Dying for the akunoya lifestyle

[Nagamochi]

Ok, so I have my Wal-mart 10x20 carport, and 46 yards of 60 inch wide canvas. A damned good buy from GeorgiaPeachFabrics.com at $2.49/yard plus shipping. I highly advise buying from them regularly, great period looking fabrics for a song. My problem: all the canvas is white!
I went snooping around dharmatrading.com thinking that I could EASILY find what I needed within my budget. Between cost and the excessive amount of prep on the fabric they require to use their dyes, I'm wondering if there's a more time and cost effective means of going about this? (Yes, I'm a bit lazy. Sin of sins for the perfectionist culture we emulate.)
Secondly, after looking at the earlier akunoya thread and viewing the pics there as well as elsewhere, two questions for me arise: 1)Would I only want to put my mon on the roof, or would plastering it all over the beast be more appropriate (or is that just a matter of personal taste)? 2)Is it more period to leave the ends at the peaks open, or have them covered? Keep in mind this is to be used in Wisconsin and at Pennsic, where tempurates and weather can vary drastically over the course of a single day.

Arigato,
Nagamochi

[Kitadatedenka]

Um, are you sure about that domain name. Even a whois search shows that no one owns GeorgiaPeachFabrics.com.

Anyway, the short answer is no, there isn't a more time and cost effective method of dyeing, assuming you are just trying to change the color. Dyeing is pretty hardcore stuff, really, and getting a dye job that lasts in an outdoor environment doubly so.

Without particulars on the canvas, I really can't say more, except to say that part of my mission this weekend is to finish up the canopy of a marquee. My new walking foot machine rocks!

[Saionji Shonagon]

If you want to paint motifs (such as your mon!)on WHITE canvas, Dharma sells a silk screening ink that works very nicely. It was recommended to me by a local guy who makes and sells pavilions - I've used it to paint Jehanne's device on her wedge tent and to decorate banners. I bought a 16 oz. jar of red and one of black and I've STILL got tons of it left. The Versatex ink also has the added appeal of a mix-in fixative for when you don't want to drag an entire pavilion over the ironing board for heat setting. The paint job on the tent will be two years old this fall and still looks brand new.

www.dharmatrading.com/html/eng/48477-AA.shtml

[Nagamochi]

Why wouldn't I want to do the silk screening ink on white canvas? or are you suggesting I paint the entire tent? I'm so confused!
As for the fabric site, the way I discovered it was by looking for 61" canvas fabric on e-bay, it's perpetually on there as a buy-it-now

[Nagamochi]

Er, correction, why wouldn't I do the ink on colored canvas?

[Saionji Shonagon]

There's no reason you couldn't, just make sure you pick a paint color that would have enough contrast to show on colored canvas. Crisp white canvas with painted decoration just looks so nice!

M.

[Kitadatedenka]

For those who were having trouble finding this, their site is:
www.georgiafabric.com
and their ebay user is georgiafabric

The fabric appears to be untreated, whic does mean that coloring it is a bit easier. I do agree that screen-printing inks work well for this.

[kenshiro]

If it is untreated wont it shrink the first time it gets wet ??

[Saionji Shonagon]

kenshiro said:

If it is untreated wont it shrink the first time it gets wet ??

Canvas tents are marvelous in the rain! The fibers swell and keep water from dripping through.

M.

[Nagamochi]

Thank you for the info Makiwara. To para-phrase Kitadate-denka, I'll now get to live in a beautiful carport!

[OgamiBusho]

You need to be careful with any colors and dyes or paints you choose. Colors, whether home or factory dyed, tend to fade fairly quickly. Red becomes washed-out red and then becomes pale pink. Black becomes grey. (White becomes grey, too, but that's because of dust and dirt.)

Painting on canvas can be tricky as well, *especially* on roofs. It's common for leaking to occur along all the edges of the paint. You'll want to experiment with this a lot before you do it.

I might suggest that you make the striped parts of your akunoya as 'add ons'. That is, make the stripes and decorate them with mon by either painting or silk-screening, and then baste them on to your finished canvas. When the colors fade, replace them. Yes, it's a lot of work to replace them every four or five years, but it will keep your akunoya looking good and it won't leak.

[Nagamochi]

Is this fading due more to sun exposure, for which there is little if any cure, or is it more due to rain and wet, for which I plan to scothguard the living bejesus out of the poor fabric? By that I mean that the canvas will be a basis for making "scotchguard cloth."

[Kitadatedenka]

I wouldn't recommend Scotchgard, it's not made to hold up to the rain. Finr for furniture, though. In the past, I've successfully used Aqua-tite, which I purchased through www.glfi.com (look under supplies, then S for silicone waterproofing).

[Nagamochi]

Tis a great suggestion, Kitadate, but how much would one need for such an unruly beast?

[Kitadatedenka]

Well, I got a gallon and a quart for an 11X22 (I wanted the spray bottle). I have a bit left over, but that was planned.