Tumeric Trans-Yellow

LegoMonorailFan99 literally blew my mind with his outstanding work using turmeric to dye trans-clear LEGO elements trans-yellow. I did a few experiments of my own before I dye a very old (and expensive) part and thought I would share.

 

I used turmeric from the co-op supermarket in the UK. Be warned it stains EVERYTHING, so I used an old glass jar rather than ruin our kitcheware. I still have yellow fingers.

 

In each case I put the turmeric powder into the jar, poured on 200ml of water from a freshly boiled kettle, stirred and then dropped in the LEGO. After the timer rang I pulled the parts out and rinsed in cold water.

 

You can see basically the more turmeric you use and the longer you leave it the deeper the colour goes. If you do several pieces at once they come out exactly the same. In test d and f I used the leftover solution from the last test. It wasn\'t nearly as effective so either the heat is important or the staining agent is used up?

 

It is brighter than trans clear LEGO, but I don\'t plan to mix and match in my model.

 

a: Real trans-yellow LEGO

 

b: 2 tsp turmeric, 10 mins

 

c: 3 tsp turmeric, 10 mins

 

d: Used the leftover water from c, 10 mins.

 

e: 4 tsp turmeric, 15 mins

 

f: Used the leftover water from e, 1 hour

Done