Lwleather Report post Posted December 5, 2010 Ok, somewhere I heard you could mix a little dye in with some oil, like neatsfoot, to dye leather. What I have is a side of tooling leather that is VERY natural--almost flesh colored. Can a person add a few drops of dye to a small amount of oil and sponge it on to a small project?? It's too light colored for most of what I want to do with it. Thanks for any advice. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TwinOaks Report post Posted December 5, 2010 Yes, you could do it, but I don't think the results would be satisfactory using a sponge. You might try just dyeing it first, then once you have a nice even coat, applying a light coat of oil. The most even coat of dye I've personally achieved is with an airbrush......although, I must admit it was a pretty thorough coating when I knocked over a bottle of dye. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ChuckBurrows Report post Posted December 5, 2010 1) Weaver Leather sells an oil darkening liquid formulated specifically for what you are asking 2) Many of "Us" old timers made or still make our own oil dyes by adding oil to the regular leather dye - it needs to be mixed very well - when I make it I use an old food blender on high and add a bit of lecithin (availabale at most helath food stores or such like) to help it mix and stay mixed. Usually though I re-blender it before each use in order tomake sure it's mixed. One caveat ANYTIMe you use oil in such a mix or before dying you should use a very good sealer since as the oil dehydrates over time out of the leather it will "carry" the dye particles back to the surface - if not sealed properly rub off WILL occur..... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
