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coloring feathers and deer hair

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hello!

 

Does any of you colors feathers and deer hair in diferent colour? which colour do you use? where do you buy it? what about colour for hair or colour for cloths and fabric? do you think that would be good for coloring feathers and deer hair?

 

tanks for answer:-)

 

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There are quite a number of threads here that pertain to dyeing materials. Just use the site search feature and you'll find plenty of information. Dyeing materials is relatively easy and inexpensive.

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This might sound weird but I use non sweet kool aid powder for dying feathers, deer hair, just about anything. Read this if you are interested:

 

 

Dyeing with Kool-Aid

After curing your buck tails, patches of deer-body hair, hackle, marabou, whatever you wish to dye a different color:

1. Wash thoroughly in warm water and detergent to remove, oils, grease and grit.

2. Rinse several times in warm water to remove all the soap.

3. Leave the hair in water or let it air dry before dying. The hair will absorb dye faster if it’s DRY when you start the process.

4. Dissolve one or more packs of unsweetened Kool-Aid in a little warm water. Using more Kool-Aid gives greater color depth, so don’t be bashful. A Kool-Aid pack only costs 20 cents at my local Wal-Mart, so price is really no obstacle.

5. Put the liquid dye in a microwave-safe container; add the hair and enough warm water(with a tablespoon or two of vinegar to help set the color) to cover your materials..

6. Zap it in the microwave for a couple of minutes, and then let it sit. The water should be hot, but not simmering or boiling. You don’t want to actually “cook” the hair and hide. (You can do this on a stove top, also, but I found the microwave much easier.)

7. After a while, turn and wiggle the hair in the dye bath to distribute fresh dye among the fibers, using tongs or chopsticks(saved from the last time you had sushi) also work well.

8. Heat again. Let it sit some more.

9. When it looks as if you’ve achieved the desired color, rinse the hair in clear warm water to check.

10. What you see is what you get.

11. If the color looks good, rinse completely and let the material air dry.

12. If more color seems needed, heat the dye bath again and leave the hair in it longer. Sometimes you will find that it is not quite dark enough, but that there is no dye left that can be absorbed in the water. Just like it says in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Don't Panic, just remember to write down your portions when you are making a batch of dye, so if you need more you can easily reproduce the proper color, (and this helps when you go back in a couple of months to get that same 'color' again, if you haven't written down the proportions, I hope you have a photographic memory, because it is hard to remember exactly how much of this color, and how much of that color went in to make the perfect color...well, for me it is hard to remember.)

13. That’s basically it.

14. Note these cautions.

a. Wear rubber gloves, or you’ll be wearing purple (or whatever color) hands for a while.

b. And remember, you’re using a dye. Spilling it makes a heck of a mess, so be careful, if married, maybe get an old microwave for the garage...saves marriages when you don't spill dye all over something that is old and irreplaceable..

c. Finally, try using just a small piece of scrap hair, or feathers, first to get the hang of it.

15. Having said all that, I’ll also point out that you can buy a premium dyed buck tail for $5 to $7, which is what most often do.

16. On the other hand, my most recent experiment gave me a gorgeous pale-lavender dye-job on a natural-white buck tail that will be just perfect for landlocked-salmon, or bass streamers. It’s a color that’s almost impossible to find commercially, one that I obtained with grape Kool-Aid....

 

I hope this helps....getting a color wheel helps too, so you can blend colors for different shades....

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Hair dyes and dyes for cloth generally work very well for hair and feathers. Your problem will be finding out what names Clairol gives to the colours dun, ginger and olive.

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Here is a link that someone posted a while back with some good info on the kool-aid dying process

 

http://www.dyeyouryarn.com/kool-aid.html

 

Great info! Just ordered some white saddle hackle for wooly buggers thinking it could become just about any color I want. I just wasn't sure of what Kool-Aid to mix to get what color and am glad I won't have to experiment as much now.

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Also, let me say that I got that information off the web, so i don't want anyone to think I am taking credit for another person's work. So, it was not copyrighted and I felt it was ok to download the information for reference material, and I thought I would just share it with everyone. But I am not the original author, so if you see something very similar on the web, it was either the guy who wrote it, or another plagerizer....like I almost was...should have said this when I posted....but there was already so much information....

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I have used Rit dye for almost 30 years with great success. I have some deer hair I died brown with Rit that is 20 years old and the color is holding strong. Stored in a dark box, but it still ties well and catches fish.

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I wonder what recipe would give me a nice olive color on feathers with kook-aid?

 

I don't think you can get olive (or any earth tones) with Kool-Aid. You'd probably have to experiment with Rit unless you can find a commercial acid dye. Rit's a bit trickier since it's a mixed dye and the material won't absorb all the dye the way it will with Kool-Aid. Still, you can get some colors with Rit that you'll never find in commercially prepared materials. Just a matter of experimenting with small amounts of material and keeping notes on the results. The guide below can be a help in pointing you in the right direction, but don't expect to match the colors exactly with Rit. The commercial acid dyes are better, but they're more expensive and harder to find locally.

 

http://www.ritdye.com/colorit_color_formula_guide

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Check out the link posted by terrymiller1973 above. You can achieve "earth" tones with drink mix (Kool-Aid) by blending ratios of flavors. Shades of brown with the Grape and Orange combo and a lt olive with the Lemon-lime and Orange combo have both worked well for me on a variety of fur and feathers. I could not achieve a satisfactory dark olive with drink mix. For Black and Dark Olive (avocado), I used the powdered acid dye from Dharma Trading Company. I found it to be far superior and more economical in the long run than RIT. They also sell Synthrapol and their own brand of fabric detergent. I got a "blacker" black in one round of Synthropol prewash and DTC acid dye than in 2 rounds using RIT on deer hair. I have no interest in this company, but after using the detergent and acid dye I won't ever bother with RIT again. For bright colors, brownish and yellowish tones I'll keep using Kool-Aid.

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"Posted Today, 02:24 PM

Check out the link posted by terrymiller1973 above. You can achieve "earth" tones with drink mix (Kool-Aid) by blending ratios of flavors. Shades of brown with the Grape and Orange combo and a lt olive with the Lemon-lime and Orange combo have both worked well for me on a variety of fur and feathers. I could not achieve a satisfactory dark olive with drink mix. For Black and Dark Olive (avocado), I used the powdered acid dye from Dharma Trading Company. I found it to be far superior and more economical in the long run than RIT. They also sell Synthrapol and their own brand of fabric detergent. I got a "blacker" black in one round of Synthropol prewash and DTC acid dye than in 2 rounds using RIT on deer hair. I have no interest in this company, but after using the detergent and acid dye I won't ever bother with RIT again. For bright colors, brownish and yellowish tones I'll keep using Kool-Aid."

 

That's good info - thanks for posting. These are the kinds of colors I get with Rit dyes. Not exactly pretty, but very "fishy" looking for saltwater baitfish patterns. I'm definitely gonna check out the stuff you recommended.

post-281-0-37707200-1367177732_thumb.jpg

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