Has anyone used Dharma's Dye Fixative?

[fun2dye]

I read Paula's post under "fiber reactive dye fixative" but still have a question regarding the use of Dye Fixative. What a wealth of info Paula is  (Thank You!) I'm not sure if this is the same product that the other post was about. According to the info on the site, they state...

"This commercial product increases the washfastness, wetfastness, resistance to perspiration staining, and resistance to seawater fading. Works with several (but not all) kinds of dye and any natural fabric or blend. Particularly valuable to quilters when bought fabrics are bleeding or when new clothing is bleeding all over. This product can often "fix" these loose dyes to prevent color bleeding in the future. Test if possible, because it doesn't work on all dyes."

Sure, we could purchase every chemical that is offered, but what's the point if there is no good reason to. Anyway, it doesn't say anything about lightfastness of the completed garment, but I've heard of other dyers who use this product. I've never had the opportunity to question them about it and I've never used it but wondered if anyone here has tried it and if so, what pros or cons are there in using it?

[ktaltre]

I used Dharma's dye fixative once.
I had printed a t-shirt with thickened mx dyes and as an experiment, after the shirt was dry, painted on the dye fixative. I let it sit for an hour and then rinsed and washed. Worked great!
I didn't rinse/wash the towel I had used under the t-shirt right away. I washed the towel three days later and everywhere the dye fixitive had gotten on the towel there was a hole - the dye fixative had eaten holes in the terrycloth towel! Basically the towel was shredded.
Now if I want a fast "fix", I use the microwave.
k. taltre

[pburch]

These are two different products with very similar names.

The stuff that ate holes in your towel was AfterFix, a substitute for soda ash which, like soda ash, increases the pH so the cotton can react with the dye. It's a liquid sodium silicate. If it dries, it gets more caustic, so you have to keep it moist and rinse it out before it can dry. If acid mixes with it, it can make a difficult-to-remove gel.

Dharma Dye Fixative is a cationic dye fixative, essentially the same thing as Retayne, though it's a different formula, made by a different company. Same advantages (makes direct dye usable), same drawbacks (potential of slight color change, potential loss of lightfastness). It is more effective to use fiber reactive dyes properly and wash out the excess unattached dye than it is to use a cationic dye fixative to glue the dye particles into place. Dye fixatives wash out in hot water, while properly fixed fiber reactive dye does not. It's a great idea to use Dharma Dye Fixative or Retayne on commercially dyed fabrics that are not as washfast as they should be, but for  your own hand dyeing it's better to take advantage of being able to use a high quality dye, such as Procion MX dye.

Paula

[ktaltre]

Thanks Paula, I remember now that it was Afterfix that I used. I really didn't like using it even before the towel holes; I didn't like the smell or even the painting it on process. Never used it again.
But the dye fixative could be handy to keep around.
k. taltre