Cleaning Heads

The first step of any dye job is to take the ball stop off and to clean the head.

Methods that work:

1. To clean the heads that I dye I peel off the ball stop and scrub the excess glue with brillo pads.

2. I then use nail polish remover to remove any glue that was left from the ball stop.

3. Using a Brillo pad I scrub the whole head removing all the dirt, and then I wash it off.

Brillo pads: Brillo pads are wire wool sponges that can be found at local hardware stores or supermarkets.

Awesome Gloves:

Noble and Greenough School Navy Split: With Initials

Description: This dye job is a navy blue split with white in the middle and the initials TS on the top

Procedure:
1. First I put letter stickers on the scoop of the head so that when I peeled them off in the end there would be white initials.



2. I then filled a pot with enough water to cover each side that I wanted navy blue. I then let the water boil.

3. When the water started to boil I poured in the Navy blue RIT dye and stirred it up.

4. I then placed one side of the head in the solution for 10 minutes; flipped it and did the same thing to the other side.

5. After letting the head cool for 10 minutes I peeled off the stickers and the head was done.

Hopkins' Baby Blue & White With Fade-In

This dye job is very easy and looks great.

1. Put enough water in the pot to cover half of the head and put in about 1/4 cup salt.
2. When the water is boiling put in the baby blue dye and submerge the head.
3. Hold half the head in the water for 10 minutes and then take it out and let it cool. Then submerge the head for another 5 minutes and it is done.

Note: if your pot is not tall enough to hold enough water to dye half of a lacrosse head, then pour the dye solution into a large bucket.

Good pot to use:


Stringing: I'm going to string this head with baby blue sidewalls, white mesh, and blue shooting strings.

Go John's Hopkins!!!!

Jet Black Dye Job

When dyeing a black head, most turn out faded black or purple. The color that you want is a nice shiny jet black. There are 4 easy steps:

1. Fill a pot of water that is stainless steel or a pot that you will only use for dyeing. Use enough water to cover the head. Next put 1/2 a cup of salt and 6 tablespoons of vinegar into the water and turn on the stove.

2. When the water is almost boiling put in the black RIT dye and wait for it to boil. Then turn the stove to low and submerge the head. The head should sit in the dye for a good 10 minutes. When the 10 minutes is up let the head cool for 5 minutes.

3. Bring the dye solution to a boil again and then put it on low. Submerge the head for another 6 minutes to ensure the blackest color.When the time is up let the head cool again.

4. To get the nice shiny black rub the head with either butter or Pam cooking oil. Let it sit with this on it for about 15 minutes and then wash it off.

Your black head should look great and it's ready to be strung!

This particular head I'm stringing with white mesh, yellow sidewalls, and black shooting strings.

Scott's Tiger Dye

Scott's Tiger Dye

This dye job is an orange head with black and white Bengal Tiger print.

Steps

1. First I used hot glue to make circles and funny rounded shapes. Make sure to pull of all of the little strings of hot glue before dyeing. After the water came to a boil I put in the sunshine orange RIT dye. and soaked the head for about 10 minutes.

Problems: If the head is in the hot water too long then the hot glue will start to melt.

2. After I was done dyeing the head orange I pulled it out and let it sit in my kitchen sink for 5 minutes. Next I hot glued all of the the head except for inside the first circles that I had made. I then let it sit in the black dye for 10 minutes and later put it back in my sink

Note: when doing any black dye always put in 1/2 a cup of salt and 6 tablespoons of vinegar. These help to raise the temperature of the water

3. This is the hard part: when the head cooled, I put it in the freezer for about 30 minutes. Then I used a dull butter knife and my hands to pull off all of the glue.

4. I then strung up the stick with orange sidewalls, orange shooting stings, and white mesh.

In the end, the dye job turned out looking great.

Go Princeton Tigers!!!!!!!

Get a Head Start

Lacrosse is quickly coming into its own as a popular sport played all across the country. As the sport grows in popularity, the equipment is ramping up as well. One of the hot trends in lacrosse these days is custom-dyed stick heads. You can pay up to $100 to have a lacrosse shop do the work for you or you can do it yourself. If you are reasonably creative and pay attention to detail, the results can be amazing.

Quick Tips:

-Mini stick heads usually don't work - different kind of plastic
-Black can be a tough color to do, so try something else your first time
-Just in ! - Scroll down for new video on how to do a glossy jet black dye job
-Don't boil the stick head
-Either use stainless pots or pots you won't use again for cooking
-Wear rubber gloves unless you want your hands a different color as well
-Use Rit Dye powder - works better than liquid dye

Some homemade but effective YouTube videos on how to dye:
YouTube 1 (the best one)
YouTube 2
YouTube 3

You can get the dye you need at a discount by clicking below (or, you can get it at some craft stores, hardware stores and drugstores):
Rit Dye



You may also want to get a hot glue gun if you plan to do intricate work:



Custom stick head dye shops that'll do it for you:
http://www.livenletdye.blogspot.com

By popular demand, here is guidance on how to string your stick head after you are done dyeing. You can take the easy way out and have a lacrosse shop do it for you. Or, you can check out this video on how to string a men's stick head:
Stick Stringing Video

This site also explains how to string a men's stick head:
e-Lacrosse Stringing Lesson

This site explains how to string a ladies' stick head:
Ladies' Stick Stringing