Faux Fur Colorizing

Faux fur pile is predominantly made with acrylic and/or mod-acrylic fibers. Acrylic is not easily colored with water or alcohol based dyes. The faux fur manufacturer will work with an acrylic yarn that is extruded in a base color and then prints or colors the tips to create the patterns of the fur before heat treatment. The fur is then brushed and polished with special equipment to complete the finish.

So what can you do to create small pieces of colored fur or add patterns of color onto a base of fur?

Home do-it-yourself dyes

We have tried dyeing panels of white shaggy to the point of boiling the fur into hard useless mats. We could never get results that created deep rich colors.

Spray Painting

We have found that Krylon Acrylic spray paint can work really well and that the metallic colors are the easiest to work with because it won't bind the fibers together readily. To successfully use spray paint on fur run a small test first and practice on scrap pieces to become familiar with the technique before attempting it on your project.

The idea is to spray from the perfect distance (start at 12") from the fur and just long enough to apply color without overly wetting the fibers. Too much paint will clump the fibers together, too little and the paint won't cover the base color. Wait 5 to 10 seconds after spraying a very small area and brush with a fine brush. Brush the fur in the different directions to expose the fur below and paint. Repeat the step to complete the area.

Cut patterns in a cardboard panel and place on the fur, brush or pull the fur through the cut-outs and apply the spray painting technique to create Dalmatians, Scully (monters inc.), Tiger fur...

The images below show the results of coloring pure white shaggy fur.

Cranberry red dye	Second application	Silver spray paint