I need to know the correct mixture for the Dupont French Silk Dye Thinner

Name: Jill

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Message: Hi Paula,
I'm wondering if you can help with my silk painting...I have been using Jacquard dyes for years but now transitioning to Dupont French Silk Dye. I need to know the correct mixture for the Dupont French Silk Dye Thinner. I've followed Dharma instructions on their site but the dye seems to separate on the silk. Can you help?

No, I'm sorry, I can't really help much. I don't know of any better source than Dharma's instructions. H. Dupont does not supply additional information elsewhere, as far as I know. You can read their original printed instructions in one of the images on Dharma's Dupont Silk Dyes page. The regular-strength H. Dupont Thinner is supposed to be added at between 10% and 50%, though it is unclear whether they mean 50% of the volume of the dye to which you are adding it, or 50% of the final volume; probably the former. The H. Dupont Concentrated Thinner, which is what Dharma carries,  should be mixed with water, 20 to 40 ml of thinner to make up a full liter of diluted diluant. 

Any dye that is a mixture of two or more different dye colors can separate on the fabric, because, in many cases, one of the dyes in the mixture has a greater tendency to spread than another one does. If you try a different color from the same line of dyes, you might not see this color separation. There are so many colors in the H. Dupont line of silk dyes that you might find that a different color mixture is close enough to meet your needs.

I like the Remazol dyes for silk painting, such as Jacquard's Products' new Vinyl Sulphon dyes or PRO Chemical & Dyes' Liquid Fiber Reactive Dyes, because I like knowing what dyes are in the stuff I'm using. I don't like H. Dupont's secrecy, and I don't like working with toxic solvents. I also prefer the option of using the few available single-hue unmixed dyes for times when I really do not want any color separation. A thickener such as sodium alginate can be added to reduce spreading.

Related discussions:

"What's in the French silk dyes?"

"Problem with H Dupont silk paints"

"Procion H and other alternatives to H. Dupont silk painting dye"

Tinfix dyes are similar to the H. Dupont dyes, so the following are also relevant:

"Sennelier Tinfix dyes are irritating my throat and affecting my voice. Are they toxic?"

"Problems with setting certain colors of Tinfix silk dye"

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