FUR DRESSING AND DYEING T lo.L miPm •3 ; FUR DRESSING AND DYEING By B. R. ARMOUR President of American Aniline Products, Inc. New York, N. Y. 1919 AMERICAN ANILINE PRODUCTS, Inc. 80 Fifth Avenue New York ^ Copyright, 1910 American Aniline Products, Inc. ©CLA515544 MM 20 1919 FUR DRESSING AND DYEING TO determine the proper method of dressing and dyeing a skin, the dyer should know how long it has been off the animal's back and where such animal lived. For he must vary his formula according to the type and condition of the skin. Furs that are greasy require treatment with soda which will place them in condition to take the dye readily. Those that are dry must be fat- liquored so that they will be soft and pliable after dyeing. The process preliminary to the actual dyeing is called FUR DRESSING Opossum, raccoon and skunk are very greasy pelts. Therefore, the grease is first scraped from the flesh side; then they are drummed for several hours in damp saw-dust; next put in a mixture of damp saw-dust and salt over night. Next day the skins are moved to the fleshing room and the excess flesh is scraped off. Now they are pickled in a bath of sulphuric acid and salt so the skin will be converted into soft, pliable leather. At the same time, this pickling bath plumps (or fills out) the leather and care must be taken that the FUR DRESSING AND DYEING leather is not made too thick, for, if too plump, the leather will not be adapted to the scissors and the needle of the garment maker. The skins are then dried and again drummed in damp saw-dust. As all the natural grease has been removed from the skins, it is necessary to replace the natural with artificial grease in order to make it soft and pliable. Therefore, they are next put in a tramping machine containing grease, and such grease is tramped or pounded into the leather. The skins are then drummed again several times in damp saw-dust to remove all grease from the hair. As minks, wild-cat, Australian opossum, marmet and wallaby are not as greasy as opossum, raccoon or skunk, it is unnecessary to scrape the grease from the pelts. Otherwise, the dressing is the same. Rabbits are first soaked in water two or three days, then fleshed, then pickled in a mixture of alum and salt and are then ready for the dyeing operation. FUR DYEING It is here that the fur and the dyer establish their point of contact. The colors used for fur dyeing are not colors in the accepted sense — but FUR DRESSING AND DYEING oxidation colors. That is, they are products which develop on the fibre when treated in con- junction with such oxidizing agents as ferric chloride, permanganate of potash, bichromates, peroxide of hydrogen or any metallic salts. They permit of the dyeing of furs in a cold or lukewarm bath to yield fast brown or black shades ranging from the lightest tan to the deepest blue black. Should by any chance the temperature of the dye-bath be increased over 100° F. the hair will be singed and the leather burnt and the entire fibre of the skin destroyed. Of late, however, the more technical dyers have been able to over- come the singeing of the hair by brushing with a solution of glycerine. The hair, however, will return to its singed state in a few months. If the leather is not too far gone, a brushing with egg yoke, sulphonated cod oil and glycerine will overcome the brittleness to a slight degree. The tensile strength of the leather, however, is practically lost. The products used in the following recipes are known as : Fur Brown P, yielding an intense reddish brown. Fur Brown 2 G, yielding a yellowish brown. FUR DRESSING AND DYEING Fur Black, yielding a dead black. Fur Blue X, yielding a blue black. Fur Black D B, yielding a blue black with an intense blue tone. Fur Black D D, yielding a very deep blue. Fur Grey B, yielding a slightly bluish grey. It is impossible to give general recipes suited exactly for every kind of fur, for, as before men- tioned, the properties vary according to the quality of the skins. For instance, a recipe worked out to produce satisfactory results with foxes would produce most unsatisfactory results with rabbits. There- fore, the proportions can be determined only by trial. However, you will note peroxide of hydrogen is used in the following formulas, and a very good basis for the application of hydrogen peroxide in proportion to color has been found to be 10 to 1. When in doubt use this ratio, for it can be varied when necessary. Also note that without excep- tion the dyestuff must be thoroughly dissolved before adding the hydrogen peroxide, and unless otherwise specified, the proportions given are based on a two-gallon dye bath. All skins are mordanted before dyeing with such FUR DRESSING AND DYEING products as bichromate of potash, bluestone, copperas, verdigris, caustic soda, potassium chlor- ate, etc., and as usual, the methods vary according to the type and