Dye feathers?

[Red Owl]

Is it possible to dye feathers? I have some dun Goose Biots that I may have to color black and maybe some other colors as well. What, if anything, can be used? Magic Marker? Something else? Obviously the color would have to hold when wet and the ink not damage the feather. Thanks.

 

[MoscaPescador]

Yes, you can dye feathers. One of my friends does it often. Just use the Rit Dye that you get from drug/grocery store.

I do not know how well a goose biot will hold a dye especially if it has been dyed already. I'd try a sharpie pen or one of those Prismatic pens that you could get from a fly shop.

MP

 

[Jimmie]

The guy that taught me to tie dyes his own with Ritz Dye. He said that the secret is from dye solution into ice water/vinegar mix (I don't know the dilution). I have tied with hackle that he dyed. It looked perfect.

 

[Liphookedau]

Hi Red Owl.
Yes it's possible to die feathers,only if you mostly have large ammounts,however it can be/ is messy.
There are many substances you can use,you can usually buy dyes from
Fabric,craft shops etc.I have even used coffee,cake colourings,potassium permanganate,etc.
The Fabric Dyes are the way to go.
Steps:As I have done it.
1 Pour some water into a small container,(an old Stainless Saucepan is best)also add some Salt,Vinegar,or both,to act as a "mordant' to keep the colour in the feathers,& heat. About a teaspoon of Salt to a pint of water,about 2 or 3 capfulls of Vinegar,should be OK.
2 Put a small ammount of dye into the water.
3 Place a few feathers in the mixture for a minute or so,remove,rinse under cold water.place on an old piece of cloth.Check for colour,add water,dye if needed.It's a matter of trial & error.
Warnings:
1 Make sure you wear rubber gloves,as the dye can ingrain in your skin.
2 Don't boil the feathers as a gooey mess & ruined feathers can be the result.3 Only dye small ammounts of feathers each time.
liphooked

 

[jpbfly]

Hi red owl,my first wife:icon_lol: was a haidresser she dyed some capes for me,I remember an ash grey one which was great(from a white one)if it's well done the feathers are a bit stiffer and maybe more brilliant...so if you know a hairdresser ask him or her...

 

[glassroddr]

I remember a while ago using hair coloring to dye a cape. It was a pale cream and turned out a very nice shade of dun. Can't remember what colour I used though.

Marc

 

[FISHN50]

You can dye feathers easy. You got great advice here on how to do it.
Fly Tyer's Mag had a article on dying feathers a few years ago so maybe you can go to their website & Ck. it out. If you're only going to be dying biots & just a little of them of different colors your best bet might be to just buy the things rather than go thru all that trouble...

 

[Guest1]

You can dye feathers easy. You got great advice here on how to do it.
Fly Tyer's Mag had a article on dying feathers a few years ago so maybe you can go to their website & Ck. it out. If you're only going to be dying biots & just a little of them of different colors your best bet might be to just buy the things rather than go thru all that trouble...

Was that the one about using coolaid? If it was, it works really well. you can mix coolaid flavors to get almost any color and it is seriously permanent. If you want I'll see if I can dig the article out for you.

 

[Pocono]

If you're going to re-dye a material that's already dyed (assuming that your dun biots are dyed; not sure about that), then you may want to bleach them first before re-dying, so that you're starting with a near-white base. Otherwise, you will likely get a combination of the original color (dun) and whatever you choose to dye them with.

 

[peregrines]

I haven’t done it, so take this with a grain of salt, but I think Black is going to be difficult—you may want to see a hairdresser about that, thought the process can be a bit messy—from what I hear- mine hair is all gray. I know some folks use hair dyes for various shades of dun and they come out very well as Marc mentioned.

Here’s a link to a discussion on another board about using some of the dyes like Veniard etc
http://www.washingtonflyfishing.com/board/showthread.php?t=46906

And here’s a link to a pdf from Ron Lucas Senior on dying with Koolaid (note--- use sugar free)
http://www.ronnlucassr.com/docs/Dying Feathers 101.pdf

You can get various shades by using different colors, but the advice seems to be to dye them separately, over dying with a different color as opposed to mixing colors and trying to dye in one shot because of the difference in absorption between different color dyes no matter what type of dye you use.

There's a lot of info you can find with Google, and AK Best wrote a whole book about it: [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Dyeing-Bleaching-Natural-Fly-Tying-Materials/dp/1558212140"]Amazon.com: Dyeing and Bleaching Natural Fly-Tying Materials (9781558212145): A. K. Best, John Gierach: Books[/ame]

Good luck- hope to see some before and after pics if you give it a shot.

Mark

 

[peregrines]

I haven’t done it, so take this with a grain of salt, but I think Black is going to be difficult—you may want to see a hairdresser about that, thought the process can be a bit messy—from what I hear- mine hair is all gray. I know some folks use hair dyes for various shades of dun and they come out very well as Marc mentioned.

Here’s a link to a discussion on another board about using some of the dyes like Veniard etc
http://www.washingtonflyfishing.com/board/showthread.php?t=46906

And here’s a link to a pdf from Ron Lucas Senior on dying with Koolaid (note--- use sugar free)
http://www.ronnlucassr.com/docs/Dying Feathers 101.pdf

You can get various shades by using different colors, but the advice seems to be to dye them separately, over dying with a different color as opposed to mixing colors and trying to dye in one shot because of the difference in absorption between different color dyes no matter what type of dye you use.

There's a lot of info you can find with Google, and AK Best wrote a whole book about it: [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Dyeing-Bleaching-Natural-Fly-Tying-Materials/dp/1558212140"]Amazon.com: Dyeing and Bleaching Natural Fly-Tying Materials (9781558212145): A. K. Best, John Gierach: Books[/ame]

Good luck- hope to see some before and after pics if you give it a shot.

Mark