JulieP

Thanks Michael. I experimented on a few scraps before I started and tried dying the whole piece first and then painting. I had a really hard time getting the acrylic paints to cover the black evenly. I tried putting white acrylic paint down first but I just couldnt seem to get the areas I wanted painted to look nice and even. Julie

Hi, I was making a dog collar. I tooled it and then painted the edges and certain areas of the collar with Angelus leather paint. I let the paint dry for 24 hrs. I then carefully painted black angelus spirit dye to the whole middle of the collar, around all of the painted areas. It looked great!! I waited about 12 hours and then began to buff out the black dye and that is when it all went wrong. The black dye buffed onto all the painted areas past the point of fixing it. I spoke first to someone at Angelus, they were totally clueless. I then spoke to the place I ordered the paints and dyes from and she said she didn't think I could acheive the look i wanted that some black would always buff onto the paint. I was just wondering if anyone might have a clue if I did something wrong or if that technique just won't work? I remade the collar and painted the whole middle with angelus black paint. I just like the look of the dye much better if I might be able to get it to work in the future. Here are pics of the bad one and the one I painted. Thanks so much for any insight!

I tried the lemon juice and it may clean but it did not seem to lighten my leather at all. The oxalic acid may work, I have not tried it yet. I would definitely do some test strips or pieces, a lot of the finishes darken the leather substantially. Our local Tandy had a bunch of pieces they had different finishes/protectors on and most of them really seemed to darken the leather. Good luck.

Hi there, Trying to figure out what products and in which order to apply them. I am making dog collars. So far this is the process. 1. Tool 2. Paint with Angelus acrylic leather paint. 3. Lightly neatsfoot oil. 4. ***1st question?***.What can I use over the acrylic paint to seal so I can antique? A few people said not to use NeatLac as it will disolve paint!!! 5. Seal with what ever a few people recommend. Fiebings Leather Sheen? 6. Antique with Fiebings antique paste. 7. Seal with 2 light coats of Eco-Flo high gloss sheen to help with waterproofing dog collar. 8. Condition with Aussie Conditioner. Sorry if this has been addressed. Seached forums and went back 6 pages in this forum trying to find answer! Thanks for any help!!

Thanks Doe!

Thank you zuludog

Thank you so much Doe!!! Im not sure how I missed that size but Im so grateful you pointed it out. 3mm was a little to small and 4mm was a bit to big. 3.5 is perfect. Thanks again!!!!! I just looked them up on the website and your link work perfectly but if I don't use your links I can not find the 3.5 mm ones. How did you find them?

Thanks for your responses!

Thanks for the response. I wanted to try a few of the 3mm irons and the price is amazing, even with shipping. I was wondering what type of things you are stitching? I was going back and forth on whether to get the 3mm(8.5 dpi) or 4mm(6.4 spi) irons but from all of the videos I've watched thought the 3mm may be a better choice for me. I plan on stitching mostly smaller items like dog collars, wallets, ect. I also plan on purchasing a 1/2 dozen of their stamps to try them out. I'll let you know how they are. Although most of my stamps are the less expensive Tandy stamps so Im not sure I'll be a great judge.

Hi, I was trying to figure out what size oval punch I would need to attach buckles to dog collars. Most of my buckles will be between 3/4" to 1" width. I was going to order the punches from LeatherCraftTools.com. Their punches come in sizes: 12mm(.47in),/ 15mm(.59in),/ 18mm(.71in) / 21mm(.83in). https://www.leathercrafttools.com/tools/punch/oval-hole-punch/list.jsp . Thank you!!

Thanks Oldhat! Have you used any of the LC Diamond hole punches? Ive poured over Nigels videos and as you said the prices on this website are great. Just wondering if anyone has used any of the stitching punches. Thanks again for the link!

Thank you for the link. Great prices.

Hi, I was wondering if anyone has purchased any of the end punches from Goods Japan and has an opinion they can share? They seem to carry 2 brands that are about the same price, Leathercraft and Kyoshin Elle. I would love to hear any opinions good or bad. Thanks

Very Nice!!

