ScreamingNorth

Yep, another one of THESE threads. There's a wealth of info on this forum about making mugs and bottles and there's some contest as to what to use for a lining. I've made about twenty bottles so far and I'm pleased with how they work. (I've attached some pics just for showing off...) Now I'm about to start selling them in larger quantities so I wanted to pick everyones' brains for a bit. What I've learned: Pure beeswax lining seems pretty solid to me. Wet-forming the leather will harden it a bit, then adding the wax produces a very rigid surface. I need to do more extensive stress tests, but I did whack on one with my mallet and it was fine, and they've all survived plenty of falls because I'm a klutz. I don't notice a strong taste from the wax, but there is a bit of a waxy/leathery smell, which I actually find pretty delicious. I stress tested a couple of my bottles by carrying water and lemonade around all day and they seem fine. I also noticed that very slow leaks can develop in the seams. So you could pour water into the bottle and it would look fine at first, but after several hours would drip a little bit. So I now test all my bottles with water in them for a few hours before I'm satisfied. What I wanna know: I'm worried about hot days. Obviously hot liquids will melt the wax, and hot cars can easily do the same. But what about just walking around in the sun on a hot (say 95 degree Fahrenheit) day? Will it be okay if it has some water in it to keep the temperature down? If anyone has any personal experience, that's what I'm looking for! I've heard conflicting opinions on this next part... what about substances other than water? Are sugary drinks okay? Soda? Wine? Beer? Hard liquor? Will they strip the wax or should it be just fine? I'm not super concerned about drinking a bit of the wax--it's food safe, after all--but I am worried about long-term durability. Thanks everybody!

I use eco-flo smoke black (one of their hi-lite stains) to get a two-toned grey/black look. Be aware though that if you're using darker leather like saddle skirting it will be more of a liver brown color. But on lighter leathers it's a pretty nice shade of grey. Because it's a hi-lite stain, it will be darker (black) in the cuts and tooling.

I was looking on the Fiebings site. Tandy doesn't sell Fiebings stains at all--only the dyes. There's still an eco-flo blue dye too, but it's nowhere near as vibrant and it doesn't give the contrast I'm after. Hmm... never used Fiebings dyes though. Do those give good contrast? Is the blue bright?

Thanks for the tip Chief! I'll definitely try them out sometime. But they seem to only come in brown tones. I know it isn't a terribly popular opinion to use colors other than browns, tans, and mahoganies but that's what I'm struggling to find now, especially a good blue!

Hello everyone! I love using Eco Flo's stains and antique gels (which seem to be rather similar products in my mind) because I love the rich contrast it gives the tooling. However as some of you may know, they just REALLY cut back on the line. Now there are only browns available. They're nice and I'll be using them, but I loved the rich blue and raisin mahogany colors, and I had wanted to try some of the other brighter tones. So I'm on the lookout for a new product I can transition over to. Eco Flo's waterstains are great and I recommend them, but they behave more like dye than stain, and don't give the nice contrast I'm looking for. Can anyone recommend a product that would be similar? Thanks!