How to Dye Nylon Using Orcolan Neutral™ Dyes
Orcolan Neutral™ dyes are 2:1 premetallized acid dyes of excellent solubility, light, and wet fastness. They are suitable for the dyeing of wool and nylon in stock, yarn, or piece form. Due to the rapid rate of exhaustion, the use of a Leveler is suggested in order to not only retard the dye, but for the transference of color to promote shade uniformity. As their name suggests, Orcolan Neutral™ dyes are best applied from a neutral or slightly alkaline medium. The use of an ammonium salt of a weak or strong acid is therefore highly recommended in dyeing so that the bath will show a gradual change from a mildly alkaline pH to a slightly acid one.
Prescour
Prescouring of the nylon is necessary in order to remove any impurities in the goods otherwise an unlevel dyeing would result.
Run goods in bath containing 2.0% on weight of goods(owg) Orconol CHSA Conc™ at 100°-110°F for 15 minutes followed by a warm rinse.
Dyeing – Strong Acid Bath
- Enter goods in bath at 120°F containing:
- 4.0% owg Ammonium Sulfate
- 5.0 % owg Glauber’s Salt
- 2.0% owg Leveler
- Run for 10-15 minutes.
- Add X% owg Orcolan Neutral™ dyes properly prepared
- Bring slowly to the boil and circulate for 1 hour.
- Add 1.0% owg of Acetic Acid 56% to promote exhaustion if necessary.
- Cool, rinse, & dry.
In cases where levelness problems are encountered, the use of 1-2 % owg Orco Buffer 14 Powder™ in conjunction with the ammonium sulfate will promote a slower/smoother pH transition. Careful control of temperature and pH drop is very important and cannot be emphasized enough. During all phases of dyeing, the use of metal chelating agents should be used with caution due to the metalized nature of these dyes. Although not usually necessary, improved wetfastness may be obtained by the use of an after-fixing agent such as Orcofix MN™.