Dying Or Coloring Roughout / Flesh Side

[Go2Tex]

Here is the problem. Usually the flesh side of drum dyed leather comes unbuffed, as it would be necessary to re-dye after buffing at the tannery. Apparently it can be requested, but has anyone had this done and to what degree of satisfaction? Would the coloration be as uniform as before buffing and of a suitable appearance for a roughout saddle? Plus, does this re-dye at the tannery hold up to future sanding to buff up the nap, like after oiling, etc.

What I would like to avoid somehow is the stark contrast between the roughout parts, (seat and fender), and the rest of the saddle that is dyed a dark brown. I realize it will eventually be that way, but how could I darken it evenly without a lot of hand rubbing and then loss of the roughout nap as occurs with very well used saddles?

Am I barking up the wrong tree here, or what? Is it even a possibility or worth the effort? Just use it as is, oil it up and set it out in the sun for a few days?

[TroyWest]

I don't ever use drum dyed leather so I can't really answer the question. What I do know is when you order buffed leather they usually use the sides that have the roughest top grain with scars and scratches because it is a good way to sell those hides, since you ordered it buffed they assume you are going to use it all roughout. They are not concerned too much with the other side. Years ago I went to a tannery. They had a large belt sander and a man would hold a side of leather up to it and literally buff the flesh side. After that I never ordered buffed leather again. You can use a small hand sander and buff the pieces you want, seat and 2 fenders pretty quickly and get a very nice nap, as nice as you want anyway by using whatever grit sandpaper suits you best. Just a small vibrating sander, not a belt sander. I havent done it in a while as I'm pretty content with the flesh side just as it comes from the tannery. My suggestion is if you have a small sander to do a little test on what you have and see how it affects the flesh side. If you dont have one they are pretty cheap. You can buff a fender in a couple of minutes. It does make a lot of little fuzzies though.

[Go2Tex]

Thanks Troy. Depending on the source, the flesh side can be quite unpredictable in appearance. I normally don't request buffing because I've found they can thin it down too much. I never knew how they did it. A belt sander could really ruin a side quick. I would have guessed they used some kind of large orbital buffer.

I like your idea of using the hand sander, though. But then, the question remains, how do I darken it up to match a dark brown saddle? How about oil darkening stain? Does it rub off like dye?

[TroyWest]

I really don't have the answer We tried some oil stain many years ago but never liked the outcome, too streaky. That doesn't mean it can't be perfected. My thoughts were to buff til you were satisfied and color the same as the top grain. Dont know how perfect the match will be as RO often doesn't color exactly the same as top grain. I guess that is the original problem. I havent seen anything that wont come back out unless it was something like vinegaroon. Of course you dont want black but you can make brown by using baking soda and water. It makes more of an antique color brown and still may not match the color your shooting for.

[Go2Tex]

I really don't have the answer We tried some oil stain many years ago but never liked the outcome, too streaky. That doesn't mean it can't be perfected. My thoughts were to buff til you were satisfied and color the same as the top grain. Dont know how perfect the match will be as RO often doesn't color exactly the same as top grain. I guess that is the original problem. I havent seen anything that wont come back out unless it was something like vinegaroon. Of course you dont want black but you can make brown by using baking soda and water. It makes more of an antique color brown and still may not match the color your shooting for.

I might try airbrushing and seal with a suede waterproof product. But, thanks for tip on the baking soda. It doesn't have to be a perfect match. I'll play around with it and see what it does. Mucho gracias.

Edited March 11, 2010 by Go2Tex

[BondoBobCustomSaddles]

I have done some rough out saddles, usually they are the ones that I call half breed, part roughout and part grain out. You want them to at least look close to the same color. What I have done is choose a dye that is the same or as close to the same color as you can get. If you are using "natural" leather, then you can dye both the same color. What I have done is buff the flesh side like Troy suggests, and then dye it. Be paitient, let it dry thoroughly, to see the color you have achieved. Also see where there are any areas that are streaky and need to be redone. If you use a good oil dye, (I only use Feiblings) and a piece of wool fleece scrap in circular motions, you can achieve a nice even color. Then after it has dried completely, go over it with a fine brass wire brush like you did when you were cleaning up your "Blue Swede Shoes" to get it to a nice even appearence (if you can remember back that far) . Attached is a pic of one I did several years ago, the skirts and fenders were rough out they still have a nice even color to them. Hope that helps.

Bondo Bob

P.S. Always use a piece of scrap to be sure that the results are what you want before you, before you do the actual piece. That will save a lot of cuss words.

[gtwister09]

Brent,

Sorry I don't have anything on the coloring. However on the hand sander, I have used used the Shop-Vac with hook and loop pads to keep the leather fuzzies to an almost negligible level. The holes in the pad and the Shop-Vac do wonders for removing the leather dust when you are reviving the nap on rough-outs. I have used the sander plenty of times when preparing used ones to be sold....kind of like a detail job for your car.

Regards,

Ben

[Go2Tex]

Well, I did a bit of experiementation on the baking soda trick and I am happy to report that it did dye the leather brown! It appears that with each additional dunking, it got darker. It does have a more purplish tint to it, as opposed to a redish brown. Oiling darkens it up nicely, similar to the way vinegaroon turns the gray into black.

If you are looking for a lighter brown than what you can achieve with dye, this looks like a good alternative to try. A quick dunk will do it.

This picture is before oiling. The mixture was about 2 TBSP of soda in a quart jar of water about 3/4 full. It is a bit more soda than saturation, or in other words, more soda than would disolve completely.

[Kate]

Well, I did a bit of experiementation on the baking soda trick and I am happy to report that it did dye the leather brown! It appears that with each additional dunking, it got darker.<SNIP>

Cool! Thanks for the pic Brent. How's Texas treating you guys?

Still have the big Landis, but did get a new Cobra and am in 7th stitching heaven

Kate