattern is called UCP.

Officially Universal Camo Pattern... IMO Ugly Camo Pattern.

Point. UCP, but most people don't seem to know that, so saying ACU Uniform and ACU Pattern tends to be easier. I hate UCP. ACU is okay, but I still have a personal preference for BDUs. Gimme a BDU with ACU shoulder pockets and I'm a happy man. Or the Marine Uniform, that works too.

[Thorne]

I personally loathe ACU pattern.

Are you talking about the cut of the uniform? The Camo pattern is called UCP.

Officially Universal Camo Pattern... IMO Ugly Camo Pattern.

Point. UCP, but most people don't seem to know that, so saying ACU Uniform and ACU Pattern tends to be easier. I hate UCP. ACU is okay, but I still have a personal preference for BDUs. Gimme a BDU with ACU shoulder pockets and I'm a happy man. Or the Marine Uniform, that works too.

sigh..

This bugs me the same way 'clips' instead of 'magazines' bugs others.

Don't perpetuate the ignorance.

Educate People

[SteinUlf]

I personally loathe ACU pattern.

Are you talking about the cut of the uniform? The Camo pattern is called UCP.

Officially Universal Camo Pattern... IMO Ugly Camo Pattern.

Point. UCP, but most people don't seem to know that, so saying ACU Uniform and ACU Pattern tends to be easier. I hate UCP. ACU is okay, but I still have a personal preference for BDUs. Gimme a BDU with ACU shoulder pockets and I'm a happy man. Or the Marine Uniform, that works too.

sigh..

This bugs me the same way 'clips' instead of 'magazines' bugs others.

Don't perpetuate the ignorance.

Educate People

Normally I would, and I know what you mean about clips and magazines, but it tends to go poorly when I, a civilian, speak about UCP and a soldier asks what that is, only to reply "No, its ACU." And trying to say to a soldier "Sorry, but I the civilian know more about your gear than you do" just doesn't strike me as a bright thing to do.

[Badger24]

How would you go about dyeing the ACU uniform to make that marpat color?

[TAB]

Here are more tests, all at 30 minutes: .5 soft tan + .5 pistachio overlapping the two original pieces; soft tan; pistachio; and .25 soft tan + .75 pistachio turned out blue. The extra time did darken the pieces but only barely (not showing well in pic); the soft tan looks a bit darker because it is still damp.



I also checked with a 380 nanometer UV LED to see if the dye had made the fabric luminous, but it in fact removed the luminosity from the back of the UCP (thanks for correcting me, Thorne) cordura.

I had chosen not to paint the fabric because I did want to preserve the pattern but alter the color, and also to avoid flaking and UV luminosity (if any). If I decide I am not completely satisfied with the dye, what kind of paint do you recommend?

[SteinUlf]

Where did you get these dyes? I'm thinking of testing this for use around my home area.

[TAB]

Where did you get these dyes? I'm thinking of testing this for use around my home area.

http://www.dharmatrading.com/

[6UNF1GHTER]

The progress is looking good so far man!
Judging from the pics, (and my old eyes) the hues of Soft Tan and Pistachio look close to those used in Woodland MARPAT- minus the black.

:
UV is pretty much what many know as a "black light" (I'm sure we've all had one or seen one)
NIR ~ (near infra-red reflectance) is the thing to be concerned with, if zombies have really good NVG's... could it be spotted?
I'm not sure if you have the means to test NIR/IR but it would be a good thing for all of us on this path (of dyeing gear) to keep in mind.

Gunfighter-

[Thorne]

Normally I would, and I know what you mean about clips and magazines, but it tends to go poorly when I, a civilian, speak about UCP and a soldier asks what that is, only to reply "No, its ACU." And trying to say to a soldier "Sorry, but I the civilian know more about your gear than you do" just doesn't strike me as a bright thing to do.

Hopefully with the new OCP ACU the # of ppl who make that mistake will drop. Sadly there is such a case of acronymitus is the armed forces you almost can't blame them for confusing the two.

Of course UCP-D ACU's (UCP + Coyote over print) have been around for a while and still the confusion exists.

I used the Rit colour picker to decide on my shades, several of teh recipes are the same so YMMV

http://www.ritdye.com/ColoRit_Color_For ... e.96.lasso

When I get the opportunity I'll add my attempts to 'beautify' the UCP, Looking at your results TAB I'm really charged to see what I can do.

[SteinUlf]

Hopefully with the new OCP ACU the # of ppl who make that mistake will drop.

Now why can't the military just call it Multicam like everyone else? No, they make it more confusing by calling a well known pattern by a new acronym.

I used to make fun of a friend of mine for talking in acronyms until I started working for the Government and doing it too.

[Thorne]

I used to make fun of a friend of mine for talking in acronyms until I started working for the Government and doing it too.

I'm in IT.. and have used 'TLA' in a sentence (Three Letter Acronym)

I understand your pain