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Source for alcohol base dyes

I was fascinated by some of the things that Phil Irons did at KC using powdered dyes that were said to be alcohol ("spirit" in British!) soluble. All of the dyes that I have seen in catalogs-mostly aniline dye-are stated to be water soluble. Chemically, I'd expect them to dissolve in alcohol also. Are there other alcohol based dyes available and where? I tried RIT fabric dye and it did not work

Kip Powers Rogers, AR

Reply to
Kip
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Hello Kip,

I have used TransFast alcohol dyes, available here:

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Fast Solvent Evaporation makes application by hand difficult, at best. I have used commercial retardants and turpentine to offset this, but IMHO, alcohol based dyes are best sprayed unless working on a piece small enough so as not to be a problem. They also fade from UV/sun exposure, far more so than pigmented stains. FWIW,

Greg G.

Reply to
Greg G

Yep, like dissolves like. Most aniline dyes are either/or in their directions for that reason. Free advice - if you dissolve them in a polar solvent, make the finish one with a non-polar vehicle. Shellac moves those dyes a bit, and makes 'em sort of ugly if you're not careful.

Reply to
George

I dissolved some Lee Valley water-soluble bright accent aniline dyes in alcohol. Worked but didn't dissolve as well as with water. IIRC, I thought LV had made an error and put blue dye in the Forrest green package. When i dissolved it in water it was green alright. billh

Reply to
billh

Thanks to all three of you for the information Kip

Reply to
Kip

Aniline dyes don't dissolve well in 100% alcohol, but do OK. At least the ones I've used. One trick is to make a soupy paste of dye and water then add alcohol.

Consumer dyes, and some industrial dyes, come with salt added. It is a mordant, helps the dye take a set. I've always worried about the salt interfering with finishes so removed the salt by using alcohol to dissolve the dye, leaving the salt behind. Dan

Reply to
Dan Bollinger

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