Dharma Hot Water Reactive Dyes

Brilliant! Permanent!

Dharma Hot Water Reactive Dyes
4.33 star rating 4.33 ( 6 review )

USE FOR: Tub Dyeing for intense dark colors, Tie-Dye, Low Immersion Dyeing, Dye Painting, Screen & Block Printing or Stenciling, even Tie-dyeing Silk in a Microwave

USE ON: All natural Fibers (Cotton, Rayon, Hemp, Silk, etc.), Wood, Cane, and Rattan

Product Details 1+
2 oz. priced as low as...
$4.95
$3.96
8 oz. priced as low as...
$15.84
$12.67
1 lb. priced as low as...
$25.98
$20.78

All prices calculated in US$
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Due to price increases and availability, we will be phasing out all of the Dharma Hot Water Dye colors. 


Dharma has actually carried a Hot Water Fiber Reactive Dye for decades, our #250 - Jet Black. We carried it because folks wanted a black for tub dyeing (solid color) that would be darker than anything you could get with Procion type "cold water" Fiber Reactive Dyes. Jet Black filled the bill. Then a couple of years ago, we brought in another Hot Water Fiber Reactive Black, our #275 - Hot Black, to give you all a less expensive choice.

Now we've decided to bring in a broader selection of Hot Water Fiber Reactive Dye colors for you. They have chemical reactivity in the presence of Soda Ash similar to the "cold water" Procion type Fiber Reactive Dyes, only because they are less volatile or reactive, they need warmer temperatures. But this gives them an advantage too, more stability in water. Because of the heat requirement (dye baths should ideally be 130-150° F), these dyes work better for solid color "tub dyeing" than for colder water techniques like tie-dye & batik. BUT, you can use them for tie-dye & low immersion techniques if you batch (cure) them really warm, like all day in the sun under black plastic, or under an electric blanket (in the winter). More time makes up for less heat. Otherwise, use them just like our other Dharma Fiber Reactive (Procion type) dyes, SAME RECIPES, just add heat or longer curing times. We've gotten very good tie-dye results by curing them 24-48 hours in regular room temperatures actually, except that blacks really do need the warmer temps. With acid (for dye baths) or steaming (for painting), these dyes, just like Procion, can also be used on silk and wool.

These are pure uncut colors, very similar to the Procion pure colors (notice the same names for the ones that look alike), only even more intense, that can all be used at 2% OWG for a medium shade, except the blacks** (7 - 8% OWG) We also made a couple of green mixes, a brown mix and a deep purple mix, as those colors are not available in a "pure" state, to fill out the selection. We have added a new, redder black, that is really deep, Ebony Black**.

And, that's not all - You (our Fiber Reactive Dye customers) have been asking for the new Neutral Grey that some other vendors carry, that is a pure grey, not a mix. When we started our quest and bought some, we found that it was NOT a Procion type cool water Fiber Reactive Dye at all. In our tub dye test, at 2% OWG, a normal amount for a grey, we got a light misty grey at best. But in a HOT water dye bath, and a 24 hour tie-dye cure test, we did get a nice medium grey tone. And the dye does NOT split. It also came out a wonderful grey on wool and silk, by the way. It is indeed a pure grey. So, we have added it to our line of new Hot Water Fiber Reactives. Using it like a Procion, it gives a lovely cool light grey. Using it in hot water, it gives a deep neutral grey. We have yet to test it for low immersion techniques like ice dyeing.

ADVANTAGES OF USING THESE DYES:

*They store longer than Procion type dyes once mixed with water - at least 2 weeks, longer if refrigerated. (Powder has a longer shelf life too - several years vs 1 - 2, for Procion.) No need to toss unused dye stock!

*Hot water Blacks are darker when tub dyeing than any of the Procion type blacks.

*NEW Ebony Black** (** means use 4 times as much dye to get it dark - 7-8% OWG) - adding to our stable of blacks - a VERY dark reddish black

*NEUTRAL GREY - what you have all been asking for - NOT a mix, doesn't split! Can be used for tie-dye or ice dye if cure long enough.

*BRILLIANT BLUE is the closest dye to a perfect Blue we have EVER seen! Slightly darker and even more intense than the Procion color Cerulean.

*Some dye houses have switched to this dye instead of Procion type dyes because these dyes use less water to wash out the excess, IF they are well fixed with enough heat, & you're not using too much, so if you are conserving water...

* Will also dye silk & wool using acid, hot dye baths or steam, just like Procion. With the blacks, on protein, they usually also don't come out black. Each one will have a different cast. But the Neutral Grey does come out a nice grey on silk and wool.

Dharma Fiber Reactive Dye must be 'fixed' (made permanent) with Soda Ash. About 1 lb. Soda Ash per 4 oz. of dye is needed when garment dyeing or per 3 lbs of fabric as a pre-soak when tie-dyeing.

