Rit Dye PSU Cables

I'm going to be dying my psu cables as I like the way they look as opposed to sleeving.

I could always just try it on an old cable, or a crappy adapter I've got lying around, but I was wondering if anyone had tried it.

My biggest question is for my modular cables, can I just toss the entire thing into the pot? Or do I need to remove the cables from the connector and protect the pins? If the dye won't affect the pins ( oxidize or anything) then why waste the time protecting the pins.

Will the dye affect the metal pins, or will it just rinse off fine and be good to go? No point wasting time if I don't have to.

EDIT: I will update with pictures soon. I just tossed the cable in and said screw it. The metal connections look fine. Doesn't look like it affected the metal at all. LOOKS SWEET! Dipping it again just to make extra coated on the lighter colors. Works on the connectors too!

Now how to figure out how to do the cables that are connected to the power supply. Have to rig up something when I do my 750TX.

works for tubing for water cooling :)

http://www.overclockers.com/forums/s...t=dying+tubing

I don't think dying the pins is a good idea. Even if they won't oxidize you'll end up with a layer of dye between the contact points, adding resistance.

Interesting idea.

I can't take credit for it, I just wanted to try it.

Sorry for the crappy quality. No real light in here, don't have a photo area.

After -------------------------------------------Before

Before

After

The pins look exactly the same after as they did before I started. The dye only bonds to the plastics/vinyls. Some strategic black zip ties and I think it will work much better for me. This particular power supply has all cables sleeved, but a couple of my others do not, so that will help enormously with that.

I used the black bottle of RIT dye. $3.99. Should be enough to do a whole power supply. I boiled a pot of water. Added the water to a plastic lock'n'lock container. Eyeballed the amount of dye. Tossed cable in. Waited ~10 minutes, rinsed cable, and tossed it back in another 10. Could use another toss in but this was just my test. I will take apart my server and do the cables sometime along this next week or so when I get time, and post pics.

that came out really nice +rep for the idea, i would have bought black connectors instead.

Thanks. I can't take credit, as I've seen it done in a few places. I will leave you all with a teaser, as I couldn't resist doing the rest.

A pile of cables. Included are red and yellow sata cables. PSU molex / sata power. PCI-e power. 24pin / 4 pin/ 8 pin cables. The metal clamp is there until tomorrow when I can pick up some black zip ties and such.

All those cables were you're typical red/yellow/black ugly mix. I've got before pics of the htpc/file server's cable management, but I will post those tomorrow, as I am beat.

Wow.. those came out very nice.

Great work!

Looking forward to seeing them in the case.

Once again, sorry for the crappy pics. Two nights in a small apartment with some fluorescent lights and whatnot . . . :(. Didn't get it done in time for natural light.

Code:

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Specs:

Antec Mini P180
Gigabyte G31m-ES2L
E5200
8400GS Passive
2+ TB local , 2+ TB backup

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HTPC / File Server Before:

HTPC / File Server After:

Rear Cable Pr0n; I know you guys want it.

This turned out much better than I expected. I like this case much better than the Lanbox Lite it was in. Much cooler + quieter, and plenty of room for more drives.

This was all a test for my Corsair TX750 and BFG 650, and I can't wait to get some time to do those.

EDIT: The Intel cooler is just temporary, which is why I just used black electrical tape instead of taking the time to dye the cables. I took the CM Geminii out of here to run on my Q6600 while its in an Antec 300 while I prep to overhaul Project: Nightrain.

that looks awesome all in black. very "stealth".

Thanks a ton for the idea, and proving it works.

Now to see if it works with other colors...

Is it a dye or more of a plastic coating? Does it chip or peel? It looks really good. I may pick some up. Everyone else feel free to experiment and report on it so I don't have to!

Its a dye, but it bonds at a molecular level from what I understand. I sat rubbing and rubbing and nothing came off after the initial cleaning. I couldn't chip it either. If I had a spare piece I would cut into it for you to see how deep it penetrated. It is the same plastic/rubber though, there isn't like any coating noticeable above what the regular wire is, like if you were to paint it.

I dried the cables with paper towel after rinsing, and then let them sit overnight. The server powered on without any issues, and has been running fine since.

If you had white wires, I'm sure you could dye them any color you wanted. I picked up the dye at Jo-Ann Fabrics for $3.99. The powder is probably even cheaper, as I went for the liquid.



Bold are starting colors, standard text is colors that work for dyeing.
Note: This is made for fabric, so you'd have to experiment with wires.

Quote:

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Yellow (light)
Scarlet, Tangerine, Cocoa Brown, Dark Brown, Dark Green, Wine, or Black


Peach, Light Orange, Light Pink
Scarlet, Fuchsia, Royal Blue, Cocoa Brown, Tangerine, Wine, Dark Green, Navy, Blue, or Black


Orange (bright or dark)
Scarlet, Dark Brown, or Black


Pink (medium or dark)
Fuchsia, Purple, Wine, Scarlet, Cocoa Brown, Dark Brown, or Black


Orchid or Lavender
Purple, Wine, Dark Brown, Navy Blue, or Black


Bright Red
Wine or Black*


Purple
Black


Blue or Turquoise (light)
Royal Blue, Aquamarine, Kelly Green, Dark Green, Dark Brown, Wine, Navy Blue, or Black


Aqua (medium or dark)
Dark Green, Navy Blue, or Black


Blue (medium)
Denim Blue, Navy Blue, or Black


Green (light)
Royal Blue, Aquamarine, Kelly Green, Dark Green, Dark Brown, Wine, Navy Blue, or Black


Chartreuse (light)
Aquamarine, Dark Green, Dark Brown, Wine, or Black


Chartreuse (dark)
Dark Green or Black*


Green (dark)
Black*


Gold (light)
Dark Brown, Dark Green, Cocoa Brown, or Black


Gold (medium or dark)
Wine, Purple, Dark Green, Cocoa Brown, Dark Brown, Navy Blue, Denim Blue, or Black


Grey (medium or deep)
Dark Green, Dark Brown, Navy Blue, or Black


Tan or Beige (medium)
Dark Green, Cocoa Brown, Wine, Dark Brown, or Black

Brown (medium or dark)
Black*

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To Create other colors by mixing different Rit Dyes

For those who are going to try this! :

Be careful what you splash on. I forgot to mention that if you have like that laminate countertop or vinyl flooring and you drip onto it, it WILL stain it and be a pain in the arse to get out.

I had to scrub with 1000 grit to get some of the tiny droplets I got on the counter off.

Stainless sinks and such are fine though. Rinses right off.

THIS JUST IN! :

Walmart has liquid Rit dye for $2.79, and the powder for like $1.69. I found it over by the arts and crafts section, near the detergents and stuff.

Picked up two more bottles. One for my TX750 and one for the BFG650. Going to be interesting how to do these as I've got to hold the whole psu to dip them, as these aren't modular.