Dye Recipe

From Fiswiki

Dye is prepared using a combination of water, windshield washer fluid and a dark blue colouring agent.

The colouring agent most often cited is blue liquid food colouring, although other water soluble dye in liquid or powder form is also used.

The colouring agent must be able to emulsify in both water and alcohol

A base mixture of water and glycol is used. Glycol percentage can range from 100% to 50%, weather dependant.

On very cold days 100% glycol is required to ensure that the mixture does not freeze in the spray nozzle or the tubing mechanisms. On warmer days glycol should still be used as a base to ensure that the applied paint adheres to the snow surface and does not “crumble”.

Industrial dye packs hold 12 – 15 liters of fluid. The full pack weighs close to 25Kg. If you use Chefmaster concentrated gel you will need 60% of a bottle for each dye pack. A good rule of thumb is that each bottle has 4 good squeezes to be almost empty. The residual from the four squeezes can be flushed with glycol for 1 additional measure. So each bottle yields 5 measures (4 squeezes and a flush).

Two colours of Chefmaster food color can be used – Royal Blue and Violet. For sunny days use all Royal Blue.
For overcast and snowy days use 2/3 Royal Blue and 1/3 Violet. It doesn’t matter what colour glycol is used. The mixture should be very dark in the tank.