quality of the skin. Certain easily dyed skins are dyed without this mordant, but there is an element of risk that the color will not be very level or even. TAN AND BROWN SHADES When making tans or browns, it is advisable to mordant the skins before dyeing with ^3 ounce to 1^3 ounces of the bichromate of potash and y^> ounce to 1^ ounces of cream of tartar accord- ing to the depth of shade required. The skins are immersed in this bath at about 75 F. and kept there for about twelve hours, or better still, over night. After mordanting rinse lightly or whizz. The skins are now ready to be entered into the actual dye-bath. A solution of: y$ ounce Fur Brown P 1 gill hydrogen peroxide y$ tumbler ammonia FUR DRESSING AND DYEING produces a light reddish brown, after the skins remain in the bath about six hours. 1 ounce Fur Brown Yi ounce Fur Black ^3 ounce pyrogallic acid 1 pint hydrogen peroxide yi tumbler ammonia produces medium to dark brown shades, according to the length of time the skins remain in the dye- bath. After three hours a beautiful medium brown is obtained, while the shade gradually becomes darker until at the end of twelve hours you have a full, rich, dark brown. After dyeing, the skins are rinsed for several hours in running water. Pyrogallic acid produces a rich yellowish shade, but is only used for toning purposes. It should be noted that in such combinations as the last, that since Fur Brown produces an intense reddish brown, pyrogallic acid is added to throw the brown on to the yellow side, and the Fur Black is used to darken the shade. Of course, these combinations given above can be changed to produce most any shade of tan or brown. FUR DRESSING AND DYEING BLACKS Fur Black is best employed by mordanting with bichromate of potash and cream of tartar in the same proportions as used for the tans and browns and then dyeing in a bath of: Yi oz. to \y$ ozs. Fur Black 1 gill to 1 pint hydrogen peroxide for about twelve hours at 75° to 80° F., rinsed, etc. Fur Blue X without a previous mordant dyes angora a deep blue black with an admixture of black in the following proportion: Y> ounce Fur Blue X Yi ounce Fur Black 1 pint hydrogen peroxide. The dyeing operation is the same as for Fur Black. For this class of dyeing (angora) the recipes mentioned for Fur Black and Fur Brown may also be recommended; though, of course, solutions must be varied according to shade requirements. Furs such as marmet or opossum, for example, are best killed before dyeing either with lime or a soda solution. They may then be rinsed and mor- danted with a solution of Y> to \Yi ounces of 10 FUR DRESSING AND DYEING copperas and y$ ounce cream of tartar and then dyed as above. While such skins can be dyed without a mordant, such a mordant as that given above greatly improves the finished material. Fur Black D B and Fur Black D D are employed only when particularly blue shades of black are desired. For these brands, however, as in the case of Fur Blue X, it is essential that the skins be mordanted or killed before dyeing. Full shades of black of a bluish cast will be obtained by adding y$ to % ounce of Fur Black D B or Fur Black D D or Fur Blue X and 1 gill to 1 pint of hydrogen peroxide to the regular Fur Black formula. GREY For the dyeing of silver grey or any of the bluer shades of this extremely delicate color, a mor- danting is first necessary with Bluestone, or in conjunction with copperas or with verdigris. The skins are then rinsed or whizzed and the following dye-bath prepared: 1 ounce or 2 ounces Fur Grey B (depending upon depth of shade desired) FUR DRESSING AND DYEING 11 1 pint to °Z pints hydrogen peroxide % tumbler ammonia. The skins remain in this bath for at least 3 or 4 hours longer, if necessary, depending upon the nature of the skins. For the dyeing of taupes, or the redder shades of grey the same process is followed as above with the addition to the dye-bath before immersing skins % ounce Fur Brown 2 G, or the same formula as for silver greys except the mordant in this case would be y£ ounce bichromate of potash and yi ounce cream of tartar and then finished as for the grey shades. For extremely red shades of taupe, simply an addition of Fur Brown P is necessary to the dye-bath. TIPPING Certain hairs of furs will not take fur dyes in a bath. These must be tipped. For tipping a black shade, Fur Black only is suitable. It is used in the proportion of % ounce Fur Black to 1 pint of water and 1 pint hydrogen peroxide; the latter being added directly before using. To produce brown shades by tipping, Fur Brown 12 FUR DRESSING AND DYEING is used in combinations. With solutions of \}4 ounces to 5 ounces per gallon a single tipping will produce an intense brown of a depth which formerly was obtainable only by a long tedious process. After tipping, the skins are placed in pairs, hair side inward and allowed to remain that way for