Tony Dymock of Cairnlea, Australia, near the city of Melbourne, contacted Real Deal Brazil customer service not long ago wanting tips on dyeing his new hat. Tony had bought both a RDB hat and a bag, but wasn't as crazy about the lighter-colored tarp on the hat. After several back-and-forths with us, Tony took the plunge. He was kind enough to then send us back his own steps in applying the dye. Since we get periodic requests for info on this very subject, we offer Tony's own insight here.
His notes to us always begin "G'day." We love that.
Tony writes:
"The dyeing worked well! I don’t know what you guys have in the States, but I bought a packet of Dark Brown Dylon dye from a fabric store here. Basic procedure is:
1 - Wash the hat and leave it damp.
2 – Dissolve the 50g satchel of dye in 6L of hot water with 250g of salt. Stir until all the grittiness is gone in the bottom. Best to use a stainless steel sink for this!
3 – Submerge the hat, making sure to get the dye in all the cracks. Stir the dye for 10 minutes continuously. After that flip the hat over every 10 minutes and give it another stir, repeat until an hour has passed in total.
4 – After an hour pull the hat out, drain the dye from the sink and run cold water over and through the hat until the water comes out clear. Won’t take very long because the canvas sucks the dye up and won’t let it run!
5 – Put the hat somewhere out of direct sun and heat and let it dry. During this stage you can mould the peak as well and it’ll stay that way once it dries. Because the hat was a bit big on me I put the front peak in by squeezing the sides. Now the hat fits perfectly!
6 – After 24 hours, the hat should be dry and you can wear it!
7 – Step back and admire the sexy darkness.
Just for comparison, I’ve attached a pic of the hat resting on top of the bag. The hat was the same colour as the bag when it arrived in Australia. Any cotton dye should do the trick.
Not bad for a straight guy who’s never dyed anything before I reckon."
Not bad, indeed. To quote Tony himself, just check out that sexy darkness!
G'day guys! Actually surprised I found this blog, it came up when I google'd my own name =] You'll be happy to know the hat is still revelling in the sexy darkness and kicking strong. Haven't tried wearing it while riding around inside a 'roo yet so I'll let you know how that goes! Cheers!
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