Spray fixative

[nervousflyer]

Any recommendations for a clear spray fixative to spray turkey feathers for winging your flies? What is a source, craft store, etc.? Thanks in advance for your opinions.

[2 Bead Pupa]

What tyflier said is right-on . Mine is called Tuffilm Final Fixative and works great. It says that it is for pastel , charcoal , and pencil drawings.

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Life is like a fly swap...You never know what your going to get.

Just a recommendation to try something different than the spray fixative .... try using clear PVC cement. You may be surprised at the results. I went to a fly tying session last year in West Yellowstone by Whiting (the feather people)and they shared this technique with us. They used the clear PVC cement on entire feathers which they used as down wings on all types of flies, hoppers and stoneflies. They used small feathers and a 8" x 8" piece of tile. They placed the feathers on the tile's perimeter and then using the PVC swab coated (soaked thru) each individual feather on the tile. Performing this task adhered the wet PVC soaked feathers to the tile. After drying the feathers were then stripped from the tile by pulling on the feather's stems. Some minor trimming and the feathers were ready to go.The PVC dries relatively quickly and produces an extremely strong bond with the feathers. Some feathers could not be torn apart. This technique was new and very intriguing to me. I believe the same can be done with the turkey feathers and the result will be water proof. Give it a try you might like it.

[Bamboozle]

Windsor & Newton, an art supply company makes a pastel & charcoal fixative available in a bottle. It can be applied with a dubbing needle or brush or you can dip your wings; works great and is less messy than a spray. In regards to wing splitting: I have found that an application of liquid fixative across a quill wing; midway between the tie in point and the tip of the wing will help prevent splitting, (if that is the desired effect), without significantly increasing the weight of the wing by a full covering of fixative.

Pliobond is an old time favorite that while messy makes nymph wing cases virtually indestructible. It just makes wings too heavy for most dries except hoppers & crickets. Make sure to let it dry COMPLETELY or you'll be sorry.