Message: I used to have a recipe that used resist salts L, calgon, and urea mixed with soda ash and bicarb. The results are super but I have lost the recipe do you have it?


What kind of dye are you using? From the names of the other chemicals, it seems likely that it's either Procion MX dye, or Procion H dye. These two types of Procion dye are chemically similar, but very different in the amount of heat needed to fix the dye to the fabric. Procion H must be fixed by steam or in a hot dyebath, while Procion MX dyes are used at room temperature.

Resist salt L is another name for the chemical sodium m-nitrobenzene sulfonate, also known as Ludigol (see "Why do some dye recipes call for Ludigol?"). It is important when steaming or microwaving Procion dyes, which otherwise may be chemically reduced at high temperatures, so it should always be used when you are working with Procion H dyes, which require heat-setting. PRO Chemical & Dye recommends its use also in areas with high levels of air pollution. Otherwise, there is no need to use it with dyes that are fixed at room temperature, such as Procion MX dye.

Soda ash (sodium carbonate) may be mixed with sodium bicarbonate when one is painting with dyes that will be steam set, or sodium bicarbonate can be substituted altogether, because bicarbonate does not encourage the reaction of the dye with the fiber very well at room temperature. Sodium bicarbonate turns to sodium carbonate at high temperatures, when it is baked or steamed. The less-than-optimal pH of soda ash mixed with bicarb (as opposed to soda ash alone) slows dye reactions a little at room temperature, but does not make them stop completely.

Calgon T is sodium hexametaphosphate, and is important for dyeing in areas where the water supply is "hard", which means that it contains calcium and/or magnesium salts. You can purchase it from dye suppliers under that name or, frequently, as Metaphos.

Other than the names used for your chemicals your recipe looks very much like these two recipes provided by ProChem: 
Direct Application using PRO H-Reactive Dyes
Direct Application using PRO MX Reactive Dyes  
where "PRO Dye Activator" is soda ash, and "PRO Chem Flakes" is Ludigol,
as well as this recipe by Jacquard Products:
Procion H Concentrate Fiber Reactive Dyes Instructions.


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