How to Tint a Visor - Custom Vacuum Formed PETG Plastic 

thanks for the tutorial, it'll be invaluable when I eventually get around to making a Guy Manuel helmet!

Hey Bill! For any one interested an easier and faster way to get a black tint is to buy a spray can of VHT Niteshade ( Found at most auto parts stores and is usually used to black out the plastic covering for red tail lights) and spray the inner part of your visor. if you do multiple light consistent coats, it should give you black visor tint that you can see perfectly out of. I've done it for multiple Halo Visors I wanted black. It dries quick and no need to heat up anything. I've even tinted it a goldish color by misting regular gold spray paint from high up and letting it fall on the visor. It gives you millions of tiny black dots mixed with the gold but from a picture standpoint it looks fine to me. However I may try this dyeing process to get a consistent color for something that isn't black. The VHT is just recommended for people that need a black visor in a rush and are near an auto store that sells it or rush it from amazon. The down side is if you mess up like spraying in a spot for too much you get thicker splotches that make it hard to see out of or inconsistent black hence why I say do it on the inside or test on a scrap piece.

Great video, it was awesome meeting both of you guys at Big Wow this past summer!

Hey Bill! thanks for making a video of this! have you tried doing a white tint for helmet visors?

If anyone is curious, idye poly Does work on acrylic. I've been testing on a couple of large 14" diameter acrylic smoked domes, for a cosplay (similar to how a deadmau5 head is made) I don't recall what the thickness of the plastic is, but we have been dyeing at 145 degrees as well. bonus tip: we had huge problems on the first dome from there being huge splotches of dye in some spots which was removed with plastic buffering(too much effort), but! a better solution is to put your main dye packet into a coffee filter (make it into a tea bag, you dont have to cut the dye out) we think it's from the "dissolvable" stuff latching on to the plastic holding the dye on more than the rest.

My plans for my Space Wolf Power Armour have once again been removed from the "impossible" bin. THANK YOU.

I tried Rit Dye More for polyester stuff for a pair of round glasses and even just testing it, it was uneven, patchy, and gross. Definitely going to try iDye Poly now! Thank you for a wonderful tutorial!! :)

great tutorial!!! Would like to see one on attaching the visor to the helmet :). I was thinking since i didnt have a vacuum forming machine, instead i could use and form tinted plexiglass. Would you advise against that?

Great video! Just curious why you didn't go with Nite Shades? (spray can tint)

Great video after dying does that leave any air bubbles or little specs or is it completely smooth

Great vid! I'm definitely utilizing this!

I just love your garage (or your workplace). I probably never have a chance to have a garage (or workplace) similar to yours since my family dislike this cosplay thing.

Great video. (A little late I know, I'm going back through them!) By the way, because I don't see it mentioned in any of the top comments I thought I'd point out that the reason this particular dye works so well is that PETG is simply a copolymer of the same polyester used in textiles. So yeah, I imagine a dye designed specifically for synthetic fabrics will work great on it! :D So did you ever find a way to add a metallic finish that can be seen through, as many of the comments were asking?

I saw the Cospay4usall vid. I think your video is better ;)

have you tried the automotive headlight paint? it's a spray can that contains a translucent paint that still let the light go out. edit: actually you talked about it as a successful technique in another video.

Do you have any techniques for making white lenses/visors to mimic "superhero" eyes like Batman or Deadpool?

thanks all your videos is so benefits.

(Hopefully this wasn't mentioned before and I missed it.) Just wondering if you investigated using pre-tinted plastic in the thermoforming process?

have you ever tried forming the visor with the protective film face down, touching the buck? this would allow you to keep the protective film on while you dye the visor. after the cool water bath remove the film. i would assume that it might give you a bit more light transmission while still dying the outer surface.

Ive been watching your videos for a while, but please, i need to know where did you get that jacket!!!! also i made a daftpunk helm a couple years ago and had to thermal form a visor for it and i bought some craft spray tint, i dont recommend ever doing that if you value your costume, quality is bad!

Just love the work share with your wife/partner/employer/employee. She does the work and you talk. Good system! Only joking, your videos are very interesting. Regards.

Thanks! Helped a lot with my Daft Punk helmet visor

Mad props on the destiny hoodie. I see you. ;)

Thank you SO much this is so cool!

Hey Bill I was wondering if you had tryed this with any of the other colors. I am working on a destiny helmet and it has a large dome type visor that I would like either red or white.

Rustolium makes a tinting spray for like car tail lights and such so you think that could apply here just as well?

Bill, are you in Louisiana? Specifically New Orleans? I see the Bourbon St. sign hanging behind you.

i would love to see a tutorial on that body armour the guy at the beginning of the video is wearing!!!! i beg of you bill!!

Have you ever used automotive window tint on a complex vacuformed shape like this visor? Say you wanted a mirror tint. Could you apply the tent to your plastic before heating and vacuforming?

Very helpful tutorial! How many packets would you recommend for just the visor on a Daft Punk Thomas Bangalter helmet? I'm trying to do this on a budget (and in just a few days!).Would one be sufficient of should I get two or three?

if there are going to be lights needing to go through would it work to paint it fully black and to look out of the gaps that the leds will shine through? or would it be better to dye it like this with space of lights, I'm making anas shrike mask from overwatch

Do you have a video on making that helmet??

The guy pretends Snake Eyes looks exactly like him! M8 you are awsome perfect work

is it better if we didnt peel the protective plastic on the inside of the mask so that we can see abit better? and then peel it after the painting proses

where do you get your sweet zip up hoodies?

