Dying chainsaw plastic.

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Those three that are leaningbl on the right and the big one that is down are all gone now, bucked up and hauled off. All with that saw except for the main trunk where I broke out my 281 I had been working on. Also several others that aren't pictured are gone. I liked that saw so much I was looking for stuff to cut.
 
I did pick some of that color dye up. I haven't tried it yet to see what it does
 
I heard on here somewhere that the plastic is reinforced with fiberglass. With that being said, I wonder if gel coat like what they use on fiberglass bodywork would hold up on a saw.
 
I know very little about fiberglass bodywork. But I imagine anyone with enough skill could make it work.
 
What would the purpose of the gel coat be in reference to your post. Are you talking about applying just the gel, if so why?
 
Half tempted to try other colors, but I may have to do a stihl next. Maybe a ms 211 or something along those lines.
 
I feel stihl would have a wider range of colorr you could use because of the white plastics. Turn it red, or gray. Or blue, all kinds of colors available.
 
I know this is an old post but for anyone who is curious there are a couple of great tutorials on YouTube on dyeing chainsaw plastic. From what I gathered, the key is doing 2-3 dips for 5-15 minutes each. I just did the air filter cover on my MS271 beater saw following the JCS tutorial and I got excellent penetration with three 15 minute dips. I used a 7oz bottle of RIT Synthetic in Graphite and a 7oz bottle of RIT General Purpose in Black. I mixed it with 10 quarts BOILING water, 1 cup Acetone, 1/2 cup Vinegar, 1/4 cup Salt, 2 tbsp Dawn Dish Soap.
As a side note- Light color plastics that have "yellowed" from prolonged sunlight exposure can be restored by soaking in 6-12% hydrogen peroxide under UV light!
 
I know this is an old post but for anyone who is curious there are a couple of great tutorials on YouTube on dyeing chainsaw plastic. From what I gathered, the key is doing 2-3 dips for 5-15 minutes each. I just did the air filter cover on my MS271 beater saw following the JCS tutorial and I got excellent penetration with three 15 minute dips. I used a 7oz bottle of RIT Synthetic in Graphite and a 7oz bottle of RIT General Purpose in Black. I mixed it with 10 quarts BOILING water, 1 cup Acetone, 1/2 cup Vinegar, 1/4 cup Salt, 2 tbsp Dawn Dish Soap.
As a side note- Light color plastics that have "yellowed" from prolonged sunlight exposure can be restored by soaking in 6-12% hydrogen peroxide under UV light!
I might try this on a couple saws. Only problem is the plastic has deteriorated a bit, no longer smooth and glossy. Might try wet sanding first.
 
Ilk be honest I don't really see the benefit of all that extra stuff mixed in I still do it with straight black dye in water.
 

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