|
Post by Michael John on Dec 15, 2008 3:00:09 GMT -5
I've seen purple-dyed Howlite on the internet. Does anyone know what is used to dye it purple? Can the dye be added to an acetone and epoxy mixture, to combine dying and stabilizing into a one step process?
|
|
|
Post by stonesthatrock on Dec 15, 2008 10:37:13 GMT -5
i talked to someone who did that and they used just regular rit dye, like for cloths. not sure of the process, sorry
|
|
Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,471
|
Post by Sabre52 on Dec 15, 2008 12:51:40 GMT -5
I think potassium permangenate is a commonly used purple dye too but I have heard lots of folks use plain ole Rit Dyes with good success especially with howlite which I've heard takes dye well.....Mel
|
|
grayfingers
Cave Dweller
Member since November 2007
Posts: 4,575
|
Post by grayfingers on Dec 15, 2008 13:44:57 GMT -5
This is from info I have found on the web while looking for ways to dye clear agate, (still looking, the only info I've found for agate involves expensive and toxic chemicals)
This is about Howlite: Howlite is very easy to color. If you slab it using either water soluble oil or just water, it will not end up with areas that do not take dye. After you have shaped it up you do not polish it. Heat it up to around 200 degrees in the oven for a couple of hours to dry it out and then dip it into your choice of colors. The cooling will help draw the dye into the stone.
As to colors,: Tidy Bowl in a concentrated form gives you fake turquoise and Rit clothing dyes can create all sorts of unusual colors. Soak the stuff for a few days then rinse it off and after it dries a bit finish with the polishing.
|
|
|
Post by Michael John on Dec 16, 2008 2:35:23 GMT -5
Hmmm ... I'd heard about the Rit dye, but thought that such a simple thing may not be the best method.
Mel, that potassium permangenate seems interesting. I wonder if it does a nicer "dye job" than Rit. I wonder if it would permeate harder stones better than Rit. Maybe it depends on the method used (?).
I also saw Chrysocolla which was dyed purple!
Thanks for all the help everyone!
|
|
|
Post by johnjsgems on Dec 16, 2008 9:46:35 GMT -5
Rock & Gem Magazine had an article (maybe last year?) on the process used to "dye" agates. It was a combination of heating and chemical salts if my fuzzy brain remembers correctly. Howlite soaks up everything to the point it is best to cut with clean water only. I had an old timer (anyone older than me I guess) tell me he cut a chunk of howlite any time he wanted to clean the color (say after cutting red jasper) out of his saw oil. Never tried it.
|
|
Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,471
|
Post by Sabre52 on Dec 16, 2008 13:58:32 GMT -5
Michael: Only dying I've ever done was blue on some of that porous gray and white lace they call dying lace and that was by accident. Never use a colored marker on Crazy lace agate! Some of that stuff really sucks up color and can get screwed up real easy. I do know flea market folks use potassium permanganate to fake desert glass or to intensify the purple color of such glass so it might work well on some agate...Mel
|
|
|
Post by Michael John on Dec 16, 2008 15:29:23 GMT -5
Hmmm ... all very interesting info! Thanks guys!
I'd imagine the harder the rock, the harder it would be to get it to take dye. Howlite is relatively soft, and I know that it takes dye fairly easily. Chrysocolla (pure) is also very soft, but since it's already a rich blue/green color, I'd imagine that it's a bit harder to get it to fully change color. Chrysocolla in Quartz could be very cool dyed purple (or other colors), as some of the Chrysocolla would probably readily accept the dye, while the Chrysocolla deeper inside the Quartz may not. That purple / blue-green contrast could be real pretty. Getting that contrast may take a little experimentation, but it would be cool once worked-out.
IMO, there's absolutely nothing wrong with dying stones AS LONG AS that fact is disclosed if you sell the stones.
I'd asked about the possibility of a one step stabilizing/dying process because it seems like it would be a good way to kill two birds with one stone. I wonder if adding Rit powdered dye to acetone and epoxy would have any sort of adverse chemical reaction (?).
An important part of the equation for dying is obviously heat. That's the part that has me a bit concerned. Heating stones can make them brittle, depending on the temp and duration. That's another reason I was curious about the possibility of a one-step process.
John, I've read the same thing about cutting Howlite ... clean your saw thoroughly before cutting or the Howlite will absorb colors from other stuff you've cut. Since I use a WF saw, using clean water is no prob. I think that cutting Howlite on a saw which uses oil would probably be a problem if you want to dye the Howlite. The residual oil would probably make it harder to dye it, perhaps resulting in a spotty and/or non-even dye job.
|
|