Dyeing Larg Objects

[Dwight]

I was not as well pleased with the dye job on a large Western gun belt or the two holsters as I could have been.

I've been thinking of setting up some sort of container for large object dying using Feibing's solvent based dyes (mostly).

Just wanted to hear from others, . . . maybe not make the same mistakes, . . . and I am concerned about how to store 4 to 6 qts of dye once it is opened and being used.

If you do this, . . . what type of containers do you use, . . . are there any special clean up tips, . . . any special pit falls, . . . ????

Thanks, may God bless,

Dwight

Edited December 28, 2008 by Dwight

[Timd]

Dwight, you'll probably be better off spraying rather than dipping. A Preval sprayer isn't that expensive.

[CitizenKate]

I second Tim's opinion about spraying vs. dipping.

If you plan to do a lot of these projects, may I also suggest a small single-action spray gun with a small $100-125 compressor. That would be the same cost as about 25 Pre-val sprayer refills.

Kate

[Dwight]

I second Tim's opinion about spraying vs. dipping.

If you plan to do a lot of these projects, may I also suggest a small single-action spray gun with a small $100-125 compressor. That would be the same cost as about 25 Pre-val sprayer refills.

Kate

Thanks, Tim, Kate, . . . I had thought about spraying, . . . but I can't do that year round because both the house and the shop are heated with "live flames" so to speak (wood burner in the house, . . . propane burner in the shop). I really have a yen for heaven, . . . but not on the leading edge of an explosion.

John Bianchi showed using a larger tank for his oil bath he gave his Western rigs, . . . and I thought maybe some of you folks did something similar, . . . just wanted to get it as close to right the first time as I could.

I'm planning on ramping up my holster business, but there will only be a few colors, . . . I just cannot do the rainbow thing.

Thanks, may God bless,

Dwight

Edited December 30, 2008 by Dwight

[Randy Cornelius]

Here is how I do it and seem to have good luck. I use oil dye from Feblings as I have had the best luck with it. I use right from the bottle and buy in quarts. For a large object I pour out an amount in a plastic dish, (ok I use butter dishes) I then cut a piece of wool and cut it real short. I start by using a back and forth motion, then change directions and then go to a circular motion until well covered. I see no reason to spray on a holster and gun belt. I quit using the spirt dyes years ago because of streaking problems. I have the best results with the professional oil dye from Feblings. I have tried others but none have the results that the oil dye does from Feblings. I tried some of Weavers oil dye ONCE! Never again.

I am sure there are as may ways to dye as leatherworkers who use dye. This is just what works best for me. I like appling dye by hand as I can blend it and rub it in. I like to feel the leather. The best way to discribe this is that I can feel when the leather has absorbed the right amount of dye, something I cannot do with a sprayer. I used a sprayer once and got overspray everywhere.

One more thought. If you do not have enough dye in one bottle for a project use a new bottle. Then afterward I will mix them together as I do not want to start a large dye job with a small amount in a bottle and then open a new bottle. There is no garentee that it will be the exact color. Always blend the new dye with the old dye to have a consistant color.

Randy

[Luke Hatley]

DWIGHT if you are revamping your Holster Business you need to take a look at

the Colored Leather that Wickett & Craig has to offer.

then you will not have a need to dye the leather,

I use the Chestnut color and it is great......I M O P.

[CitizenKate]

For a large object I pour out an amount in a plastic dish, (ok I use butter dishes) I then cut a piece of wool and cut it real short. I start by using a back and forth motion, then change directions and then go to a circular motion until well covered.

Larger applicator - that works, too.

I see no reason to spray on a holster and gun belt.

Or he could just switch to non-flammable water-based dyes. (I'm just kidding with Randy, since I know how much he hates water-based dyes.) I actually do like the oil dyes when I'm dying something a solid color, and Randy's method works great in situations when you need a solid color wash on something large and can't spray.

For those of you who can spray, there are reasons to consider it, aside from making it very easy to get any dye to go on very evenly. One is that it makes it easy to do shading effects with the color (such as you see here on one of David's excellent motorcycle seats). I have found that this can also be done by wiping it around the edges with a rag or some other large applicator, but it's a lot more work doing it that way.

