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Dying Ytong/Firebrick?


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9 replies to this topic

#1 Offline RobertJ - Posted February 12 2019 - 5:24 PM

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Has anyone here dyed Ytong or Firebrick? I am working on a K-23 nest and would like to make it a bit more natural dirt colored than the off white it comes and am looking for some help as to how to go about dyeing it. I am curious if Tea would work?

Edited by RobertJ, February 13 2019 - 2:10 PM.


#2 Offline sirjordanncurtis - Posted February 13 2019 - 7:20 AM

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I think usually people just paint the gypsum after it's been constructed.



#3 Offline Ants4fun - Posted February 13 2019 - 7:43 AM

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I think usually people just paint the gypsum after it's been constructed.


He's talking about k-23 firebrick, which is made of ceramic materials.

Normal paint releases toxins even after it's dried. You can use non-toxic paints, tea, or even colored grouts and plasters.

#4 Offline ANTdrew - Posted February 13 2019 - 9:11 AM

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Black walnut shells have a powerful dye in them. I'm not sure if the compounds in it are ant friendly - many plants cannot grow under black walnuts trees because of the compounds they release in the soil.

 

Beets or red cabbage could give you a red nest, but that wouldn't necessarily be natural looking.


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#5 Offline drtrmiller - Posted February 13 2019 - 9:13 AM

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I know it looks funny, but the word should be "dyeing," unless the bricks are near the point of death.

 

Look online for natural, water-soluble pigments and conduct some small-scale tests before the intended application.


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#6 Offline RobertJ - Posted February 13 2019 - 2:14 PM

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Yeah I realized my auto-correct hosed me after I had hit submit haha.

As far searching on Google...I have a decent black belt in google-fu and still have yet to find much regarding dyeing K-23 or Ytong with tea, coffee or any other materials. I surely do not want to paint the brick as that just looks tacky in my opinion.

#7 Offline Ender Ants - Posted February 13 2019 - 3:29 PM

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Yeah I realized my auto-correct hosed me after I had hit submit haha.

As far searching on Google...I have a decent black belt in google-fu and still have yet to find much regarding dyeing K-23 or Ytong with tea, coffee or any other materials. I surely do not want to paint the brick as that just looks tacky in my opinion.

 

K-23 brick is safe for housing ants right? I'm also in the process of making a nest for a colony, and hopefully this species is unable to chew through this material even though it is pretty brittle



#8 Offline RobertJ - Posted February 13 2019 - 3:50 PM

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K-23 is very safe for them. It's comparable to Ytong...a little softer but similar.

#9 Offline Ender Ants - Posted February 21 2019 - 1:18 PM

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K-23 is very safe for them. It's comparable to Ytong...a little softer but similar.

Finished making my nest a few weeks back, and it is a really soft material. I really like how it was easy to carve, but I feel like it is too soft to house Fire Ants, or Harvesters. Will be making a video on making the nest, since its not that well known, and can be bought at a cheap price. 



#10 Offline CoolColJ - Posted February 21 2019 - 10:41 PM

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if the nest is inside a container or tank then it won't matter if the ants chew through it

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