Name: leigh McQueen
Message: HAVING BOUGHT DYE FROM MALAYSIA FOR BATIK PAINTING- 1 DO I NEED TO PRE SOAK TSHIRTS BEFORE DYEING AND 2 AFTER DYEING SHOULD I USE SODA ASH OR SODIUM SILICATE TO FIX THE DYE?
THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION
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Do you know exactly what dyes you have there? Do you know their chemical names?

Soda ash, or alternatively sodium silicate, is important in fixing cool water fiber reactive dye, but is not used in dyeing with naphthol dyes. Naphthol dyes are popular in batik work in countries such as Indonesia, and probably Malaysia as well, but are not used at all in the US due to their potential dangers. For more information on how naphthol dyes are used, see the dye supplier Batik Oetoro in Australia.

Another type of dye used in batik is vat dye, including indigo and its synthetic relatives. These are more complicated to use than fiber reactive dye, but like fiber reactive and naphthol dyes, vat dyes do not require heat, which would have the unfortunate effect of melting the wax.

Soda ash can be used in three different ways to fix cool water fiber reactive dyes: as a pre-soak (used wet or line dried before dyeing), mixed in with the dye itself, or as an after-soak. Sodium silicate can be painted on after the dye is applied to fabric and allowed to dry; it is used as a substitute for soda ash, not in addition to it.

To find different retail mail-order sources for fiber reactive dyes around the world, see <http://www.pburch.net/dyeing/dyesources.shtml>.