Hi,
I have a pure white rabbit skin that I want to dye black. I have bought a bottle of black RIT dye. Can somebody tell me how to dye the fur? I have no idea. The pelt measures about 12"x10".
Amy
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Does anyone know how to do this? Please help!
... a little patience please. These folks work, you know. (lol)
Read the directions on the bottle. Buy a GOOD pair of rubber gloves (unless you fancy walking around with black hands for a few weeks) Check the directions...do you need to dilute? Was the skin tanned? If so, was it a washable tan? (maybe that won't matter too much, if I remember, RIT acts pretty quick. If I were going to do it, I would find a plastic shallow tub where the skin could lay flat and soak it in the dye that way, but I haven't used RIT for ages...seems to me there was something about boiling (which I wouldn't recommend for a skin), but maybe that was the powdered dye. Liquid might be different. If you hang on and wait patiently, someone with more knowledge will answer your question. Good Luck, kiddo.
Like Wava said, read the package. (Assuming it is tanned) Use Hot water, but not so much thay you can't put your hand in it. Let it soak. Rinse. Dry a space and see if it's dark enough. If not, soak longer. It won't be as colorfast as if it had been boiled, but should be OK for Halloween costumes or whatever. It may dry kind of stiff, but will soften if you work as it dries. Keep the gloves on until you're sure it's thoroughly dry.
Good luck. I've dyed parakeet skins this way with good results.
Nancy M.
Hello Fellow Female Rodent Mounter,
[I did Mouse Skin Rugs]
I 99% of the time work with furs, not taxidermy stuff. Anyway I just dyed a mink coat.
I used RIT as well as some other knockoff of RIT. Here's how I did it:
a) gather mink coat, RIT, latex gloves, and paintbrush for applying dye to fur.
b) put mink coat on expensive finished hardwood floor.
c) mix RIT dye in porcelain coffee cup, with hot water. Wait until it is very well dissolved.
d) dip brush in dye, and apply to fur side of mink coat. Try to get as much as possible on expensive hardwood floor as well as all over mink coat.
e) let mink coat dry. Takes 2 days. Do not step on coat or nudge during this time, lest the dye make your feet [color] or you rip a seam [mink pelts are very very fragile when wet, it's the dang sucky alum tannage]
e2) clean up (as soon as you are done painting and working the dye into the fur).
f) groom mink coat out. This will make you blow [color] boogers for 3 days when you inhale the dye dust from the fur. You can TRY to wear a Kleenex on your face, but the little color particles still seem to get through. The grooming process also will turn your grooming implements, hands, and the floor, [color].
g) go over mink coat with a terry cloth [dry] to get most of the extra dye particles off the coat, thus making it less likely for the client to get the colors all over themself when they pick up the finished work.
h) pack and ship to client after making repairs if necessary.
i) get in trouble for messing up hardwood floor. Apply 40% peroxide hair dye to [color] spots and let dry [4 hours]. Works like a charm!
Hope that helped.
* Note: this will not dye the leather. I use the non-vat dye method because every time I've dipped a tanned mink in water, the old alum tan has caused the pelt to fall apart. I've learned the hard way to NOT get mink leather wet. A rabbit OTOH should be fine for vat (dip / immersion) dyeing.
Oh, about your rabbit, go to the pet store with a nefarious look on your face, and tell them you want to adopt a cute little bunny .. then take it home and gas it. [Air Duster for the computer] There ya go - $ 20.00 bunny for lifesize mount, 0 damage, 5-10 second knockdown. No kidding.
If you want a KITTEN [pelt, for lifesize, beautiful pelt, gray] and you do not live in California, I have one, which I bought from this forum. She is awesome.
Cur says I'm a dork :)