Orange Surefire G2

I bought a used yellow G2 on BST and decided that it was better off orange, to match the rest of the rescue gear I keep in the car - Rit dye, ahoy! I don't think it came out all that bad. I degreased it and removed the o-rings before setting it in the boiling dye, but I couldn't figure out how to get the tailcap apart. I wound up just pulling the spring out so it wouldn't be subjected to the heat and dropping it in as-is. The coverage is great, nice and even all around, inside and out. I definitely suggest using a non-reactive pot, either pyrex or stainless steel, and use stainless tongs to handle the parts. It only took about 5-7 minutes to go from the bright yellow G2 to this, so don't walk away, and keep stirring!

OH poop! AWESOME!

WHAT COLOR CODE RIT WAS IT? AND WHAT DEGREASER?

:twothumbs

Sgt. LED said:

OH poop! AWESOME!

WHAT COLOR CODE RIT WAS IT?

:twothumbs

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Lol, a little enthusiastic there? It was Sunshine Orange (43). I bought it powdered at wally world, used a very small pot (1qt stainless) and only added enough water to cover the parts by about 1/4". I then removed the parts, boiled the water, added the dye, stirred it in, and dropped in the parts and kept stirring, checking every 30 seconds or so.

I just used dawn dishwashing liquid since it was handy and I was already in the kitchen.

WOW!

Alot of members here have been waiting for an Orange Surefire G2

This May Be Their Answer.

Great coverage! It looks factory

Patriot36 said:

Great coverage! It looks factory

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Thanks, I've had a bit of practice dying nylon R/C car parts.

I'm not familiar with rit dye. Is this like a coating that will come off after use? You said you couldn't get the tailcap disassembled and dropped it in as-is. Does it not affect the metal inside the tailcap or the metal body tube? What about the window, did you have to take that off or did you just drop it in?

Looks amazing BTW :twothumbs

Is this permamant?

By that I mean how far do you think the dye penetrated the Nitrolon? I just wonder how deep a scuff you can make and not have the yellow show back up.

Reguardless of that tomorrow I'm making one too!
Thanks for doing this and posting about it. ALWAYS wanted one in orange.

I would like to see the result of long term use.

I would think that a good cut will show yellow, but your average scuff should not. If you want more color penetration, you have to leave it in the dye longer - but if you don't want it dark, you will need to cut back on the strength of the dye. Trial and error, my friend. I was impatient, so I used the whole packet and made a super concentrate. I won't be beating on this light on a daily basis, so I didn't really care if the color did not penetrate all the way through.

I did remove the bezel ring, lens, and gasket before cleaning/dyeing. The solution you use to dye is mostly water, so it shouldn't harm the internals of the switch so long as you dry it thoroughly. The rubber boot and o-ring on the metal part of the switch seem no worse for wear. I may buy another one and make a lime green light for my wife.

That's awesome. I need one of these for my entry medical bags.

It looks like a pro job, job well done. I'd like to see a bright red one, and a pink one, a white one, a blue one ............

WOW Rit dye comes in about 1000 colors. Lots of possibilities here. Dipping in stages and making a tye-dye light may even be possible.

What are your thoughts about using a lighter shade of orange and boiling it longer? Is the light close to the shade on the box or lighter/darker?

Sorry to ask so many questions but to me this is very very important stuff, like I said I have wanted one ever since I saw the first G2 Ad that showed yellow as an option.


EDIT: Your light is now my background image!

Would it work better on a yellow or tan G2?

Now if only white dye was possible...lol

Now what would be really cool, would be to take say, a ton of really tight rubber bands of various thickness, and wrap the body randomly with them previous to the dye job.

Would definitely leave a cool/interesting pattern, as that's what I do to titanium before giving it an oxygen bath.

Q

matt0 said:

Would it work better on a yellow or tan G2?

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Idunno, you try it and let me know! I would choose the base color that is closer to your final color. If you're going for a subdued color, blue, brown, or purple, I'd go with tan. For anything vibrant, fluorescent, orange, or green, I'd go with yellow... just my .02, of course. If only SF made them in white, or heaven forbid GITD.

Sgt. LED said:

WOW Rit dye comes in about 1000 colors. Lots of possibilities here. Dipping in stages and making a tye-dye light may even be possible.

What are your thoughts about using a lighter shade of orange and boiling it longer? Is the light close to the shade on the box or lighter/darker?

Sorry to ask so many questions but to me this is very very important stuff, like I said I have wanted one ever since I saw the first G2 Ad that showed yellow as an option.

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Well, I don't know what to tell you, really. I don't follow any sort of instructions or color chart when I do this kind of stuff; it's all by eye. I was surprised that it took color in such a short time; I've had to boil fiberglass and nylon parts for upwards of 30 minutes before to get good coverage. If you want to take it slow, you can always start with a weaker solution and dye the parts for a longer time. If you take it out and it's not dark enough for you, then add more dye powder to the solution and give it another bath.

Thank you, again. :bow:

You could make some insane cash turning these babies out in whatever color someone wants! $55 a pop or better probably. :thumbsup:

Sgt. LED said:

Thank you, again. :bow:

You could make some insane cash turning these babies out in whatever color someone wants! $55 a pop or better probably. :thumbsup:

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Lol, I don't have a production shop, and it's not really a difficult process. I'd be happy do one here or there for someone if they really don't feel confident doing it themselves, but I can't tell you what you'll like. Trust your own eyes and sense of style!

That's it! I'm sending you my G3...