RIT dye question

[The Burnt Hill Archer]

Is it possible to fade this dye like you do leather dye? if so, what do you use to fade it with. would denatured alcohol work, of is there something beter? ive looked all over for leather dye and cant find anything, so i picked up some brown and some black RIT and would like to fade the two. any suggestions would help!
 Thanks in advance!
Phil

[Phillip K]

I use just rubbing alcohol with ritz and made 2 different batches One with more rits and the other with more alcohol. Ya need to filter out the mixture to get the residues out,use silk screen or a piece of t-shirt shaped like a  like a cone so the cloth does not soak up the mixture, thats why I use a small piece of silk screen. Its apply thicker then thinner to get a fade effect, if thats what yer lookin fer I hope it works for ya.

[The Burnt Hill Archer]

That sounds good, thanks. one more question, the black i got is in granular form, didnt realize it till i got home. whats the best way to mix the stuff up?

Phil

[DanaM]

THe granular stuff is salt, something to do with dying clothes, I just mixed it up with alcohol in a small jar
and let the gunk settle.

[El Destructo]

                                  Just got one thing to say about Rit Dye..............Tandy Leather Company   

[Hillbilly]

Rit dye works great, and is easy to fade-no need to get complicated. I use it on bows, arrows, all kinds of stuff. I put some of the granules in a styrafoam cup, enough to cover the bottom; then pour in a bit of rubbing alchohol (just enough to cover the granules). Dip the corner of a paper towel in it and go at it. If you're doing a fade, put the lighter colors on first, then the darker ones. You can vary the shade of your color by how many coats you wipe on. I also mix colors a lot to get the shade I want. If you want a sharp deliniation between colors, use masking tape. Just practice on a piece of scrap wood for a few minutes, and you'll be a pro. 

[Phillip K]

Color pigment from the Paint store works also but it is very consintrated and is water soluble but I only use that if I use a water poly ,Kinda tricky sanding, finish,Sanding. Water you know.PK

[mullet]

  Rit dye is pretty easy to use. You can use it dry too if you want to hand rub it into the grain.I used it on the Static in BOM this month.

[radius]

you can really use it dry?!  And it's all good?  Can you blend colours that way, too...for example, stir some dry rit of 2 colours in a cup and just use that?

I just bought some today...wine colour and tan colour...never used it before...

How does tung oil affect rit dye after it has dried?

[cowboy]

Never tried tung oil over Rit, but use true oil over it every time. No smears or anything, but always put on a quick thin coat the first time - then start layin it on heavy..

[mullet]

  I've never tried tung oil over it either. When I use True Oil I always spray a lite coat of Ureathane first. 
 
   radius, sorry, what I really meant is to slightly dampen the RIT with alcohol and then smear it in to the wood.

[radius]

do you mix it with acetone so that it doesn't raise the grain?

[The Burnt Hill Archer]

wow, thanks for the replies all! some good ideas there too. thats one nice bow there hillbilly. thats exactly the look im goin for.

Phil