Custom Disc Dying - Godzilla

While it still might be a little bit chilly outside, a fun craft to take up time in the winter months and prepare for spring time is custom disc dying. Disc golf fanatics often have bags full of discs which easily become worn or account for some duplicates. Custom dying is an easy way to personalize and spruce up old or newly found discs. It can often be accomplished for less than $5 using Rit dye and some contact paper.

Step 1: Clean your disc. Most discs come with a decal and model number imprinted. I selected a Discraft Buzz for my disc. While the disc was already white, I needed to remove the decal and printing on the disc with light use of a pumice stone and some peroxide-based household cleaner. Please be advised that if working with a colored disc, peroxide will warp the dye already in place and can have fading effects on discs after custom dying.





Step 2: Print your decal and trace it out on your contact paper. Cut the paper accordingly. Remember when securing the paper to the disc that any place not covered by the contact paper will be dyed. Be sure when applying the paper to smooth out any air bubbles or tape up any loose sides or edges. Depending on the model of your disc, you may want to put a bit of masking tape around the lip to ensure that dye does not leak onto the backside. I chose a Godzilla decal to celebrate the upcoming movie and the monster's 60th birthday.



Step 3: Mix the Rit dye in a pan and slowly heat it, being sure to stir. The dye will need to be completely heated before the disc can be submerged. Once the dye is ready, place the disc face down in the pan and let it float. The longer the disc is in the pan the darker the color will be, which is not always a great thing for discgolf. Remember, the most commonly lost discs are darker colors. I used the black Rit dye as my disc was originally white, so after a quick submersion I was left with a purple color.

Step 4: Run the disc under cold water until the dye ceases to bleed. At this point you are safe to remove the contact paper.

Happy throwing.