I was going to put a clear finish on it. Eco-Flo clear matte finish. I would also like to condition the leather to give the collar a little more pliable and softer feel. I'm not sure when to condition it either. I was planning on conditioning it with Fieblings Aussie conditioner as the last step before I apply the clear matte finish

I am making a dog collar that I would like to paint, dye and finish the whole collar with Eco-Flo Tan Antique Gel. I am using Angelus paints and dyes. I was wondering if there is a common order in which these steps are done or if it can vary depending on desired effect? I am guessing the Angelus dyes will not work over the Eco-Flo antique gel or become too dark to see the color. I may just paint the specific areas as I don't have any resist to keep the colored dye areas from the Antique Gel. Thank you.

Hi, I am very new to leatherworking and need to buy some thread. I am purchasing the Seiwa pricking irons-6spi and wanted to buy so .8mm thread. I will mostly be doing small projects. I watched Nigels video and liked the look of the .8mm. I found this thread on Amazon and wasn't sure how it is and was looking for any feedback. I am not to far from a Tandy but saw that a few people mentioned they were not happy with any of the Tandy thread. The stuff on Amazon is called Usongs: http://www.amazon.com/Leather-Accessories-Polyester-Measuring-Ballpoint/dp/B00M6A1TKW/ref=sr_1_fkmr2_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1427382175&sr=8-3-fkmr2&keywords=.8+mm+bonded+polyester+thread I'm don't need a ton of thread. Just something good/decent quality to start with until I get a bit better and can justify spending more. Thanks so much for any recommendations.

Thank you Brian! I was also wondering if anyone works with calf leather as opposed to kangaroo leather? I have a Tandy not too far and it's much easier to buy. I want to make a show lead for myself and my dog is about 16lbs so I dont need any ridiculous strength.

Hi, I'm trying to figure out about how many feet/yards of 1/8 inch leather cord I need to make a 4 foot- four stranded braid for a dog show lead. I think there must be a conversion chart out there that gives approx how many feet of raw cord will give how may feet of braided product. I know it will vary a bit depending on how tight it's braided and style of braid. I just want a simple 4 strand braid. I've google and seached leatherworker and cant seem to find any type of conversion chart. If any one could point me in the direction or give me a ball park idea so I know how much leather to buy( or if I can afford to buy it) Thank you!

I just did some research on this subject. One of the members posted a pic of a test he did with spirit dyes and ethanol vs isopropyl. The results were very different. The isopropyl thinned dyes were much more vibrant than the ethanol thinned dyes.

Thanks so much for the update. It's hard to know how products are going to hold up over time and use. I really appreciate the feedback. Great painting job on the Dansko's!!!

I also like Angelus dyes. They are waterbased but give beautiful vibrant color. I have ordered from Dharma quite a few times and they are wonderful and extremely fast. You may be able to order some of the oil based off of EBay if that's what u really want. After my research I found that a lot of people really like the Angelus and the spirit base is a little easier to work with.

Thank you for the replies. CrazedLemming thank you for posting a pic of you dye test. That is amazing the difference the 2 alcohols make. I may try the same test with the few different alcohol compounds and compare the results. The 151 does have color but when mixed with food dyes leaves no odor or taste on pure white icing. I know it's not cost effective for big pieces but I would be using it for painting small areas(flowered ect...) rather than dyeing large areas.

I need to cut my Angelus spirit dyes. I've read a few things regarding isopropyl vs denatured. I'd rather stick with ethanol(denatured) rather than isopropyl which is a bit different compound. Angelus recommends ethanol and their reducing solution is ethanol. My question is to the techy/ chemistry savvy people. Could I substitute Bacardi 151, in a pinch for the denatured alcohol? It is 75.5% alcohol. And I believe it is ethanol? I use the 151 to cut food dyes to paint on cookies and cakes and wondered if it would work for leather? It completely evaporates on my cookies and there is no alcohol taste or smell. Would it be a little bit less harsh on the leather? Or is it too high of a water content? Not to mention if my project looks like crap, I could down a few swigs it may look a whole lot better! Thank you!

Thank you all so much for the explanations and book recommendations. Thank you Saluki Feathers for you in depth description. Do you normally paint on dry leather or does it matter? I will keep practicing. I have a feeling this technique will take quite a bit of practice to become remotely adept at. I would LOVE a blog entry or video from you explaining how you do this. I am a fan of your work and your blog has been a great help! Thanks again, Julie