Many of my subscribers have been asking me how I tint my fly bodies so I will hopefully divulge some useful information on this topic. Alcohol dyes typically will mingle well with lacquers and solvent based clear coats. Top coats such as Sally Hansen nail products work well too. I use these “top coat” products quite a bit with tints especially for emerger bodies, caddis, mayfly, and terrestrial abdomens.
Liquid tinting products that are alcohol based tend to mingle better with clear coat lacquer based products. TransTint is a product line that is sold by Woodcraft that has a dozen or so color tints that cover my tinting needs for fly tying. You can achieve nice transparencies and dial opacity up or down depending on your mixing ratios. For those who like to create UV resin bodies the tints also mingle well with the resin but too much will cause the resin to take longer to kick or not at all. Special care should be taken when mixing and applying these products because you're using very small quantities in a very controlled manner when considering the size of your subject. This is the most difficult part of the process simply controlling your application with a level of precision and cadence. Again if care is not taken you end up with a gloopy mess.
In my next entry I will create a video illustrating how I use these dyes and how to get luminous bodies using alcohol tinting methods.
~Clint Bova. www.cjbovarods.com