Acid Dye for Feathers - Any Tips?

[MAT]

I have some acid dye from Dharma Trading Co for my wild turkey feathers.  Instructions are a little confusing, especially on when to add vinegar.  Some say at the end, others in rinse water, some don't mention.  Also there is the paint on and steam method that doesn't use vinegar? What method works best to keep the shape?   Please, discussion on using acid dyes only.

[Bldtrailer]

Kool aid feather dye   just like easter eggs.  Rinse feathers in warm water with 2 drops of dawn soak 5min agitate, then put in 2nd bath with clean water2min with 1 table spoon vinger ,3rd container with heated water and dye(I really do use Kool aid )and table spoon of vinger let soak till you get your color, then rinse in cool water.and dry flat. If you want deeper color let stand in 3rd bath longer &or add more dye. The vinger and soap remove the oils in the feathers in the 1st&2nd container. the heat and vinger set the color in the feathers    the feathers on left were KOOL AID DYED

[Grey Taylor]

Mark, your last sentance has flumoxed all those guys who want to tell you of their experiences using a different dye    :D  

I used Dharma Jacquard acid dyes for one batch of feathers. I have more colors and intend to use it again, just haven't had the chance yet.
Here are the directions I used from the Dharma website:
 
1.Fill a stainless steel or enamel pot with just enough hot or warm water for the fabric to swim freely, turn on the heat.
 2.Add the dye powder to the pot and stir. Normally, in this procedure you would add 2 to 4% of the dry weight of the fabric in dye powder. For example, if you are dyeing 1 pound of fabric, use 1/3 to 2/3 of an ounce of dye.
 3.Add the fabric that has been thoroughly wetted to the dyepot.
 4.Raise the temperature to 185 to 200 degrees, just below boiling. Stir frequently.
 5.Add ¼ cup of vinegar per pound of fabric. Try not to pour directly onto the fabric. Or add 1 Tbs. of Citric Acid per lb of dry fabric if you don't like the smell of vinegar.
 6.Maintain temperature and stir frequently for ½ hour. Wash in Synthrapol or Professional Textile Detergent and warm water.

The vinegar went into the pot when it reached the right temperature and after the feathers were put into the dye mixture. After stirring and simmering for 1/2 hour I rinsed in plain water.
The only issue I had was the feather vanes seperating in the process. A friend advised me to get a zippered pillow case, put the wet feathers in that, and use the clothes dryer to dry the feathers. He said that will keep the vanes in good shape. I haven't tried it yet but I've got the zippered pillow case and will use it on the next batch.

Overall I was really happy with the results. I got a color that is not available from any feather manufacturer and it matched perfectly with the arrows I fletched.
I'm sure dyes like Koolaid work great but the range of colors in Dharma's acid dyes and the professional results can't be beat. They were also pretty helpful when I emailed with a question.  

Guy

[Bldtrailer]

True but Kool aid and any food color can be used and if you buy right after easter they can be fun and cheap Colors you can't get other wise cherry red lemon yellow lime greenblue rasberry
orange  and if you have kids or grand kids you  should see them light up when you  tell/show them how you dyed your feathers   all kool aid dyed cherry blue rasberry orange

[Grey Taylor]

Thomas, it's not that Koolaid and other food dyes won't work, they obviously do.
But Mark asked for information on the dye that he's chosen to use and specifically asked that the conversation be limited to those dyes.
It's one of the things that baffles me on the forum, that people have specific questions and sometimes the balance of the replies they get have absolutely nothing to do with their questions.
Besides, all the Koolaid colors are easily available in the acid dyes as well as many colors not available in Koolaid. I have yet to see brown or off-white Koolaid... and I'm not sure I want to.

Guy

[bowslinger]

I have some brown Koolaid.  Its called Scotch for some reason?

[Killdeer]

Mix orange and lime. Sorry, Guy and Mat!   :p  

Killdeer

[Bldtrailer]

I was just trying to show that dyeing      :(        :D        :p   feathers need not be    , not tweeking any    noses just showing a different way to get to the same place. So please take a deep breath get a glass of the brown kool aid (JD)   and enjoy the ride

[Bldtrailer]

Forgot to add you can use coffee or tea to get brown

[MAT]

Thanks to those who kept on the subject.  I don't care about koolaid, so you other guys are not going to convince me, unless you can prove that commercial feathers are dyed with the stuff.  I’ll bet it’s an acid dye, which is made for protein based things like feathers.  I already have the acid dye, so I’m using it.  Nuff said.