Dyeing again

[dabhoy]

How long does the dyeing process take and more important how long does it take to dry(so as not to upset the missus)as space is shared and living where i do you cant guarantee dry weather.

[stevekale]

I have just started dabbling with this. Some quick thoughts. Actual dying is about 15 mins or so. Getting the water to near boiling is what takes the longest. 30 max including tidying up assuming you are simply dying one bunch of material with a single bath (i.e. not dying one colour and then rinsing and dying another colour). :-) Drying can take a long time so best to have somewhere to let things dry overnight (or longer in the case of hair). The other thing you have to factor in is cleaning the materials before dying. But this involves just letting materials soak in Venpol or its equivalent, say overnight.

The thing she won't like is the smell...the heated vinegar/dye solution isn't that bad but then it's not roses either.

[stevekale]

Here is Midlander's very helpful SBS:

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/radbard88/

The other thing to be prepared for when embarking on this is a lot of experimentation (as well as a bunch of other **** in the cupboard related to fly tying).

[dabhoy]

Cheers Steve very helpful i may need to build another shed before i start

[stevekale]

Have fun playing! I just dyed half a cape and some seal's fur the other night. It's a bit of a lark but also an investment in time/focus (much like the decision to tie flies in the first place).

Following Midlander's helpful SBS, I bought the scales on eBay (from China - I was worried that they wouldn't turn up but the service was impeccable:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Digital-100G-0...3A1|240%3A1318

they're not the cheapest on eBay but the others didn't seem plausible - 99p?).

If you buy the chip pan he suggests be aware that the sieve part rusts if you put it in the dishwasher even though it says it is dishwasher safe. That sized pot will do all but largest items. Get a finer sieve if you're going to do loose feathers or something that will fall through the cracks (eg seal fur).

Some other stuff here:

Dyeing Hackles

[CDC]

Hi, I dye things from time to time. Can you be more specific about what it is you are trying to dye, what colour, as the likes of black is slighty differnt and some things are better cold water processed like CDC, and thins can take up to 2 weeks!.

[dabhoy]

Its mainly some experimenting i want to try Capes and deer hair as i feel that it is part of the fly tying process i want to have a go at.I would like to mainly do natural dyed looking material rather than bleaching for vibrant colours. Im not planning on black but that may change.

[The Bear]

Originally Posted by dabhoy

Its mainly some experimenting i want to try Capes and deer hair as i feel that it is part of the fly tying process i want to have a go at.I would like to mainly do natural dyed looking material rather than bleaching for vibrant colours. Im not planning on black but that may change.

Once you start to dye your own materials and catch fish with the flies you tied using your materials you will be on another level mate

[CDC]

Okey doky! Yeah you need to clean the capes with Venpol. Available from Veniard ltd or a local tackle shop might order it for you or some other strong cleanser. Results depend on the colour of the cape to begin with and the shade you want to end up with ( I recomend veniard dyes also. Don't bother will dylon). First a top tip for ensuring a shiny, dye sealed cape is before you drain & rinse the cape, add a few table spoons of 'white wine vineager', (salad vineager), bring it back to a simmer and switch off. Allow tit all to cool naturally before rinsing and leave to dry. Airing cuboards are good for this or sit ontop a radiator or outside. Drying should be done within a few hours to prevent rotting & more bad smells. This really will stink until cooled, but is fine once cold and dry. For best results follow instructions for quantitys. Too big a variance will severely alter the final result. So clean cape over night, rinse then add cape & dye solution in a pan and bring to a simmer. Stir,don't boil. After 10 minutes, remove from heat, add vineager then warm up again for a a few minutes then switch off & allow to cool. Thoroughly rinse in cold water and dry. Protect surfaces & wear gloves. Dye dust is pottent!

[CDC]

I should also add that unless you want to achieve some of the forgotten shades, for example, by cooking up the darker, outside of the onion skins for a ginger shade ( great for dear hair by the way), then stick with bought stuff. It's cheaper, less messy and a whole lot less smelly! For best results though, cold water processing is best for most materials, but not whole capes or anything involving skins and not for certain shades, like black as the pigments keep separating! Great proccess for dubbings, artificial fibers, Cul De Canard, and Marabou etc though! With longer lasting results!