If you're not into that kind of look, that's cool. Just something to consider.

Kate

[Rawhide]

...I quit using the spirt dyes years ago because of streaking problems. I have the best results with the professional oil dye from Feblings...

Randy, don't look now, but the 'oil' dye is also a spirit dye. It just has much better quality dye stuffs and alcohol in them, that's why they penetrate better and cover more evenly.

[Rawhide]

Larger applicator - that works, too.

Or he could just switch to non-flammable water-based dyes. (I'm just kidding with Randy, since I know how much he hates water-based dyes.) I actually do like the oil dyes when I'm dying something a solid color, and Randy's method works great in situations when you need a solid color wash on something large and can't spray.

For those of you who can spray, there are reasons to consider it, aside from making it very easy to get any dye to go on very evenly. One is that it makes it easy to do shading effects with the color (such as you see here on one of David's excellent motorcycle seats). I have found that this can also be done by wiping it around the edges with a rag or some other large applicator, but it's a lot more work doing it that way.

If you're not into that kind of look, that's cool. Just something to consider.

Kate

Kate, Ijust bought myself an airbrush, and I'm looking to learn some basic techniques with it, Any suggestions on usage or instructions?

[CitizenKate]

Kate, Ijust bought myself an airbrush, and I'm looking to learn some basic techniques with it, Any suggestions on usage or instructions?

I sure do, as I'm sure several others here do, as well. But to avoid hijacking Dwight's thread, let's start another thread on this topic.

Kate

[JerryLevine]

Dwight, you'll probably be better off spraying rather than dipping. A Preval sprayer isn't that expensive.

Tim,

Have you or do you know of anyone who has tried spraying a whole hide? I got 3 sides of skirting leather in the russet that I would like to dye before cutting. I've seen film of hides being sprayed in an English tannery and was wondering if was possible to emulate it in a non-industrial setting. I've read the posts on using an airbrush (my Wife has a Badger for porcelain restoration), but that may be a little small-scale for a whole sides and I have my eye on an electric spray gun on ebay.

Any comments or tips?

Jerry

[Timd]

No, Jerry, I cut all my pieces first, then dye. I think dying the whole side will tie up alot of leather, are you making something specific?

[JerryLevine]

No, Jerry, I cut all my pieces first, then dye. I think dying the whole side will tie up alot of leather, are you making something specific?

Tim,

Thanks for the reply. I'm making my first western saddles, following the Stohlman books. It seems that they (and others, such as Dusty Johnson) makes the saddle with skirting in the russet and if required, dye the saddle after assembly. I've always made my pieces (holsters, bridles, rifles slips) from leather that I've either bought pre-dyed or dyed myself, so I gues its just me being fussy about trying to get an even colour (OK - so the 'U' in colour will tell you that I'm a Brit and prone to being fussy!) across the whole piece of leather before cutting it.

I suppose I'd rather spend a bit of money on dye (I use Fiebing's Professional Oil Dyes) that might be wasted, and then be careful about placing and cutting my patterns to minimise wastage. Having said that, I've never made a saddle before! Valerie Micheals, a British leather crafter and the publisher of a standard (on this side of the pond) treatise on leatherwork, is my model for this process, and I've always had good, even results with it. By lightly dampening the leather first, then applying a number of lighter layers of dye with an applicator, turning the piece through 90 degrees after each application. After the dyed leather has dried, it is burnished with a boxwood (or similar) burnisher to seal the surface. Its just that a whole side (3 of them) seems a bit daunting and I wanted to be a little more efficient.

Jerry

[Timd]

I'm imagining my wife's reaction when I hang a side on the clothesline and start draggin' the compressor from the shed.....

[Dwight]

I'm imagining my wife's reaction when I hang a side on the clothesline and start draggin' the compressor from the shed.....

Living next to a 4000 acre public hunting land, . . . there is absolutely NO WAY I would hang a hide out on my wife's clothes line to spray it.

Even if I had full 3rd generation body armor, . . . nahhhhhhhhhhhhh !