several hours, after which they are put in a cool place to dry. KILLING BATHS A good soda bath for killing is made up by dis- solving 2 pounds of sal soda in about 1%}4 gallons (100 pounds) of water. The skins are washed in this cold for one to two hours. A good soap bath is obtained by dissolving 1 pound of soap in 12^ gallons (100 pounds) of water and adding 1 pound of ammonia. The skins are washed in this for one to two hours and afterwards rinsed in cold water. For a lime bath dissolve 15 pounds of powdered sal ammoniac and 4^ pounds of sulphate of alumina to 50 gallons of hot or boiling water. To this add a solution of milk of lime which is made by adding 50 pounds of quick lime to 100 gallons of water. The milk of lime may be kept in a FUR DRESSING AND DYEING 13 well-stoppered earthenware vessel, but should be stirred before using. To treat furs with this lime bath the hair side is painted with a brush, and the operation is repeated twice or as often as is necessary to remove the grease in the hair. The skin should then be dried in a shady place as direct sunlight and too intense heat rob the hair of its elasticity and make the leather hard. The chalk dust remaining after the skins are dried is removed by beating and brushing. AFTER TREATMENT Dyed furs possess the disagreeable property of staining lighter materials with which they come in contact. This may be remedied by the fol- lowing inexpensive process, which will make the colors absolutely fast. The skins that have been dyed by steeping should be treated in a fresh bath to which has been added 1/60 ounce to 1/20 ounce of bluestone per gallon for light shades, or 1/12 ounce bluestone for dark shades. After a bath of six to eight hours the skins are then rinsed and dried. For skins that 14 FUR DRESSING AND DYEING have been tipped use a 5 to 10 per cent, solution of bluestone, varying the strength according to the depth of the shade. This is applied with a brush after which the skins are dried and tumbled in sand or saw-dust. If the application is correctly carried out and care is taken to vary the strength of the solutions according to the depth of the shade treated the tone of the dyeings will not be affected. The use of too strong solutions in tip- ping will change the shade entirely. THE FUR DYEING INDUSTRY The rapid development in the production of fur colors in this country is one of the achievements due to the war. Before the war no fur colors were produced in America, for the simple reason that the selling price was lower than the possible minimum cost of manufacture. Germany sold to this country her surplus of such intermediates at or below cost. It is probable that she will resume this practice after the war. In that case American manufacturers will be obliged to drop the making of fur dyes. The ad valorem duty of 15 per cent, and the special duty of %yi cents a FUR DRESSING AND DYEING 15 pound imposed by the Tariff Law on this class of inter- mediates will not afford any effective protection. It is argued by competent people that, in order to possess a thoroughly self-contained industry, not dependent in any essential upon foreign supply, this country must produce all the materials that go to the making of her finished articles. There is no questioning the desirability of such a condition. But it must remain impracticable as long as American producers in any line are not secured against a species of foreign competition which it is impossible for them to meet. In August, 1914, there were no fur colors made in America. In October of that year we put up our plant, and in December we began to manu- facture. We have succeeded in duplicating practi- cally all the German fur dyes without substituting; and today the demand for American fur dyes is being satisfactorily supplied. Created to meet an emergency, this particular feature of the American dyestuff industry will assuredly disappear when the emergency ends unless proper protection is accorded this branch of the industry. The question remains whether in the best interests of the industry it is well to allow it to disappear. 16 FUR DRESSING AND DYEING In England we have reports to the effect that the Aniline color manufacturers will receive the protection of an absolute embargo on all German made colors for a number of years after peace has been declared. Whether that will prove effective it is impossible to prophesy at the present time. This clearly shows, however, that the British Government is alive to the critical position in which the dyestuff manufacturers would be placed should such destructive German com- petition be permitted as existed prior to the war. This country, no doubt, will realize the importance of such a key industry as the Aniline color manu- facture represents and adopt such equitable measures as will be found necessary. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 018 371 027 8