AmyMarie

Have you had any issues with the black rubbing off when it gets wet? That's the new problem I am running into. I've oiled it before then dyed, when I went to burnish the edges with water the dye started dripping off! I have been rubbing it as much as possible to try to get the excess pigment off but the second water touches it, it is running like crazy!

You'll see me on the news next week

The thought of the questions that would be raised when they found that hahaha Maybe a small batch, I'll have to keep it somewhere else though, the smell might be too awful with the vinegar!

Sinpac, Unfortunately I will not be able to make the vinegaroon, I live in a military barracks so that's a no-go Is there a big difference between the clear-lac and neat-lac? I just bought the neat-lac from Tandy Leather. The cracking does make sense, the neat-lac made the practice straps hard as a rock (thank god I practiced these all first!!). I put it on a belt I made and it turned out beautiful, these straps though, not so much. I'm definitely going to get some of the Fiebing's oil dye like you mentioned.... Seems to be the way to go for sure.

Handstitiched, Thank you very much for the suggestions, I hadn't thought about applying oil prior to applying the dye, I will give that a shot for sure. I was just about to try dying some other straps but am definitely going to wait now until the oil is soaked in! JLSleather, I am using sheepskin daubers and I noticed with black I am getting a ton of fuzzies left over that are sticking to the leather as well. I have been trying other ways to apply the dye and may go with the dip dye as you mentioned! Do you seal the spur straps with resolene? I tried to seal some practice pieces with Neat-Lac and they turned out terrible...

Thank you Dwight! I will have to look into the oil dye and give dip dyeing a shot. What type of thinner do you use for this? And I never thought to oil before the dye, I will try that, too!

Hey everyone, New to leather working and new to the forum here... I have been making spur straps and belts but recently had someone request a set of black spur straps be made. I am using 8-9oz veg tanned leather and have eco-flo black dye. What I have noticed on some practice pieces I have done so far is that the black dye makes the leather incredibly dry, especially on the backside. Now here's a couple of things: 1) Should I be dying the rough out backside of the leather for spur straps? 2) What else can I try to use to give some life back to the leather? I have tried neatsfoot oil to try to soften it and some other leather conditioner but the leather still feels rough and dry. 3) The edges are not burnishing well. What can I use to give the edges a nice shiny finish after using this dye? Sorry for the questions, I haven't had this issue with any other dyes I have used so far! Amy