How to Dye a Lacrosse Head

Cleaning and Preparing the Head

Scrub a used lacrosse head with a sponge and dish soap. If you’ve already played a few games with the lacrosse head, it’s likely covered in grass or dirt stains. You should clean these off before dyeing the head, or the dye job will turn out poorly. Fill your sink up with warm water and 1-2 squirts of dish soap. Scrub the head with a sponge until all of the grass marks and dirt stains have come off. If you’re using a clean, new lacrosse head, you won’t need to wash it before dyeing.

Select 1-2 colors of dye to color the lacrosse head. Pick up a couple colors that complement one another or that match your team’s colors. For example, you could dye the head red and blue, black and yellow, or red and green. You’ll be able to find lacrosse head dye at most large athletic-supply stores. If they’re sold out, you may be able to find the dye at a lacrosse specialty store if there’s one in your area. If this is your first time dyeing a lacrosse head, stick with 1 color until you’ve gotten some dyeing experience.

Remove the string from the lacrosse head. Untie the small knots that hold the string netting to the lacrosse head and set the string net aside. This will keep the string itself from being dyed when you color the head. Set the string aside for now. Some people may want to dye the pocket of their lacrosse head, in which case you can leave the string in! But, this approach is pretty uncommon.

Place duct tape over parts of the head you want to remain uncolored. Tear off a few strips of duct tape and wrap them around any spots on the plastic lacrosse head that you’d like to remain uncolored. Remember that the spots you’re about to tape are going to remain white when the stick is complete. You can get as creative with this as you like! For example, try cutting star or triangle shapes out of the duct tape and spacing them out along the lacrosse head to give it a creative pattern. If you want the numbers or your team name on the lacrosse head to remain undyed, cover them with tape. Or, if you want to dye the head in a striped pattern, alternate taped and non-taped sections along the length of the head. On the other hand, if you’d like to dye the entire lacrosse head 1 color—whether or not you’re using the marbling technique—you can skip using tape.

Soaking the Head in a Dye Bath

Boil water on the stove to warm up the lacrosse head dye. Fill a large metal pot or other heat-proof container with 1–2 litres (0.26–0.53 US gal) of tap water. Heat the water on your stovetop range until it’s boiling. Keep the water on medium-high heat so it maintains a steady, rolling boil throughout the dyeing process. If you plan on using 2 colors of dye, boil 2 large pots of water. If you’re only using 1 color, you only need to boil 1 large pot of water. Select a container that is large and durable enough to withstand the heat of boiling water. An old kitchen pot that the family is no longer using is a good option.

Pour 1 container of dye into each pot of boiling water. Once the water is at a smooth, rolling boil, open your container(s) of lacrosse-head dye. Dump a full container into each of the pots of water. Stir the dye and water mixture with a wooden spoon to make sure the color is evenly diluted throughout the water. If you’ve dyed lacrosse heads before this, you can experiment with the color dilution a little. For example, if you want 1 of the 2 colors you’re using to be lighter than the other, only pour 1/2 of the liquid dye into the pot of boiling water. Keep in mind that the spoon you use will probably end up dyed after you stir the dye and water mixture!

Dip the lacrosse head into the boiling dye mixture for 20-30 seconds. Pick up the lacrosse head with a pair of kitchen tongs so you won’t risk burning your fingers. Lower the lacrosse head into the boiling water and dye mixture, and leave it in the water for at least 20 seconds. Lift the head out of the water once the 20-30 seconds have passed, and let it drip dry for about 10 seconds. If you’d like the head to have a dark color, leave the head in the dye for longer—try 30 seconds for a very dark hue. Don’t let the lacrosse head rest against the hot bottom of the pot, or you’ll risk melting the head. Grasp the head with the tongs the entire time it’s in the dye. The dye will not change the color of the webbing spray that you applied earlier, if you chose to create a marbling effect on the head.

Applying Marbling Spray

Shake the can of webbing paint spray vigorously before using. Before you spray the paint onto the lacrosse head, give it 15-20 shakes up and down. This will mix the spray paint in the can. If you forget to shake the can, the webbing paint will come out unevenly and may not look very good on the dyed head. Since it’s almost always black, the webbing paint will not take the color of liquid dye once you dye the lacrosse head. Purchase a can of webbing paint spray at any craft or hobby-supply store. It comes in a variety of colors—including black, red, green, and purple—so pick out whichever color you’d like.

Prop the lacrosse head in front of a sheet of newspaper. You can also set it up on a piece of disposable cardboard if you have cardboard around your home. The webbing spray that you’ll use to create the marbling pattern on your lacrosse head can get pretty messy, so cover at least a 4 by 4 feet (1.2 m × 1.2 m) area. Place the head at the center of the newspaper covering. You can use marbling in combination with the duct-tape color blocking, or you can skip those steps and just use the marbling technique. It’s up to you; you can be as creative as you like when coloring your lacrosse head!

Spray webbing paint spray across the lacrosse head. Hold a can of webbing paint spray 3 feet (0.91 m) away from the lacrosse head. Depress the button on top of the can to spray out the paint. It’ll come out in an uneven, web-like spray. Move the spray nozzle back and forth so that the spray covers the entirety of the head. Let the webbing paint dry for about 2 hours before you dye it in your liquid dye mixture. If you’re not sure whether or not the paint is dry, try tapping it with 1-2 fingers. If your fingers come away wet, give the paint another 30 minute to dry.

Dyeing the Head a Second Color

Cover new parts of the head with tape if you’d like to preserve the color. If you are dying the head a second color, then you need to leave the tape on the head that you placed on there before to keep the white parts of the stick. Now, before dipping the full head into the second color, add more tape to keep parts of the head the color that you just dyed them. Move from using your darkest color to using your lightest color, so that the second color doesn’t overpower the first color. For example, say that you’re dyeing the first half the head red and the second half of it blue. If you don’t want any overlap between the colors—which would give the middle of the head a purple hue—cover the red part closest to the middle with duct tape. This will keep the red color intact and prevent the blue from changing the red.

Dip the head into a second color of dye. If you’re dying the lacrosse head more than 1 color, hold the partially-dyed head with your tongs again and dip it into the second color. As before, keep the head in the water for 20-30 seconds to let the dye soak into the plastic. Since you’re using a darker color, you may not need to dye the head for much longer than 20 seconds. As with the first color, suspend the head over the boiling water for 10-15 seconds once it’s dyed to allow excess dye to drip off. An easy way to have a 2-colored lacrosse head is to only dip the top half of the lacrosse head in 1 color for 30 seconds. Then, flip the head over and dip its lower half in the second color of dye for another 30 seconds.

Remove the duct tape stripes or pattern once the head has cooled. Use your fingernails or the point of a knife blade to lift up the edges of the pieces of duct tape that you applied earlier. The patches of plastic under the tape should still be white. Keep in mind that you can still dye the lacrosse head 2 colors without using duct tape. If you opted not to use any duct tape, you can skip this step.

Rinse the head off with cool water once it’s fully dyed. Once the head is dyed, place it immediately under the tap of the sink under ice-cold water. This will wash off all the remaining dye and will prevent it from bleeding back onto the string. Rinsing the stick with cool water also cures the stick, meaning that the dye will not bleed off of it and onto your hands. Instead of rinsing the lacrosse head under the faucet, you could also fill a large baking tray with cold water and submerge the head in the tray for 30 seconds.