Stainless Steel pot + Dye = Poor results?

[NeoMoses]

Has anyone else noticed poor dying results when using dyes in stainless steel pots? Perhaps the results may have been good when the dye was new, but then it degraded as it spent more time in the pot?

I'm in the pursuit of a long-running consistency problem, and I may have another possible cause. Bear with me here. Stainless steel can contain nickel... and anodizing dyes are slightly acidic, right? Anodizing sealer contains nickel acetate, right? Do you se where I'm going with this?

I'm thinking my poor dyeing results may be because my parts are partially sealing while still in the dye bath. I'm thinking perhaps that the dye may be leaching a small amount of the nickel out of the SS, maybe making a very weak nickel acetate (or something similar) solution which helps seal the part at a lower temperature. Does this sound possible?

[Fibergeek]

I have always used a cheap stainless steel stock pot for dyeing. I've not experienced any problems with it. I have noticed that leaving the dye (Black HBL ) in the pot (nine days old?) exposed to airborne contaminants and evaporation will degrade it in time. I store the dye in airtight plastic jugs.

[NeoMoses]

I mixed up a new batch of dye and it seems to have fixed the problem. I did not realize that leaving the dye exposed to air would degrade it. No more doing that for me (especially with the black dye$$$).