Message: Hi there, 
Maybe you can save me a bunch of trouble.  I imported a bunch of dyed feather for fly tying from India, proportedly Pygment based dye.  The dyes run when wet and the feather are for fly tying for fishing.  How can I make already pygment dyed feathers color fast?? If you want to come fishing in Chile your time will be rewarded with my time!

Pigment dyes are not dyes at all, so they will not stick to the feathers on their own. Pigment dyes are typically insoluble pigments that are bound to the fiber with a colorless acrylic fabric paint binder. What you could do now is buy some colorless pigment binder, which is essentially fabric paint without the pigments, dilute it, and carefully paint it on to the feathers. If you are not careful, the binder might glue the sections of the feathers together, so this is not an ideal solution, but it's the only way to be sure to fix pigment dyes. 

I've seen several brands of colorless binder. The Jacquard Products line of paints that includes Neopaque (opaque fabric paint) and Lumiere (metallic fabric paint) also includes a product called Neopaque Flowable Extender, which is a soft, clear, colorless fabric binder that can be used as a medium for pigments. I believe that you can dilute it with up to 25% water, like the pigmented Lumiere and Neopaque paints. Jacquard Products has one known agent in Chile; for contact info, see either their site, or my "Sources for Dyeing Supplies Around the World" page, (scroll down to the section on South America). Another similar product is the PRObrite Neutral Base Extender, sold by PRO Chemical & Dye.

I think that you will get better results, more resistant to water, if you use an acid dye to dye your feathers in the future. There are many types of acid dyes on the market, such as Veniard fly tying dyes, Washfast Acid Dyes, Lanaset Dyes, and Jacquard Acid Dyes. Any dye that works on wool or silk is a good bet for dyeing feathers. If an acid dye is properly set, then it should be a lot more washfast than the pigment dyes that have been giving you problems. 

Please always use waterproof gloves when you are working with dye, wear a face mask while mixing dye powders so as to avoid breathing dye dust, and reserve a cooking pot for dyeing use that you will not be reusing for the preparation of food.

I would love to go fishing in Chile if I were able to travel. Thanks for the offer.

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