We Are Dyeing To Get To Grips With This!

7 February 2022 | Sarah

Home Dye's
Degreasing
Bleaching
Acid Dying
Drying & Storage

All natural products have some oils left in the skin patch which allows the product to remain flexible. You can see the oils on cardboard or paper which some Necks, Saddles and Backs are supplied in or if you leave a skin patch on your tying bench you will quickly see it appear making the surface darker in colour.

It is advised that you degrease your natural materials prior to use. Veniard have a wonderful product called Venpol which you can use by mising with water 1 part Venpol to 160 part water (if you need help like me this means: 6.25ml Venpol mixed with 1 Litre water)

You do not need to have a specific agent as long as you have a clear washing liquid that will do.

DO NOT use a coloured washing liquid as this will potentially leave a colour on your material.

Once you have created your degreasing mixture add all materials to the bowl ensuring that all skins are submerged in the mixture.

The longer you keep the skins in the mixture the more oil will be removed.
However keep in mid that the feathers will eventually loosen from the skin as it starts to disintegrate from excessive liquid.
A good soak overnight should suffice to remove the excess oil without feathers detatching.

Twitch the materials every now and then to remove the layer of liquid directly next to the skin so that you ensure full degreasing penetration as it will loose strength the longer it is left.

Pushed for Time? Use the Hot Degreasing Method!

Heat your degreasing mixture in a pan to a maximum of 50'C / 120 'F.
Add your materials and frequely stir, the heat will dissolve the fat cells quicker.
This method should only take a couple of hours however you will find the skins are a little more brittle that the cold degreasing method.

Bleaching

Honestly for best results nip down to the shop and buy some over the counter blonde hair dye / bleach and follow the instructions.
The fabulousness of this is that there are many different blonde colours to choose from so you are sure to get the perfect shade for your requirements!

So simple it is crazy!

Acid Dying

All materials take dye at a different rate and depending on the original colour can be brighter than others. A white or pre-bleached material will dye much brighter than a natural.

The main key to dyeing is that the temperature that you put the material into should be no hotter than you can withstand when you put in your hand. (About 50'C / 120'F)

However darker colours like black require a hotter temperature to kick start the solution curing. You must remember to allow this to cool down before you put in your materials however.

Add to a pan of boiling water about a quarter tea spoon of your chosen dye powder per litre of water and stir until completly dissolved. If you want to add more you can do.

To fix the colour you need some sort of Acid like distilled white vinegar. One tablespoon is required per litre of boiling water. For darker shades add more acid to the bath (especially when dying black!)

Keep your material moving to ensure full penetration of dye colour.

Majority of dyes are made up of more than one colour which do not cure at the same time so you must allow time for the colours to adhere.

Check the shading by removing from the bath and washing under cold water. (Ideally you dont want to remove the whole material so it is best to have a test feather / fur patch to remove.)

The material will always look darker when wet. If you find that it has dried and is too light then you can repeat the dying until your pefect shade is found.

Veniard dyes are ideal for fly tyers to get started with dying. Each 15g pack comes with full instructions and colour list so you can keep track of what colours you have.

Also available in bulk packs for the more avid dyers out there!
100g
500g
1KG

Veniard Dye Colour Chart:

Drying & Storing

Blot excess moisture from the material with a old towel (trust me use an old one!) and gently squeeze (no twisting please).

To dry you can use a hairdryer but DO NOT dry from the skin side as this will curl and shrink.

Always dry from the
feather / fur side.

Be aware that you should always dry the material as straight as possible as the material will stay at any angle you dry it.
The only way to correct this is to re-wash or steam it.

A baby brush or comb will be a fantastic addition to your dye box as it will gently align and straighten the bristles.

For the best storing solution you should always keep feathers and furs sandwiched between cardboard or newspaper to soak up any excess oils.
I recommend storing in the original bag so you know the product and grading, then store inside a larger box clearly labelled so you know what is inside...
Saddles / Necks / Bucktail / Squirrel etc...