I've been making arrows time and time again with no problem. I've used many paints and finishes.I'im taking a break from working with paint to go the dye route (interested in alcohol anilines and homemade options) and additionally I've decided to pick up a high viscosity, waterborne, self-sealing, acrylic-resin top coat that I've adapted to work with my own rubber gasket dip tube.

Question is: Even after drying, will dyed arrows bleed into and pollute my clear top coat tube with color as I push the arrow into the tube and pull the arrow through the gasket?

Anyone with this experience or know of any preventative measures outside of using shellac/dewaxed shellac to seal prior to clear dipping? Suggestions?

No suggestions unfortunately,  but my rit and alcohol does bleed into my container of clear. I use the same thing all the time so I never worried about it.  Sorry I couldn't be more help.

Thank you Shadow, that's actually plenty helpful. I guess as of now my only option would be to wipe on a super thin coat by hand first, give it a light sand/wool and then start the dipping process. I was hoping to expedite the finishing by being able to go from tube to tube, but nothing's perfect.

Yes,you can hand wipe the first coat then there is no problem.
Terry

I use water soluble aniline dye and there no bleeding problem.
Jack

Can't remember the dye I used, but I did get some bleeding when I dipped with Bohning lacquer.  Not enough that i worried about it, however.

I used red dye I mixed with DNA. Used Gasket Laq over it with no issues. I got the dye at Rockler's Woodworkers Store. I will say it is permanent, I spilled some on my work bench. That was 6 or 7 years ago. It is still three.

It seems like dyes and bleeding is mostly an unavoidable issue in some respects, but the solutions are simple so it's no big deal. If I wasn't so ocd with keeping things perfect in theory, then when imperfection occurs during application I'd be able to live with it!

Jack - I'm surprised that's the case because I just had that issue of a water dye bleeding into the water base clear. Maybe I should sand and do multiple dye passings?

i usually pull up a lot of dye doing the hand finish Terry, but maybe it's because I use and old rag and not a foam brush or cheese cloth - probably better options. I know I can take off some excess surface stain prior to it, but that always tends to give it that light bleached look, like it's already old. Hmm...

I think my hobby is making simple and imperfect things difficult in my attempt to perfect them...