Fiebings Tan dye too dark?

[tomknox]

i got the spirit dye in Tan but it looks medium/dark brown, it's darker than the color chart. let me know what you think, heres the pic.

[roo4u]

with a spirit dye the color obtained depends alot on the type of finish on the leather you are applying it to and somewhat on application techniques. the nice thing about spirit dyes is you can thin them down with denatured alcohol mix small quantities and test dye until you acheive the color desired. i always mix in ratios so that i can duplicate the color with the formula written on the container holding finished dye mix.

[King's X]

I also have learned that it takes some time for the dye to settle in. What I thought was dark brown when I applied saddle tan; later on revealed exactly the color I wanted, but I must agree with the statement above. It depends on many things especially the leather.

Happy New Year!

[tomknox]

the leather is from zack white, veg-tanned shoulder. the brown has not changed on the scrap, it was dyed a week ago and the picture was taken today! where do i pick up the alchohol mix? thanks!!

tyler

[abn]

Tyler, denatured alcohol is a solvent that can be found at virtually any hardware store. Good luck!

[King's X]

Have you sent a photograph to Zack's and asked them if any other customer's experience this? They may be able to help or provide answers while you away at the hardware store.

[tomknox]

Thanks guys, i'll send them a pic and see waht they have to say! Every row of bottles has a color swatch under them so i know i didnt pick up the wrong color. David Theobald said that he's bought dye and antique paste from fiebing's in the past that were mis-labeled and pretty much said that it's the norm with them. Have any of you guys had this happen to you?

[JoelR]

I've had a simalar experience. I asked the Tandy rep what I could do to better match the samples they have displayed and was told to try misting the leather with distilled water and spraying the dye on with an airbrush. I have not tried this so I don't know how well it will work but the rep states that this is what her husband does with leathers that suck up the dyes really fast.

[King's X]

That is the one thing I recently started deploying was wetting the leather very sligthly before dyeing. I even started doing it prior to applying my RTC neat-lac finish to avoid streaks that I have been experiencing. no mass!

Good Luck!