May God bless,

Dwight

[yaklady]

Here is how I do it and seem to have good luck. I use oil dye from Feblings as I have had the best luck with it. I use right from the bottle and buy in quarts. For a large object I pour out an amount in a plastic dish, (ok I use butter dishes) I then cut a piece of wool and cut it real short. I start by using a back and forth motion, then change directions and then go to a circular motion until well covered. I see no reason to spray on a holster and gun belt. I quit using the spirt dyes years ago because of streaking problems. I have the best results with the professional oil dye from Feblings. I have tried others but none have the results that the oil dye does from Feblings. I tried some of Weavers oil dye ONCE! Never again.

I am sure there are as may ways to dye as leatherworkers who use dye. This is just what works best for me. I like appling dye by hand as I can blend it and rub it in. I like to feel the leather. The best way to discribe this is that I can feel when the leather has absorbed the right amount of dye, something I cannot do with a sprayer. I used a sprayer once and got overspray everywhere.

One more thought. If you do not have enough dye in one bottle for a project use a new bottle. Then afterward I will mix them together as I do not want to start a large dye job with a small amount in a bottle and then open a new bottle. There is no garentee that it will be the exact color. Always blend the new dye with the old dye to have a consistant color.

Randy

I second Randy's method. The bigger the piece of leather, the bigger the sheep skin and the bigger the butter dish. Hit the leather hard and fast, with lots of dye at once, and don't spend much time in one place. Cover as much of the surface as you can in a few seconds.

Kathy

[Go2Tex]

Tim,

Thanks for the reply. I'm making my first western saddles, following the Stohlman books. It seems that they (and others, such as Dusty Johnson) makes the saddle with skirting in the russet and if required, dye the saddle after assembly. I've always made my pieces (holsters, bridles, rifles slips) from leather that I've either bought pre-dyed or dyed myself, so I gues its just me being fussy about trying to get an even colour (OK - so the 'U' in colour will tell you that I'm a Brit and prone to being fussy!) across the whole piece of leather before cutting it.

I suppose I'd rather spend a bit of money on dye (I use Fiebing's Professional Oil Dyes) that might be wasted, and then be careful about placing and cutting my patterns to minimise wastage. Having said that, I've never made a saddle before! Valerie Micheals, a British leather crafter and the publisher of a standard (on this side of the pond) treatise on leatherwork, is my model for this process, and I've always had good, even results with it. By lightly dampening the leather first, then applying a number of lighter layers of dye with an applicator, turning the piece through 90 degrees after each application. After the dyed leather has dried, it is burnished with a boxwood (or similar) burnisher to seal the surface. Its just that a whole side (3 of them) seems a bit daunting and I wanted to be a little more efficient.

Jerry

I can't imagine a good reason to dye all 3 sides before cutting. You will still get uneven color because of the nature of the leather. Different areas will soak up more than others. Then, you will still need to dye your edges. The wasted dye is a very real consideration due to the cost plus your time. Not a good idea. A tannery has no other option for offering a colored product, so they either spray or drum dye the whole thing.

[JerryLevine]

I can't imagine a good reason to dye all 3 sides before cutting. You will still get uneven color because of the nature of the leather. Different areas will soak up more than others. Then, you will still need to dye your edges. The wasted dye is a very real consideration due to the cost plus your time. Not a good idea. A tannery has no other option for offering a colored product, so they either spray or drum dye the whole thing.

Brent,

Many thanks for that; I guess I'll think again. I might have a go a a smaller piece of leather at some stage though! Thanks also to Tim, Randy, Kathy and Dwight for your input. I'll get me some sheepskin and look on ebay for a BIG butter dish!

I'll be visiting the tannery I mentioned above later in the year to see if I can get English tanned skirting in the colour I want. I might just take the sides I already have up to them and see if they'll dye them for me! Anyway, I'm off to Afghanistan on Wednesday for a few weeks, so I won't be doing much leatherwork for a while (but I will be taking my 3rd gen body armour!). Having said that, I might take the makings of a bridle and sew it up when the iPod battery dies. Unfortunately, sewing clams take up an awful lot of space in the rucksack; probably better take a sleeping bag instead!

All the best,

Jerry