Harness Question

[Canadian_Nomad 0]

Can you dye a harness another color? Example say your rig has sun fade on it you want to make it look better is that possible or just a really stupid idea?

[PeteS 0]

Gotta ask yourself, what does "sun fade" mean?. Why does sunlight change nylon webbing? After it is changed, what condition is it in?

[GLIDEANGLE 1]

In the USA that would be considered an alteration and most rigger's wouldn't pack the reserve. Besides, sun fade implies some degree of UV damage. Even if you hide the APPEARANCE of damage, the damage will still be there.

The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

[likestojump 3]

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Can you dye a harness another color? Example say your rig has sun fade on it you want to make it look better is that possible or just a really stupid idea?

it's a TERRIBLE idea, ESPECIALLY if done for the reason that you mention.

Harness=load bearing, TSO'd component = NOT TO BE FUCKED WITH

[gowlerk 2,232]

I've been told that any time nylon webbing has had enough uv exposure to be noticeable to the eye, it will have lost at least half of it's strength. I am betting that before long some one with much more knowledge than me is going to post some hard facts about this.
Hiding a problem by coloring it would obviously be wrong. Dyeing it solely to change the color is not technically feasible, as well as possibly damaging to the material. Harness webbing has colored threads woven into them for identification purposes.
All in all there are several good reasons not to try this.

Ken

Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

[irishrigger 32]

it be a very bad idea indeed.as mentioned before UV light will have weakend the material already. that happens with every rig in the world. now some will get more damage that others. for example here in ireland where it rains nearly every fecking day it wouls take a long time to weaken. but lets say in arizona where there is sunshine almost 340 days of the year the damage will occur a lot quicker.
and if you did tiedye the rig yourself, i am quiet sure that no rigger will certify the rig. i had a guy who did it here and i grounded the rig,send it back to sunpath for second opinion,and it came back with the tag cut off and do not jump written across it.
if you want to change the colour of the harness give it to a master rigger or send it back to the factory and let them do it.
and those are your 2 options in my opinion. and i am quiet sure it would void the TSO of the rig. someone like jerry baumchen or masterrigger1 who are on here know the law on that a lot better that i would.
so bottom line i would not do anything with the harness.
rodger

[-ftp- 0]

what part of the "harness" are you talking about? Most would take that as the actual harness, but are you talking more of the closing flaps and material of the container??

[JerryBaumchen 1,405]

Hi irish,

Back in the 60's we dyed surplus military rigs black all the time. We had no idea what chemicals were in those dyes.

I would not dye if for no other reason than times have changed. And I doubt that any mfr would approve it.

Some trivia: Back in the early 60's Pioneer came out with a 3-pin main container w/chest pack & harness sport rig that was available in Sage Green or White. Pioneer said, at that time, that the White rig was so the user could dye it any color that he/she wanted.



JerryBaumchen

[MikeJD 0]

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what part of the "harness" are you talking about? Most would take that as the actual harness, but are you talking more of the closing flaps and material of the container??

Yeah, I suspect this is a misleadingly phrased question. Harness webbing seems less prone to fading than the container fabric - whether that means less damage, I don't know.

Thinking about it, some colours are obviously a lot more prone to fading than others. Pink is horrible in that respect. Now presumably it's only the dye and not the fabric itself that degrades at an accelerated rate - so the degree of colour fading seems a very poor indication of UV damage to fabric integrity.

[Canadian_Nomad 0]

Sorry I'm referring to the closing flaps, etc. Its not for the purpose of selling a sub standard rig to some newbie who doesn't know better! The colors on the flaps have on from bright to very worn the DOM on the entire unit is 2003 and I was looking at more appealling to MY eye.

I will repeat so there is no confusion this rig is not being changed for the purpose of re-sale!

Some people spot them as they see them, some spot them as they go, but there is no spot till you step out the door ; and by then it really doesn't matter anyway
- Lynn Levengood.