Stripping and Dying Peacock

[kelso2340]

Does anybody do this? I have a ton or large peacock feathers that were given to me and I would like to have some stripped quills and have learned how to do it. But I am just wondering if anybody ever had any experience with it and is it worth it? Is the stripped quill literally just the stems of the feather stripped of their little fibers?

 

[mario66pens]

Yes, it isn't too hard to do. The best way IMO is to use an eraser to strip the quills

 

[RLeeP]

The old timey way to strip peacock was to dip the quills in a 50/50 Clorox/water solution for a few seconds and then immediately rinse them in cold water and then let them soak over night in a glycerin solution of some sort to restore flexibility. It works really well, but it can be a tricky process, especially in getting the timed exposure to the bleach right.

You might be better off with the eraser unless you are doing more than a dozen or so peacock sticks at the same time. The eraser thing gets kinda monotonous and annoying at this sort of volume...

 

[marcq]

the Clorox thing works but can be tough to work with after. it also give a lighter color to the stripped hearl. looks good for midge bodies. eraser is also a good option but not as fast.

 

[nfrechet]

i strip peacock quills with my thumbnail.

i buy the dyed quills. so much easier to let somebody else do it for you

 

[lv2nymph]

^^Agreed^^


http://www.performanceflies.com/SearchResults.asp?Search=polish+quills

 

[Dcap240]

I've done it with this video:
Stripping with bleach
It worked really well actually. You just have to keep a close eye on it and don't leave it in the bleach too long. I haven't dyed them but I have used markers and it will rub off a little but they will hold some of the color. Coat it in a little varnish after you tie your fly and the color will stay.

 

[Crotalus]

was just reading in AK Bests book about this, he uses the bleach method but says to absolutely not soak them in glycerin. He had a reason but I dont remember exactly what it was, something to do with water absorption.

 

[BradFromPotter]

After bleaching them soak them in water with a little baking soda then store them in water with a little hair conditioner that does NOT have alcohol.

 

[eunanhendron]

I did it with 10% bleach solution (10ml bleach, 90ml water).
Wet them first with water, transfer them to the bleach solution and agitate them by shaking, then transfer them to a 10% solution of vinegar, then rinse in water.

It takes a little longer with the 10% bleach, but the result is you dont completely burn the stems you want.
Agitating them helps to get the bleach between the fibers and you will see them come off the herls.

For dyeing, i just used acid dyes (Jacquard, ProChem, Cushings) or which ever (usually about $5 for a lifetime supply, unless you intend doing this a lot with one dye, you'll have enough for at least 100 dye baths)

I can post a picture tonight of the final dyed and undyed quills.

 

[Dcap240]

Question for anybody that has successfully dyed stripped peacock quills. Have you ever been able to get yellow or a golden olive similar to the polish quills? Similar to these?

I'm wondering if stripping them with bleach effects them somehow because the polish quills are not stripped with bleach. I used a 25% bleach 75% warm water to strip them. The quills took red, orange and purple well but yellow, blue, green not so well. I've tried kool aid and rit dye for yellow and green both on the stove top and in the microwave. I've tried it with vinegar and without, with salt and without. Even tried a super concentrated dye bath and soaking them in warm soapy water before dyeing. Any help would be appreciated. Obviously it can be done, somehow.

 

[eunanhendron]

1. use a different dye, either ProChem, Jacquard or Cushings - these companies all sell acid fast dyes. With Cushings, theres no need for additional acid, - when the dye bath turns clear all the dye has been take up by the material and is already fixed

2. leave them in the bath over night. No need to keep the heat on (for obvious reasons)

3. also, use less bleach - you're burning off dye holding materials (cells) with a higher % of bleach.

10% is more than enough, you just want to strip off the herl fibers. It will take a little longer than with 25% bleach, but it will leave you better substrate (quills) to take up the dye.

Kool aid is not a dye, despite the fact it gives ok results.
Rit dyes are a conglomeration of different dyes with different properties, thus you get different results from batch to batch.

Specific acid dyes are the only way to get consistent results, and ive used dyes from all three of the manufacturers listed above.

 

[Dcap240]

Thanks Eunan. Any one of these dyes you prefer? How do you work with these for the peacock quills? Stovetop just to get it to temperature then shut it off and let it sit overnight? You are 100% right about the Rit dye. I have lemon yellow, Kelly green, and dark brown. Sometimes the dark brown comes out purple and sometimes the green comes out blue. The yellow has worked pretty well. I've never died anything until a few days ago and I gotta say I enjoyed it. If I can save myself a few bucks by dying it myself then it's more money I can spend on other materials and you can get some unique colors that you can't buy.

 

[eunanhendron]

For simplicity, Cushings.
Heat the bath, add the dye then add the materials. Once the bath is clear, dyeing is done. Obviously, if you've a concentrated bath and hardly any materials, you'll either get a darker finished product (more dye absorbed) or a bath which doesnt become clear, or both

Jacquard and ProChem both require the addition of acid, and for those the bath will not become clear.

I have a jacquard yellow dye, and some undyed quills. Ill dye them tonight and post a picture.

The dyes arent expensive, about $5 for a little jar, with free shipping.


I've done a few dyeing posts on my blog. Heres one post.

http://www.addictedtovise.com/2012/11/wrote-this-for-post-on-fly-fishing.html

 

[Dcap240]

Thanks for the info. I'd love to see how they turn out. I'll order a few colors of the cushing's dye to try out. I just checked the website and they are $3.25 each or $3.10 each if you buy 6 or more. It has to be better than kool aid or rit dye. I actually got better results with kool aid than the rit. By the way I like the blog. I wish I would've found it a couple days ago before I wasted a peacock eye. Lol

 

[eunanhendron]

Dyed one stripped eye to yellow last night. Its hard to get the resolution to see the individual quills, but they stem is pretty clearly yellow.
The first three images are when the eye was wet, the last one after it had dried this morning.
Dyed yellow pictured with undyed.

I just jacquard acid dye, sun yellow #601. added hot water from the tap and a drop of synthrapol, then brought the water to the boil. After that i reduced the heat to low, added the dye, about 1/5 of a teaspoon and mixed it so it all dissolved.
Then i added the stripped peacock eye, and left it in there for about 25 minutes, after which i lifted it out to check the color, then put it back in the dye bath and added some vinegar to set the dye.
Rinsed it and let it dry over night on a paper towel.
Simple process. Decent result.