Product Details 1-1 2+
Soda Ash Fixer 1lb. $1.75 1.59
Soda Ash Fixer 5lb. $6.25 5.75
Soda Ash Fixer 25lb. $25.95 24.49
Product Details Qty
Color Chip / Item image 1 lb. (approx. 1.75 Cups)
This product is sellable
Color Chip / Item image 5 lbs. (approx. 9 Cups)
This product is sellable
Color Chip / Item image 25 lbs. (approx. 44 Cups)
This product is sellable
In Stock = In Stock | Out Of Stock = Out Of Stock | Special Order = Special Order | Drop Ship = Drop Ship

PRODUCT REVIEWS
Average Customer Review
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MOST HELPFUL REVIEWS

5 star rating
6/2/2022
5
Ebony Black is great and for tie-dye I haven't even needed to treat it differently since I usually batch things for a day (or whenever I feel like rinsing the item) in cold weather. Dissolving the roughly 10g 8oz. I use is much easier than 20g of MX blacks and at its price it's a no-brainer.The Scarlet is listed on SDS as KeyReact Scarlet E-2GA... aka Drimarene Scarlet K-2G. Drimarene K dyes only want 10C warmer than MX and are usually considered cold dyes as far as tie-dye goes. You shouldn't need to let this one react any longer than your MX dyes if the temps are similar. The price is offset by only needing 2-2.5g of it per 8oz for full saturationI've had bad luck with the Emerald mix so far... It comes out a barely-greener than turquoise color and fairly unsaturated. Assuming it's made with the Turquoise ( KeyReact Turquoise Blue VS-G a vinyl sulfone remazol requiring higher temps than the others in this family ) and the primary yellow (Remazol Bright Yellow 4GL) there are a few problems:1) A manufacturer of both dyes recommends 50-80gL of Glauber's Salt for full saturation.2) Although the yellow will work without too much heat given time (or 60C for 60 minutes) the fabric needs to be more basic. For dyebaths they suggest addition of 3-5gL of NaOH and possibly Trisodium Phosphate instead of soda ash for all vinyl sulfones3) Like MX Turquoise Remazol Turqouise needs even higher temps... Their recommendation in addition to the bit of lye is 80C (176F) for 60 minutes. I've managed to hold it above that temp for long periods using a microwave and still had poor saturation and a mainly blue color. I'll be trying the NaOH thing next time as I suspect it's the only way the vinyl sulfones will fully react without a pressure cooker or steam. I'm only guessing at the mixture but it fits what I'm seeing.The neutral grey is neutral given long reaction times without elevated temps. One fun trick with it is to either freeze the solution into ice cubes or set up a drip of it onto MX colors as with ice dyeing. The MX has a little bit of time to react before the grey gets going and you end up with soft muted pastels that look very nice.I have some of the brilliant blue (Novacron brilliant blue E-G formerly Cibracron br blue FN-G) on order. I've used this type of dye before and it works fine given either heat or long batching times and wants 50C. Of note is that this is one of a couple of dyes (the other is an MX navy that I don't believe Dharma carries) that has "causes serious eye damage" in the SDS. With the navy it was permanent staining but this one is also listed as corrosive so it might be a result of that. Not the nastiest dye out there by far but I'll be wearing goggles measuring that powder....I'll post another review if I grab more colors. :)
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6 of 9 users found this review helpful.

3 star rating
8/13/2017
3
I used the Neutral Grey to dye 100% cotton and cotton canvas. While I did find that the colour was consistent I would not call this grey "neutral" at all. It is very blue I would call it blue-grey if anything. Its still a nice colour and the product worked well I just felt like the name wasn't accurate and the colour they do show on the site isn't a great indicator of the tone of the dye. Also read about how to dye your fabric before you make your purchase. There are products like Calsolene Oil (and even salt) that I didn't realize we necessary or helpful until after I had made my order.
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13 of 21 users found this review helpful.

5 star rating
5/3/2022
5
Way better than cold water reactive dyes. Well mercerized cotton or cotton blends will not dye strongly with usual reactive dyes. I left the socks for 48h placing the container (an old jar for epsom salts) in a tray of hot water every 12h and covering it. The intensity of color is impressing.
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3 of 6 users found this review helpful.

5 star rating
7/10/2018
5
817 Neutral Grey is lovely! Batched it for about 48 hrs to be sure (Sweden) and I got a very nice and pure grey.
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3 of 6 users found this review helpful.

3 star rating
2/3/2020
3
Well I read the reviews saying the neutral gray was blue. So I added some ecru to try to warm up the gray. It did not work it's blue. So now I have the fun task of another day in the dye vat trying to fight back the absolute blue-grey that I got using hot water on linen. Wish me luck. Im going to take the pure white linen that almost looks purple (from the ecru I assume) into a dusty green. I hope. Hope to brown out or warm up the other blue linens with some browns. Wish me luck!
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3 of 13 users found this review helpful.


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