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How to Turn Silly Putty a Different Color

Silly Putty was first created in 1943 by James Wright who combined boric acid and silicone oil to make this classic pliable, bouncy, slightly gooey toy. Since its creation, silly putty has grown in popularity; to meet demands, the manufacturer produces 600 pounds of Silly Putty each day. Boric acid and silicone oil lack bright color pigments, but colors are added for a fun twist on this classic toy. As of March, 2011, Silly Putty is sold in four solid colors, four glow-in-the-dark colors, and three heat-reactive colors. However, if you want a custom color, you can do this with basic household products.

Things You'll Need

Bowl
Food coloring
Latex gloves
Wax paper

Instructions

- 1
  Place your silly putty in a mixing bowl. The original dull pink-colored silly putty works best for colorizing, as it is the product's natural color.
- 2
  Add two or three drops of food coloring into the bowl. You can always add more coloring later if these few drops don't create a dark enough shade.
- 3
  Put on latex gloves. Food coloring is not harmful to your skin, but it can temporarily stain your fingers.
- 4
  Knead the Silly Putty, working the color into the putty. It will take several minutes for the food coloring saturate the Silly Putty.
- 5
  Set the Silly Putty on a wax paper overnight, letting the food coloring dry. After the food coloring's liquid evaporates overnight, the color pigment stays behind on the Silly Putty.

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