Ecoflow Professional Waterstains

[Shooter McGavin]

Stopped at Tandy today for some supplies and noticed a new product on the rack. It is called Professional Waterstains and made by eco-flow.

I've tried the other eco-flow dies and stains and was less than impressed. The Professional Waterstains state they are a water based solution/emulsion of soft waxes, synthetic resins, and antistatic agents.

So the manage opens a bottle and rubs some on a scrap of leather. It looked very nice and had a great feel to it right away, similar to what I'm accustomed to with Bridle Leathers, so I grabbed an 8.5 ounce bottle of Black and headed home.

Squirted some on a damp sponge and rubbed it on a piece of scrap Hermann Oak. It covered nicely and had a nice even color. I let it dry for 3 hours then decided to test it for rub off both wet and dry.

Grabbed an old t-shirt and rubbed as hard as I could and got very little color transfer.

I then wet it to the point that I would if I were wet molding a holster, and still no rub off. The water actually beaded up on the surface.

I bent and rolled the leather while wet, no cracking or flaking.

So far I'm pretty impressed. They have a lot of colors and even have a pearl additive. Also in the lineup is a gloss and a matte finish.

I have a lot of stock of super sheen and satin sheen so tomorrow I will test compatibility but I'm really not expecting many surprises.

Just wanted to share and see if anyone else has used this new product.

I dont even see it on their website yet.

[Spinner]

Stopped at Tandy today for some supplies and noticed a new product on the rack. It is called Professional Waterstains and made by eco-flow.

I've tried the other eco-flow dies and stains and was less than impressed. The Professional Waterstains state they are a water based solution/emulsion of soft waxes, synthetic resins, and antistatic agents.

So the manage opens a bottle and rubs some on a scrap of leather. It looked very nice and had a great feel to it right away, similar to what I'm accustomed to with Bridle Leathers, so I grabbed an 8.5 ounce bottle of Black and headed home.

Squirted some on a damp sponge and rubbed it on a piece of scrap Hermann Oak. It covered nicely and had a nice even color. I let it dry for 3 hours then decided to test it for rub off both wet and dry.

Grabbed an old t-shirt and rubbed as hard as I could and got very little color transfer.

I then wet it to the point that I would if I were wet molding a holster, and still no rub off. The water actually beaded up on the surface.

I bent and rolled the leather while wet, no cracking or flaking.

So far I'm pretty impressed. They have a lot of colors and even have a pearl additive. Also in the lineup is a gloss and a matte finish.

I have a lot of stock of super sheen and satin sheen so tomorrow I will test compatibility but I'm really not expecting many surprises.

Just wanted to share and see if anyone else has used this new product.

I dont even see it on their website yet.

Thanks for the advance testing Shooter. Sounds interesting so far. How about second applications?

Have you tried to apply a second coat over the first now that it should be dry and if so how did that go if water was previously beading up on the surface?

How about drying time compared to spirit & oil based dyes? Price compared to those also?

Sounds like Tandy may be finally getting on the ball!

Chris

[Leerwerker]

I have been playing with it a bit too and I am also impressed with the black!

The other colors are very rich deep colors. The drying time is long, compared to spirit based dyes, but the outcome is worth the wait. Of course, bacause the leather thinks it is wet, it darkens and you cannot tell what the final outcome would be until it dries and gets lighter.

I did find however, that it really thins out nicely - sometimes some dyes loose their integrity when you dilute them too much, but not these. I mixed a highly diluted light brown with the gold additive and the result was very eye-catching!

I have been a fan of Dubbin ever since I was in the army in 1976 and it softened my boots. When I started doing leatherwork in 1978, Dubbin was my #1 choice for a conditioner and since I have moved to the US, I have even made my own when I could not find it locally. Dr Jackson's Hide Rejuvenator came a close second. BUT, NOW, I think I have found the ultimate leather conditioner:

Everything I have tested this on convinced me more and more that this is good stuff! I put some thick on tooled leather - it completely penetrated without leaving anything behind in the impressions.

I found the following with the price of these products: compared to other dyes, they are more expensive per fl. ounce, but definitely cheaper if you compare dollars paid for inches covered. Especially this conditioner cream.

[TwinOaks]

While you're testing / evaluating it, do you mind taking a slice through one end and reporting the penetration depth?

[hiloboy]

I sure hope this stuff is for real..that would really help me with my shipping.. trying to get something here that will work and not cost a arm and a leg and take forever to get here..

[lonestar tactical]

I went to Tandy this morning to pick up some hardware and was talking to the manager. He was "playing" with the black and also some of the lighter brown on some scraps. I was very impressed with the color - it seems very rich. LIttle to no rub off. I will check back with him in a couple of weeks and see what the virdict is. He has always been great to deal with and always stops me from spending money on dumb stuff lol.

Business price for the smallest bottle (larger than small eco flow standard bottles) was something like 12.00 and some change.

SIDE NOTE - they also had some very nice stingray in stock for a very good price. Black only.

Be Safe,

Doc

[Shooter McGavin]

Well, not much in the way of penetration. However, it bonds very well to the leather. I actually scraped through some Fiebings Pro Oil dye easier than I got through this Watercolor stuff.

No adverse reactions from the super sheen or satin sheen.

Due to lack of penetration, it is indeed possible to tool through this.

[TwinOaks]

From the descriptions, it sounds like this is almost a form of liquid shoe polish, but in a water base. Perhaps even a compound that uses pigments and Satin/Super sheen. Kinda like the black resolene? I'm getting curious about it now, and may have to order some for experimentation....hang on, lemme find my 'mad chemist' hat. It'll be interesting to see how well this stuff sprays. I just dropped a note to Kevin @ SLC, to see if they'll be carrying it, and I'll post the info back here when I get a reply. Thanks for doing the preliminary reviews on it.

[Spinner]

From the descriptions, it sounds like this is almost a form of liquid shoe polish, but in a water base. Perhaps even a compound that uses pigments and Satin/Super sheen. Kinda like the black resolene? I'm getting curious about it now, and may have to order some for experimentation....hang on, lemme find my 'mad chemist' hat. It'll be interesting to see how well this stuff sprays. I just dropped a note to Kevin @ SLC, to see if they'll be carrying it, and I'll post the info back here when I get a reply. Thanks for doing the preliminary reviews on it.

Never fear Mike, another mad scientist is here! I picked some up today along with the Matte finish to do some testing with. The sales girl at Tandy was nice enough to open a bottle for me to check it out before buying and just a quick wipe with a paper towel gave a nice top coat but very little penetration. Stuff doesn't want to rub off though, I even wiped out my knife and scraped the grain side to see how bad it would scuff. So I bought some and will be testing it tomorrow including a few tests with spraying, mulitple coats, different finishes and seeing if it will go over other products like the Pro Oil Dye, etc. Results to come soon!

Chris

[hiloboy]

well what was the verdict on this stuff buy or save my money.. i sure hope this stuff is for real. i want to thank you guys for letting us know what you think of this and all the other stuff on this site.it sure help when you live were leather people are far and few..and no stores that even sells leather products..mahalos again for all your help..