Author Topic: Bleaching feathers?  (Read 5519 times)

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Offline Prarie Bowyer

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Bleaching feathers?
« on: October 21, 2012, 01:47:18 am »
How is it possible to belach a feather white?  I have some black goose feathers and I'd like to make them speckled.  I'm thinking it might be neat to sprinkle them with a bleaching agent.... but what?

Offline turtle

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Re: Bleaching feathers?
« Reply #1 on: October 21, 2012, 02:20:00 am »
Never tried it yet but i did research it before. Seems that hair bleaching kits work best on feathers.
Steve Bennett

Offline JW_Halverson

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Re: Bleaching feathers?
« Reply #2 on: October 21, 2012, 05:50:09 pm »
I've tried using diluted laundry bleach (chlorine based) and failed miserably.  Not sure how Peroxide based beauty products may work.  Post your results, please!
Guns have triggers. Bicycles have wheels. Trees and bows have wooden limbs.

Offline JEB

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Re: Bleaching feathers?
« Reply #3 on: October 22, 2012, 10:41:50 am »
bleach ruins about everything it touches.  I went down and put some 40% peroxide on a goose feather. Will  post the results for you later.

Offline JW_Halverson

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Re: Bleaching feathers?
« Reply #4 on: October 22, 2012, 04:02:06 pm »
Thanks JEB.  I appreciate you risking your feathers so we all can learn!   >:D
Guns have triggers. Bicycles have wheels. Trees and bows have wooden limbs.

Offline osage outlaw

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Re: Bleaching feathers?
« Reply #5 on: October 23, 2012, 10:38:08 pm »
I've tried using the peroxide gel that I use for skull mounts.  It didn't do anything.  I left it over night.
I started out with nothin' and I still got most of it left

Offline Prarie Bowyer

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Re: Bleaching feathers?
« Reply #6 on: October 24, 2012, 12:17:44 am »
Oh well.  I'll ned to find some ginuea foul feathers :-)

Offline Tom Leemans

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Re: Bleaching feathers?
« Reply #7 on: October 26, 2012, 12:11:41 pm »
People hand paint artwork on feathers all the time. Time consuming? yes, but you could control how it ends up.

Offline Stoker

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Re: Bleaching feathers?
« Reply #8 on: October 26, 2012, 12:47:11 pm »
Never whitined feathers with peroxide. Mostly bone and horn. It seems to work best in a rather stiff solution and warm. I use a pot and my camp stove on low simmer. Making sure the feathers are split first.
Thanks Leroy
Bacon is food DUCT tape - Cipriano

Offline gstoneberg

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Re: Bleaching feathers?
« Reply #9 on: October 26, 2012, 07:33:39 pm »
I always got my white feathers from my thanksgiving turkeys.  The butcher let me help butcher turkeys and I took all the primaries home.  Very hard work though.

George
St Paul, TX

Offline Fred Arnold

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Re: Bleaching feathers?
« Reply #10 on: October 26, 2012, 09:52:19 pm »
I'll see if i can find pics although I may have deleted them. I tried spraying over the counter peroxide on wild turkey feathers. It turned them a reddish brown and seemed to dry up the natural oils. Wasn't happy with the results so I never pursued it any further.
I found many years ago that it is much easier and more rewarding working with those that don't know anything than those that know it all.

Offline Pat B

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Re: Bleaching feathers?
« Reply #11 on: October 27, 2012, 05:00:53 pm »
 It would probably be easier to add gray poka dots to a white feather than to bleach out spots on a gray feather.
Make the most of all that comes and the least of all that goes!    Pat Brennan  Brevard, NC