The tint product you used work on Worbla transpa art? so if i tinting the peace before put on the lens the color remains on the piece? Thanks

Thanks Bill

Hi so I'm just wondering if there is an other way to tint a visor without using dye because I live in Australia and I can't seem to find anywhere that sells iDye. I was thinking window tint could work but thats expensive.

Is there any way to make the surface less glossy? or would that just prevent vision from inside?

I need that snake cosplay!!!!!

there is a spray paint called night shade that we sell at the auto parts store I work at. it is used to darken taillights. I wonder if that could work?

Are these little slabs of greenstuff or EPS foam you are demonstrating on?

I wonder if you have tried the spray for tinting lenses for automobiles. I felt like 2 coats was a little too dark, but I am curious if you have compared the dye to the spray. Thanks

Hi Bill, one question, you know which fabric dye works for these days?, because the link that you put its unavailable now... 🥲, thanks in advance!

coming from a Snake-Eyes- fan that costume is amazing

Can bright colors work the same way? I want to make a visor that is an orange color, but only I can still look through it from inside the helmet. I'm trying to do something different for my armor in the mandalorian mercs club, and I thought that a cool orange colored visor would be make the armor stand out more than the rest.

Woah. What is the suit under Danquish's armor made out of?!

Hi, I was expecting an application of some sort of film. Could you recommend a type tint film for tinting polycarbonate (I think) visors and/or windscreen please? I've found several videos showing people doing their bike helmet visors, but most are 'music videos' (they don't describe anything, just music playing) and they don't say what exact material is used. I think a mirror or dark/smoke tint would be cool, so long as one could still see. Thanks.

So, could you use the same process with red? I'm wanting to use the process for a Red Hood helmet custom.

I got a question, as it's being very hard to find. Do you have instructions on how to make the classic blue Cobra Commander helmet peice? I already know what I am going to use for the visor, but finding a helmet that will work is proving difficult. As well as instructions to help me make my own.

How would you tint something reflective? Like on a spartan helmet or is that even possible?

Will this process work if you need to tint something white instead of a dark color? Looking for a way to tint white super hero eyes and want lenses as opposed to mesh that most people use.

how long do you leave it in the cold water?

How thick is the PETG plastic did you vacuum form?

Will this dyeing process work for a transparent worbla/ thermoplastic material?

Punished Props This may sound like a stupid question but I was wondering why you just didn't use automotive window tint instead of the dyeing method?

Is there a way to tint it into one way mirror?

can you brush it on just one side?

If I don't have a vac seal thing are these sheets of plastic heat gun friendly?

Could u make a video on a snake eyes mask

If we had a piece of .04 acrylic plexi glass and the same size PETG and I wanted to heat form it to make lenses for a helmet, which would you use, PETG or Acrylic?

How do you get a mirror finish? Like with Cobra Commander's visor?

Man I could have used this about a month ago for my captain phasma helmet

Hi i was just wondering is it vital for the sheet of PETG to be 0.04 thick? I'm also following your guides on Vacuum forming to make some custom lenses for a mask im making.

I cut out a visor from a plastic container and heat formed it. Will this stuff work on it?

hello, I am in Japan and where I am, the iDye polyester Fabric dye is quite expensive. is there a cheaper alternative? or do you think that it can tint the plastic with just one pack of the iDye? also, do you need to have the plastic cleaner/polish or is that optional?

Hey Bill, could you make a Boba Fett helmet from EV foam?

Don't know if this will even be seen, but would this process also work on poly-carbonate instead of petg?

I recently got my legacy power ranger helmet but the visor itself is not dark enough.. i was wondering is there away way i can spray tint it? instead of boiling

Can you show us how the whole snake eyes helmet was made?

What thickness PETG do you use?

I can't seem to find a idye poly in white white because I'm trying to make eyes where I can see thru

I've seen people use ordinary car window tint film with glue that they put on the plastic before they vacuumform. Wouldn't that be much easier and not as messy :)?

Can you dye plastic 2 lt bottles with this method!?

Can you store this dye, reheat & use it again later?

What thickness in mm is the PETG?

Im trying to make a helmet that's combining star wars death troopers, halo mk V and VI, and the fallout New Vegas helmet. it looks pretty cool on paper I just need to make a visor that's tinted.

Wow, I'd love to make my own snake eyes helmet but I'm currently broke and trying to find a cheap way to make a visor for my foam helmet base!

Does anyone know if this process would work with PET plastic and not just PETG? Thanks

so @punishedprops can I just buy a visor from you guys

Wouldn't vehicle window tint work?

Anyone know what RiteDye doesnt work anymore?

could you use rit's new synthetic dye?

does this work on Plexiglass? i prefer the more rigid solidity of it.

How about showing how to put a gold tint on your visor (ala Halo).

Does this work for polycarbonate plastic?

What type of color do you use for tint?

Dark angel spotted at 0:33 screen saver! Reclaim the Fallen!

What about using tinted window film?

Anyone know if this process works on polycarbonite?

I need a real cyclops visor from xmen from tyler delaire please

How do i get a visor that can handle airsoft bbs?

Just tried this and mine is coming out blotchy. Any ideas what could be causing it

can you reheat the paint after a week or so?

will LED lights show through this dye?

can that mask be bought???

you Destiny bro ?

I never hear about anyone using spray tints like for car tail lights, is it just so horrible that no one does?

shouldn't you just dye the resin you use to make the visor so you don't have to worry about it chipping/scraping

Or use niteshade spraypaint