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[FEF]

Well, kinda bummed.  Once the flak vest dried, elements of the camo pattern were still visible.  It's been resisting in the dye bath for going on 36+ hours, so maybe round two will turn out better. 

Otherwise, it's onto plan B.

Would upholstery paint work.  I have a cotton-ish belt that I'm working on and it looks like upholstery paint is the next attempt.  All the dyes (leather, cloth, ect) I've tried didn't make it black.


It's a thought, I suppose.

[ConDar Ward]

How much shows with the Armor on ?   

[Vraeden]

If the camo pattern still shows through the dye, you might try dyeing it again, or you could soak it in bleach for a couple of days and then try dyeing it again (and possibly a second time).

[Darth_Vemon]

I let it re-soak in the bath again, for like two full days.  While it was still wet and drip drying, I sprayed it down with mineral spirits and fabric paint.  It's still hanging in the garage, I'll check on it in the morning, see the results.

I don't have armor yet, so I don't know how much shows through.  It was very faint, but still noticeable. 

FEF, paint is difficult to get to penetrate the fibers.  RIT dye is why I used, with salt and vinegar mixed in with a few gallons of hot water.  Knowing the material you're trying to dye is critical.

If you're going to use any sort of paint, make sure the fibers are wet with some sort of thinner, like a light mineral spirits before applying the paint.  Synthetic fibers are much less porous and are difficult to get to accept pigments, regardless of how they're applied.  Which is likely why my vest is taking multiple applications of various pigments.


UPDATE: Didn't take a pic, but the result of the second dye bath and fabric paint wash was successful.  The interior of the vest still shows the camouflage pattern, but it won't be visible when I'm wearing it, so I'm not going to sweat it. 

Armor plates should be here next week, so those will get fit at the armor party.  The rest of my soft parts are done, so this one can just about be put to bed.  I'll gear up for a full soft parts pic and post that later.

[Darth_Vemon]

Hope 9 days doesn't count as a double post.  If so, I apologize.

So after some advice from my Ruus'alor at the clan armor party, I'm going to have to do something about the vest. 

The camo still peeks through, and the fabric paint is flaking off, so I'm going to attempt the make a shroud to cover it completely.  I'm going to end up changing the vest color from its current black to a dark tan.  I've got some tan on my weathering, and my kit is all earth tones, so it should be fine. 

I'm repurposing an old window curtain I found in a box down in the basement.  Hopefully some fabric glue and some cleverly placed rivets will be enough.  Otherwise, I'm back to square one on my vest, and will hit up the craft store for some duck cloth when I have some extra cash.

[Havelock]

Nine days is definitely not a double-post, so no worries.  I hope your plan B for your flak vest works out, vod.

[Darth_Vemon]

It looks white, but it's a beige color.  Still needs some weathering, but it covers the vest.



The collar needs a bit of attention, and I need to run some fabric glue or tape along the inside seam to prevent it from fraying further.  But this should hopefully work.

When my plates are ready, I'll get the Velcro panels placed and permanently fixed.  But I'm happy with it so far, just need the go ahead from Mi'ix.

Also weathered my girth belt, loin cloth and gloves.  My flight suit should be G2G, so once I put some small touches on the vest, my softies are done.

[Mi'ix]

We'll take a look at an upcoming armor party. 

So far, the only thing that pops out to me is that the rivets/tacks will need to be painted to be the same color as the vest.  Otherwise, looks like it came out pretty good!

[Darth_Vemon]

I can take care of that when I do the weathering.  It's gonna be dirty.  Gotta make the Alor'ad proud.

[Darth_Vemon]

Painted the rivets, pretty darn close in color.  It'll be further blended with future weathering.





If that still won't pass, I have some leftover fabric with which I can cover the rivets.

[Taakur Beroya]

Were did you get the spats vod?

[Darth_Vemon]

http://www.keepshooting.com/swiss-black-leather-gaiters.html

[Taakur Beroya]

thanks vod, I'm shocked at how cheap they are, I was expecting upwards of $30. Great looking kit so far Venom.

[Darth_Vemon]

For $15 shipped, I couldn't find a better deal.  They're heavy, thick leather, and extremely durable.  Mine are dated 1965! 

Can't wait to start on armor.  My kit looks naked without it.

[Darth_Vemon]

So I picked up a matching set of Dickie's work wear, matching color and material. 

My flak vest is a similar color, so I threw it all on and took a quick pic.

The long under sleeves may or may not be changed, haven't decided yet.  It's kind of an ochre brownish orange color.

Opinions?  I think once I get some plates on the vest, it'll break up the monochromatic appearance, since my plates will be black and green.

Boots and gloves will still be black, and gauntlets are blacks and brown.

The desert brown sash will look better with an ammo belt, I have it on there to help give it a single piece look, covering the waist band of the trousers.



The vest is slightly lighter in color than the flight suit.

I still have my OD green coveralls if this doesn't look right.

And I need some ideas on how to adjust the shoulders on the vest so I don't look like an early 90's business woman, as Mi'ix so eloquently put it.

[Ref Al'drann]

The shoulders on the vest are lifting way up past your actual shoulders. How did you construct the vest? Is it padded?

[Darth_Vemon]

It's a military surplus flak vest.  I put a fabric cover over it because I couldn't dye out the camo.  It's not padded, that's just the way it's designed.  There are other pics on page 1, and you can see it's evolution throughout the thread. 

I know it sticks way up.  Collar and shoulder plates may alleviate that, but I'd rather figure out a way to pull them down before plates get installed.

[Ref Al'drann]

Oh, right! There's a way you could adjust the shoulders, but it would involve cutting them, altering the shape and re-sewing them.

[Mi'ix]

Ref knows what's up.

I agree the shoulders of the vest will have to be better contoured to you.  Even when we put some plates on the vest, I don't think it would weigh it down to an acceptable level for the app team. 

I imagine Ref's suggestion will be along the lines of cutting some excess material out and sewing together the remaining ends, but I'm no soft part master.

[Raestin Ke'Varek]

That's pretty much it.  Just split it at the seam, then start overlapping the outside edge of the shoulder until it sits flush, then sew it together. 

[Darth_Vemon]

There isn't a seam to split inside.  There is a zipper that runs through the entire perimeter of the vest interior.  Basically the vest is one big pocket for Kevlar panels.  It was designed for function, not fashion. 



I'm terrible with alterations, but this involves a whole new set of challenges.


Mi'ix, I'll bring it to JAFAX since I can't make it to the east side AP this weekend. 
I don't know if we're doing a west side AP this month, I know it was mentioned, but if nothing else, we can get a gameplan for what to do with it at JAFAX and I can take it from there.

Maybe we can enlist Aria and her sewing skills. 

[Raestin Ke'Varek]

So, the shoulder doesn't have a seam like the one I added in the picture??

[Darth_Vemon]

Unfortunately, no. 



Here is a shot underneath the zipper.  No seam.  And there's no seam on the beige cover I made for it.

[Hkfourty7]

Can I use EVA foam for the flak jacket? Armor is 1/4"  pvc is too heavy for cloth flak jacket, looks like poo! Tried backing cloth with EVA, looked ok, the EVA looked best as a flak jacket, has a nice weave look to it.

[Darth_Vemon]

Can I use EVA foam for the flak jacket? Armor is 1/4"  pvc is too heavy for cloth flak jacket, looks like poo! Tried backing cloth with EVA, looked ok, the EVA looked best as a flak jacket, has a nice weave look to it.

Seems like this would be a question for your own thread.  No offense, but this does not pertain to anything in my WIP thread.