A few weeks ago, I was reading through a thread looking at some beautiful engine bays when I was inspired to try and clean my own up a bit. My BMS dual cone filters were looking a bit dirty these days and ever since installing my amber halos, I'd thought of doing some type of amber/orange filters to break up the all black.
Here are the supplies I started with:
- Brand new set of BMS white dual cone filters
- RIT Liquid Dye (I chose Tangerine)
- Green Filter Cleaner
- Green Filter Orange Oil
I used a stainless steel sink, so I wouldn't have to worry about making a permanent mess. I also watched the video published by RIT on how to use their liquid dye, and they suggest adding a bit of salt in the hot water when dying cotton and similar materials.
After dissolving the salt in hot water, add a bit of dishwashing liquid to the mix.
Add the liquid dye. I used about half the bottle and then stirred everything up.
Slowly submerge the filters into the water and dye mixture until they're sitting on the bottom.
Do the same for the second.
Keep checking in on the color of the filters and remove once you get to a desired shade. After letting all of the dye/water mixture drip off as possible, I transferred the two filters to the other side of the sink. To ensure no staining, and to stay on good terms with my girlfriend, I gave the sink a good scrubbing with a soap pad.
Rinse thoroughly. This may take a while before you see the bleeding colors stop dripping. Eventually the water will run clear though.
I then added a bit of dishwashing liquid to the sink, refilled with fresh water, and gave the filters a good cleaning, just as I would with a dirty set.
Place on a towel you don't care about and let dry. I sat mine outside on a hot summer day to speed up the process.
From there I applied the Green Filter orange oil so I wouldn't compromise the intended color of the filters.
Add the anodized black aluminum couplers and they're ready to install.
And the final product with black DME cover and brake fluid reservoir:
I can't see how dying the filters, cleaning them thoroughly, and re-oiling them would have any negative effects. RIT also comes in about every color imaginable, so the possibilities are endless.