Newbie With A Few Questions About Eco-Flo All In One And Conditioning.

[LeatherHead99]

I recently fell into the leather crafting world by telling myself it would be easier to just make the item than purchase one. $300 + dollars later in tools and supplies I engaged in making a custom pair of suspenders for my job ( Fire Dept.) I finished my first pair last night but I have doubts about the type of dye I used. Here are a few questions I have..

I originally bought the Eco-flo Pro water stain with an eco flo gloss finish... I ended up finding a deal on the Eco-Flo all in one prairie tan quart ($14 quart) and decided to use the tan with a black letter inlay.

I used the water stain black to dye the letters, and used the all in one prairie tan to cover the suspenders. I had issues getting a nice even coat, they came out a bit streaky, and had some dark sports on them ( i figure out it was from letting the dye sit to long before wiping it off)

My main worry is the dye bleeding for rubbing off while im using them.. its obvious that firefighter suspenders will come in contact with a lot of sweat and moisture.

1. How do you think the "all in one" will hold up over time?

2. Is there something else I can apply over it ( another gloss coat) or something to keep it from bleeding or rubbing off. ( i did dye both sides) 1st attempt was kind of messy and I didnt cover the back side before applying the dye and I decided to jsut go ahead and finish the under ( rookie mistake )I was originally jsut gonna do the sides and top .

3. Is there a way to condition the leather prior to stamping and dyeing to make the leather not as stiff? Or is there a way to condition it after, once the dye gloss has been added? I know they will break in eventually, but I wasn't sure if there was a way to make them more comfortable first time around

[TwinOaks]

You can try oiling through the finish...just a little though..there's no need to saturate it. If you don't have neetsfoot oil, use very light extra virgin olive oil.

The finish is actually pretty durable, once it dries. You can top coat it with resolene or the mop n glo substitute. Or, once its fully dry, top coat it with one of the lacquer finishes.

[JustKate]

You can use just about any sealing coat with All-in-1 - wax, lacquer, or acrylic. If you use acrylic, it's better to spray it on. If your suspenders are going to get wet, I'd suggest lacquer.

I've also found that mixing in some Tan-Kote with the All-in-1 (2:1) improves it quite a bit, as in, it's much more stable (less likely to bleed or fade), more durable, and the antiquing is softer and more subtle. Your mileage may vary - so always test before trying a new stain recipe.

[LeatherHead99]

You can try oiling through the finish...just a little though..there's no need to saturate it. If you don't have neetsfoot oil, use very light extra virgin olive oil.

The finish is actually pretty durable, once it dries. You can top coat it with resolene or the mop n glo substitute. Or, once its fully dry, top coat it with one of the lacquer finishes.

Thanks, I don't have any of the resolene, I may give the olive oil a try on some scrap pieces I finished first before I apply it to the suspenders. Thanks for the info.

[TwinOaks]

There have been more than a few posts on this....but, in lieu of resolene, you CAN use Mop-n-glo floor cleaner...it's an acrylic wax...just like resolene! It IS a slightly different consistency, but I've used it on a lot of things and it holds up just fine.

And when oiling....stop 3 coats before you think you have enough on it. The oil will rapidly soak into the leather, and then will evenly disperse through it....you need to give it time to evenly disperse between coats, and before tooling or dyeing over it. As long as it isn't too heavy of a coating, overnight should be fine....24 hrs is recommended.