Begin by washing and rinsing your feathers thoroughly; after which
soak in a bath of compound of one gallon of ammonia to eight gallons
of water for about eight hours; take feathers out and squeeze out the
excess of ammonia which is in the flues. Put your feathers in the
peroxide of hydrogen with an addition of twelve to sixteen ounces
of ammonia to one five gallon can or demijohn, and let it work slowly,
stirring feathers from time to time for about six hours; after which
lay your feathers on one side of the tub and add to the peroxide of
hydrogen bath about four ounces more of ammonia; stir the bath well to
insure a thorough mixture of the peroxide of hydrogen with the ammonia.
The peroxide of hydrogen will continue to work for about twelve hours
more, until it becomes thoroughly exhausted; after which take out your
feathers and rinse a few times in luke warm water. Then proceed to
put them in a second bath of peroxide of hydrogen to be prepared as
follows: To a half gallon demijohn of peroxide of hydrogen add two and
a half gallons of water, and add thereto about eight ounces of ammonia.
Then enter your feathers, and allow the bath to work a few hours; again
add about two ounces of ammonia by the same process as before, and then
let it work a few hours longer, or until the bath becomes exhausted.
To ascertain whether total exhaustion has taken place, take a small
portion of the bath in a glass and dilute therein a few grains of
permanganate of potash; if it be not totally exhausted, bubbles will
appear on the surface; if exhausted, none will be noticeable.
After your feathers have been removed from the bath they must be
carefully rinsed off in three or four waters, a few degrees more than
luke warm. Then prepare a warm soap bath, and allow your feathers to
remain in a few minutes; after which rinse off thoroughly in luke warm
water; dilute a small handful of starch in a quantity of cold water,
pass your feathers through and dry.
All natural color will have entirely disappeared. Whatever portion of
the amount of feathers you have just bleached are for whites, before
drying them up, prepare a bath as per recipe for white, pass through
and dry in the usual way. This process of bleaching is used only
when it is desirable to make light colors from gray or natural black
feathers, but feathers for navy blue, seal brown, bottle green, etc.,
will not be improved by bleaching. The shade of color can be evened off
in the bath.