Liquid RIT Dye questiton

[Caleb the bow breaker]

All,

has anybody used the liquid RIT dye on arrow shafts.  Was hoping to get the powder but wal mart didnt carry it.  Do you still mix with alcohol or just use straight.  Or maybe there might be somewhere else to get it.  Any input or experience would be appreciated

C

[Mike Vines]

I have tried it (red) mixed it with rubbing alcohol, and it bled thru the clear coat and is changing the color of the white paint I had on the shaft.  I had 1 coat of clear between the rit dye and paint.  Not happy with the results, so I will not be using it again. I got awesome color with it, but bleeding thru the clear is a bad thing in my book.

[srtben]

You might try leather dye, the eco flo from tandy leather is a gel, and stays pretty much where you put it.

[DV of WI]

I used it strait and then dipped with poly with out any issues. Put 2-3 coats and let dry well then dipped, color was OK not great.

[Kelly]

Caleb, yes the liguid Rit dye will work direct from the bottle in a wipe on/wipe off situation. If you are wanting to dip with this dye then de-natured alcohol can be added to create a larger volumn.

Mike, you may have capatibility issues with the dye and paint but red dye/stain will be the worst for bleeding.

Been using Rit dye for staining arrow shafts for over 30 years. Learned long ago that if I wanted a solid color crown from paint that I did not stain the area where the crown was to be applied.

Also, remember when using clear that is wiped on, the wiping action can be the cause of bleeding. And when dipping a clear coat make sure it is thin, almost the consistency of water, so the excess runs off quick enough so no build up is created. Furthermore, 3-4 thin coats is much preferred to 1 or two thick coats.

When I used gasket lacquer would have a total of 6-7 coats of clear on my arrows. When I use polyurethane I'll have 4-5 coats.

Use OOOO steel wool in between each 2 coats and then the final one.

[toddster]

i have used it some, nice results.

[Bill Carlsen]

Listen to Kelly.  I have used the powder dye in one quart plastic bottles. Two packets and fill with alcohol. Dip the raw shaft first. Let dry. If is is not the deep color you want repeat until it is. After drying overnight you can overcoat. I use polyurethane about 1/3 thinned with paint thinner. Works great for a crown dip. If you want to do the fore shaft you probably would do best to wipe it on.