Preventing Bleeding?

[cleveland]

I have had enough requests for dyed holsters that it's time to ask a few questions. My holster is worn directly against the skin for most people and I want to be sure that the dye does not bleed.

1- I know that alcohol based dyes require a finishing coat, do oil dyes need this coat as well? I assume so, but I would rather ask an know then to guess.

2- Would I need to use a finish coat on the undyed side of the leather that faces the skin? I am wondering if the dye will bleed through with enough perspiration.

3- The finish I picked up is Fiebings acrylic resolene. Is this the finish you would recommend to prevent bleeding with an oil dye?

4- I use only horsehide. I don't know if or how that would be a factor, but I figure it's worth mentioning.

Any word of advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

[renegadelizard]

I have had enough requests for dyed holsters that it's time to ask a few questions. My holster is worn directly against the skin for most people and I want to be sure that the dye does not bleed.

1- I know that alcohol based dyes require a finishing coat, do oil dyes need this coat as well? I assume so, but I would rather ask an know then to guess.

2- Would I need to use a finish coat on the undyed side of the leather that faces the skin? I am wondering if the dye will bleed through with enough perspiration.

3- The finish I picked up is Fiebings acrylic resolene. Is this the finish you would recommend to prevent bleeding with an oil dye?

4- I use only horsehide. I don't know if or how that would be a factor, but I figure it's worth mentioning.

Any word of advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

1..I think oil dyes are just as likely to come off as alcohol dyes...bleeding though isnt really an issue...the issue is the dye pigment that has not penetrated the leather transferring off of the leather onto other stuff...two things here...one, buff the poop out of the leather after it has dried for at least 24 hours...this help immensely...

2. I finish every holster, dyed or not...this is a sealer to make it water proof/resistant...inside and out

3. I know quite a few folks here use resolene..most cut it 50/50 with water...I picked up a tip from Katsass and use mop and glow cut 50/50 with water...way cheaper and a bottle will last darn near forever...

4. I ve used a bit of horse hide and it seems to dye differently than cow..its almost like it doesnt want to take the dye as readily as cow..hopefully someone else here can chime in on this...

[cleveland]

Thank you for your response!

What do you buff the leather with?

[renegadelizard]

I use denim. Old cut off blue jean legs mostly. You can use heavy canvas as well or even the old

Shoeshine brush. Now, looking at your pic and

Seeing a hybrid, I think I were going

To due one of those, you might consider only dying the front side, as the flesh side might

Be pretty hard to buff. Also, I picked up a strip of horse the other day that I dyed a few months back and forgot about. It was fairly stiff. Just something else you might

Want to consider.

[renegadelizard]

I use denim. Old cut off blue jean legs mostly. You can use heavy canvas as well or even the old

Shoeshine brush. Now, looking at your pic and

Seeing a hybrid, I think I were going

To due one of those, you might consider only dying the front side, as the flesh side might

Be pretty hard to buff. Also, I picked up a strip of horse the other day that I dyed a few months back and forgot about. It was fairly stiff. Just something else you might

Want to consider.

[cleveland]

Thanks!

[Northmount]

I can't resist it. When I saw the topic line a couple days ago, I wanted to say "don't cut yourself".

CTG

[Dogface]

I just finished a set of holsters and belt in Feibing Pro Oil in Royal blue. They look cool but the blue rubs off on your hands and when I went to wet form the holsters the water turned blue. I had to re-dye them when they dried. Never had that problem with any other color of Feibing. Sure like to know why it did that.

[Cowgirl Pat]

I am having trouble with the new water based dyes and antique gels and edge coat coming off if they get the least bit damp. I was used to the old solvent dyes and finishing with Neat-Lac.

I am following the instructions from my Tandy store and also tried several other methods. I tried the gel antique first on the leather with a not so good result. Then tried Super Shene Finish, let dry and topped with the gel antique. I removed the excess and buffed. Then used Fieblings Edge Kote and let dry. Burnished the edges with a little beeswax and parifin mix till the edges looked nice. Coated the whole thing with 3 coats of Super Shene finish (Eco-Flo). The finish looked great. I had a moist (not wet) paper towel and noticed that the dye was coming off. It actually came off really bad. I cannot imagine using this on a nice wallet or saddle and getting wet (actually only damp) and ruining someone’s clothes or leather seats in a truck or car. Even if sealed more...what happens when you use something for a while and the finish comes off. I would think you could be sued over ruining something expensive. I also thought you also dyed something before you sewed it or your white stitches would have dye on them. I see previously that some edge dyed first and you are using a paste to antique so I am thinking that the products you are using are solvent based? Am I doing something out of order or just using the wrong products?

Edited October 10, 2012 by Cowgirl Pat

[renegadelizard]

I just finished a set of holsters and belt in Feibing Pro Oil in Royal blue. They look cool but the blue rubs off on your hands and when I went to wet form the holsters the water turned blue. I had to re-dye them when they dried. Never had that problem with any other color of Feibing. Sure like to know why it did that.

My first thought is that it wasnt really dry enough...i like to use angelus dyes cut with denatured alcohol..i think it dries faster...give it a full 24 hours after you dye before doing anything else with it..you might also hit it with a shoe shine brush before you wet mold to get rid of surface pigments..