Hide the ugliness. Please.

February 26, 2012 7:05 PM

How do I hide the ugly colors on the cables of these headphones?

I have these Bose headphones that sound like a dream, but I dread stepping out with them because of that two-tone color scheme. Is there a decent tape that I can use to cover these up? Something else besides tape?

posted by raheel to computers & internet (13 answers total)

Cover them in yarn or floss.
posted by soelo at 7:16 PM on February 26, 2012 [3 favorites]

Wrap them with yarn? I recently used those instructions to wrap a pair for myself and I'm happy with the results. I do wish I'd practiced on something else first because my tension was loose at the point where I started for several inches.
posted by des at 7:16 PM on February 26, 2012 [1 favorite]

A few ideas: people recable headphones all the time. If you don't mind soldering, you can just replace the cable with any wire you like.

You can put TechFlex around the cables. Use heat shrink at the ends to join the TechFlex to the cable itself.

Narrow gauge heat shrink tubing on the whole thing, maybe? It would make the cable stiffer, but also less resistant to breaks.

Otherwise, why not just use a sharpie? It might wear off with time but would be easy to touch up when needed. On second thought...you might want to test to be sure that sharpie won't come off on your shirt. I can imagine that scenario going poorly.

If sharpie is a no-go, there must be some other sort of dye or paint that is more permanent and easy to apply.
posted by wondercow at 7:21 PM on February 26, 2012

Heat-shrink tubing
posted by XMLicious at 7:21 PM on February 26, 2012

Heat shrink will make thing uncomfortably stiff.

They're probably PVC based so you can dye them any other color you want (including black) with cheap Rit dye. Securely tape plastic bags over the buds before dying.

You can also clip the end off a shoelace and thread the cabling through it.
posted by Ookseer at 7:43 PM on February 26, 2012 [1 favorite]

for mics that we put on actors we usually paint the cable with something like this:
Meltonian Nu Life Color Spray

It's pretty flexible without cracking off as long as you do multiple thin coverings.
Remember to tape off any of the parts that don't want to get paint in them.
posted by aloiv2 at 8:30 PM on February 26, 2012 [1 favorite]

Sharpie?
posted by segatakai at 9:05 PM on February 26, 2012

Yes, sharpie?
posted by springload at 11:08 PM on February 26, 2012

Thirding Sharpie. I've done this myself loads of times. It works well. Let each "coat" dry before applying the next.
posted by JtJ at 3:04 AM on February 27, 2012

Would it help matters at all to assure you that you are the only one who will ever notice or care about the "ugly" cables?

Personally, I recommend against sharpie. Fall asleep on those suckers once, and you'll wake up with a nice, gray line printed across your cheek. Been there.
posted by phunniemee at 4:36 AM on February 27, 2012 [5 favorites]

Agreeing with phunniemee here. I actually have these, and they're not ugly. I actually kind of dig them for their distinctiveness.
posted by kuanes at 4:38 AM on February 27, 2012

Haha, no one is looking at your headphones.

Anyhow, what about a little fingernail polish?
posted by hermitosis at 10:14 AM on February 27, 2012

Hmmm... Maybe I will give these another try. (I much prefer a no-frills look and this makes me look like a candy cane.)

Thanks for chiming in everyone.
posted by raheel at 6:19 PM on February 27, 2012