Can you re colour burn marks?

[Jack May]

Can you re colour burn marks?

I should have tried but wasn't sure if it would have lasted.

This is the job where I told the client she shouldn't be attempting a self do it repair.

notice the different shades of colour from the insert before it goes in to the finished piece. She was only too happy to pay me the agreed $135 for 35 minutes work.

Tony, WOULD/COULD you recolour? If so, what colour(s) would you have used? and would she be calling me up in 3 years telling me the 'burn has come back'? No direct sunlight but quite a light and airy room. On a traffic lane from kitchen to favourite recliner. Single spritely 60ish spinster. 100% wool carpet. What else do you need to know?

John

 

[Jack May]

I kept the burnt piece to trial if you reckon it's worth a go.

John

 

[harryhides]

John, think of the crayon dye as a mustard stain - both are disperse dyes. Mustard like most any dye stain is more or less easily removed depending of the fiber content of the carpet involved.
Olefin and Polyester are "smoother" and more glass-like in nature.
I have no proof but feel that crayon type dyes, bond better to the other more absorbent fibers than to Olefin or Polyester.
I have also theorized that a "burnt" fiber creates a "smoother" surface than unburnt. So because of this the crayon dye will be even less likely to bond satisfactorily than on unburnt fiber. So with minor burn damage I try to trim off all of the burnt material before re-coloring.
Some other factors:
If the client is an apt block owner is just looking for "good enough to rent" then I will go ahead with color adjustments - if "it must be pretty near perfect" then I won't.
If the burn damage is in a high traffic area, I will generally do a bonded insert as you did.

I hope that helps.
Let us know how your experiments turn out.

 

[Jack May]

Thanks.

If I get a chance over the next few weeks while I'm on call, I may attempt to re colour the old piece and then sit it in a sunny position and see what happens.

If I can keep track of it long enough and don't loose it, It'll be interesting to see what happens over the next 2-3 months of summer. If I still have it by March/April, I'll post some more photos.

John