Lollappaloosa

I tried neatsfoot oil but it still wasn't near dark enough. I tried clear nail polish as a resist but some dye still soaked into the stitching. I wonder if block out would do the trick? Or if I would better off pulling the stitching and redoing it with white thread after I dye it? That would be a lot of work but might be the best solution. I'll see if anyone else has any ideas....

I have kind of a unique question, hopefully somebody here has a suggestion. I don't make my own leather tack, I just buy it and customize it to match the rest of my stuff. My saddle is dark chestnut with aged white stitching, I can find tack with white stitching but usually the leather needs to be dyed to match the saddle color. I really like the way the light stitching contrasts with the darker leather. What can I use on the stitching to make it resist the dye so the finished product will match my saddle? Any ideas are appreciated. Here is my saddle so you can see what I'm talking about. Here is the type of tack I want to match my saddle:

Hi all! Haven't been on here for a long time, I like the new format! I've been busy restoring a 70s era Hereford saddle, pretty happy with the results. I sent the skirts out to Kevin Parrish (The Saddle Guy) for refleecing due to my arthritis. Should have them back this week and will be able to put everything back together. The leather was in good shape to start with, just needed a little oil to even out the color and a new finish coat. I polished and sealed the brass dee rings to their original state. How's it look so far? Before: After: I'll post more photos after I get the skirt, strings and conchos back on.

I can't help at all, I just wanted to say it's a very nice older saddle.

Well that just burst my bubble of happiness. Does anyone know if this method works on previously finished leather? I started a thread on the saddle in the restoration and repair section - here's a link. (I will be tearing the saddle down, cleaning and deglazing it before I attempt dyeing it with either vinegaroon or dye.) Help!

I found the vinegaroon thread! Very helpful and I'll definitely give it a try!

I just found this thread and I'm so excited to try this method! I have a "vintage" saddle I need to "dye" black - I think this thread just saved me a ton of time and headaches!

Thanks everyone! I have never heard of vinegaroon, I would assume it has vinegar in it? I read somewhere - might have been here I don't remember - that you get a deeper, richer color by applying blue dye before the black? I'm going for a deep black, not a sort of brownish black like it has on the fenders now - (which might be dirt). Anybody have experience with this or know if it's true? I was also contemplating adding silver spots as an accent on the jockey (maybe) and latigo carrier, I want to add a cinch carrier to the off side, too. I haven't made up my mind about the spots yet, it might be too gaudy - but it would go with all my silver spotted tack which I buy from Jim Akers out of MO. I will be adding silver spotted rosettes with Jimmy Watts slotted conchos in the blackened finish, and my stirrup hobbles are also spotted. Would that be too much?

Anybody? Bump.

Hi everyone, I've been lurking and reading for about a week and decided I should introduce myself before I start picking your collective brains. My name is Lollappaloosa but you can call me Lolla, I live in the frozen tundra of WI with my husband and our fur kids. We raise pygmy goats and Appaloosas - hence my user name, which is also the name of our farm. Clever, isn't it? I bought a Big Horn Pioneer the other day on Ebay, it appears to be in good shape for it's age - which I was told to be around 25 years or so, please correct me if I'm wrong. I want to recondition it and dye it black and I thought this would be the place to get the most accurate information. I have dyed tack before since black is "my" color and it's hard to find, even dyed a pony saddle just to see if I could; it worked - but I have never attempted anything as large or difficult as a full sized saddle. I read the threads concerning restoration so I have an idea how things should go. My plan was to take the saddle most of the way apart, clean it well, dye it then recondition it. Is this the correct order or should I recondition it before I dye it? I also would like to know what products I need specifically. I have deglazer, dye, Bick 4 conditioner, Horseman's 1 Step, shoe kote and edge kote. Do I need a finishing product like Leather Sheen or a cleaner like Leather Wash? Here are pictures of the saddle, you can see it has some crazing on the skirts and fenders. What is the best way to minimize their appearance? Should I use a polish after I'm finished as filler? It doesn't have to be perfect when I'm done with it, but I would like it to look as good as it possibly can. This is where I really need some help! Thanks in advance for your help!