Is there a way?

[Guru]

Is there an effective way to dye/stain feathers while on the shaft? I have some shafts that I don't really want to strip and re-fletch. But they're chartreuse and I need to make them less conspicuous for turkey hunting.

 I tried it with black leather shoe dye thinned real good with acetone on a brush. It worked pretty good. Feather stayed soft, and I could even leave the back inch or so bright, kinda like a slice, but it doesn't really dry all the way it seems. If I rub it with my fingers I get some black on them.

Is there a good way to do it so it won't run or rub off?

Thanx

[PSUBowhunter]

Try a permanent marker, I have added stripes this way.

[Izzy]

Try a sharpie bud.Ive seen it done to white and red fletches and it turned them grey more than black.It dried quickly too.

[JC]

What about plain old Rit dye? You use vinegar as the base so it shouldn't hurt the crest or glue. Herb Haines did some for me using Rit some time ago that turned out gorgeous....

 

[ishiwannabe]

Curt, fwiw, I had some white fletched arrows I wanted to green up for turkey. I used GN feather dye, and just submerged the feathered end in the gallon jug for a few seconds. They kept the color, and I cannot tell a difference in performance or texture. They went from pure white to leaf green in about 30 seconds.
Im sure rit would do the same...maybe a brown to dull em up?

[acolobowhunter]

I dye my feathers for the turkeys I have shot with a dye I got from 3 Rivers.  Usually I submerge the entire feather before installing on the shaft.  Maybe using a Q tip and touching the feather would do the trick without removing them.

[Flatstick]

Curt,

I have been using leather dye to stain white turkey feathers. Just like you mentioned, I leave the back inch or so natural. I use a Q-tip dipped in a dark brown dye and just "bounce" it along the edge of the feather. Let the feather itself soak up the dye anyway it wants, this gives it more of a natural barred look. I let them dry for a day or so and then wipe them down with a rag to get the dried residue off the surface. You will be surprised how much of a natural look you can get doing this and it doesn't take much dye. I've never taken any pictures of just the arrows by themselves but here is a pic that shows some arrows that I hunted with last year. If I get a chance I will take some pictures and post them.
 

[drewsbow]

flatstick has it right , run them through a buck first and stain them red :0)  

[imskippy]

I saw some feather dye markers in the 3 rivers catalog. Skippy

[slivrslingr]

Flatstick, beautiful buck and excellent photo!    

[swampbuck]

I've used a marks-alot marker to barr my feathers

[sweet old bill]

I have used a marker over the years to make old feathers dark...

[Guru]

Thanx for the advice guys....

I ended up using the leather dye thinned with acetone....as you can see i used it on most of the shaft also....besides the slightest bit that rubbed off...it came out just like I hoped it would....

In the sunlight it's not so different, but in lower light it's really toned down....

 

 

There are new, but older type(better/tougher) CX Terminators Hunters.....a tuff,heavy shaft....