Tag Archives: bleach graphics

Bleach pen graphic tees (attempt #2- success!)

Posted on July 5, 2014 by spenkunas

Back in January, I attempted to follow a Pin I found on Pinterest. The Pin showed how to revitalize old tees by adding bleach graphics to them. The first attempt at three different t-shirts failed. I have since discovered that only the Clorox Bleach Pen for WHITES works. The other bleach pens are not strong enough to bleach colors. This time I only attempted one t-shirt to see if it would work. The bleached out color was a surprise, but it did work. Now I can use this technique on other things – old canvas bags, placemats, tablecloths, etc…

Original Pin inspiration

Clorox Bleach Pen for Whites

Prepping the tee using paper & wax paper underneath

Drawing the design

The bleach doing its work

Water bath to stop the bleach

Ready for the washing machine

out of the wash…

Finished t-shirt

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Bleach pen graphic tees (attempt #1 failed)

Posted on January 26, 2014 by spenkunas

As I was perusing Pinterest last week, I came across a project to revive old t-shirts (or at least give them a new lease on life and maybe wear them again!). The premise was simple – use a Clorox Bleach Pen to draw graphics on the t-shirts, rinse off and wash/dry. I found 3 t-shirts that I almost never wear and rolled up my sleeves to get to work. I decided to draw them freehand after making some doodles in my sketchbook. I was really happy with the two bolder looks and let them sit to supposedly bleach away. When I checked on the progress 15 minutes later, I was sad to see that there was no change in color. So I let them sit another 15 minutes. After more than 30 minutes, the bleach still wasn’t working. I thought perhaps the content of the t-shirts may have something to do with it. Two of them were mostly cotton with a touch of polyester, but one was 100% cotton and should be affected by bleach. I decided to rinse them off and chalk this up to a lesson. But I’m still trying to figure out the lesson….t-shirt content? Bleach strength? Color of dye? This will require a trip to the store to look at the different bleach pens to see if there is one specifically for whites (and therefore a higher concentration). To be continued……..

Original Pin