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Hi all As you may or may not know, I'm fairly new here and slowly learning the art, done several tooling bits but generally they have all been dyed with antique brown stain. I've placed an order this week for my first batch of OIL Dyes (about 7 colours I think) I've seen some amazing work done by loads of different people, but one thing I'm interested in is how do you do different colours on a tooled piece, e.g one piece I've done is a celtic dragon with some celtic knots around him, I would like to do the main background piece dk brown, the knots maybe red, and the dragon say, green. I would like to know where do I start with dying? how long to wait between each colour? I've got daubers and brushes, but was thinking if I use a dauber on the background then I would run into the knots/dragon tooled sections, and brushing might take too long. Any help / advice would be appreciated.

I am very new at this craft and a new member of Leatherworker.net. I apologize if this question has been asked before. My problem is getting the steps from the dye to finish in the correct order. I have been making simple items so far such as small keychains and bracelets using 4-5oz veg tanned leather. My items always end up hard as a rock. I've tried very small amounts of Febings oil dye as well as small amounts of resoline. Still ends up very stiff. I've tried softening the leather with some Neetsfoot oil but then it turns out to look and feel more like a piece of rubber than leather. Where am I going wrong? My steps are as follows: Febings Oil Dye Let Dry Buff Acrylic Resoline Let Dry Buff Neetsfoot Oil Let Dry Buff Please tell me if this is not the correct order. I was told by a Tandy salesperson to apply the Neetsfoot AFTER I apply the resoline. Is this true? This post may seem like a lot of questions all at once but I would be very appreciative if someone can give me their advice on this. Thanks so much!

Hi guys I am using the professional oil dyes from Fiebing. I like them, but i am also a little bit bored of the colours, so i decided to experiment with mixing some of the colours, but it seems like i am not very talented at it Two Recipes that "kinda" worked were 3 parts light brown 1 parts green --> olive green 3 parts light brown 1 part mahagony --> a nice, reddish brown I would love to get a recipe for some sort of grey, but every other recipe is fine as well. Please do note which kind of dye you are using (manufacturer, name, etc) Thanks in advance Cheers Schpacko

I'm pretty new at this so the question is pretty basic. I want to.make a two tone holster with white stitching. Normally i stitch then dye but if I stitch first and then dye ,won't the white thread pick up the dye? Also the two tone should be easier before assembally I would think. if i dye first how will it effect the wet molding? Thanks

I want to know the order of operation in leather strap work. I am trying to start a business selling custom dog collars. I want them to be quality and I seem to run into some kind of problem with every step I take. Here is the method I have adapted to so far: (I will note some of the other problems to see if I can get some extra advice.) 1. Cut and skive the leather with super skiver- (can't really find the trick to making this an easy task) 2. Sand the edges and the raw side of leather (for comfort) with a sanding wheel on a drill press 3. Bevel the edges 4.. Punch holes, wet and stamp 5.. Dye with the color of choice - Fiebings oil based Cordovan dye, Fiebings acrylic antique medium brown stain or a zelikovits water based pigment pink dye (pink seems to have streaks where the color doesn't take no matter how many coats I add and rubs off easily) 6. Let dry for an hour or so then color the letters with sharpie for the stained collars, metallic markers or paint markers for the dyed collars(paint markers are difficult to make even and not globby and metalic markers seem to wear off a little) 7. Spray with leather sheen 8. Let dry for an hour or so then burnish the edges with glycerin and saddle soap or Quik Slick on a nylon slicker attached to the drill press. (I am not sure how long this is supposed to take but it seems like forever and I still never get glass smooth edges) - ordered a wooden burnisher made for a drill press so hopefully it will help. My other problem is that sometimes the edges seem to crack in certain spots mostly around the buckle within just a few days. I use quality herman oak leather. 9. touch up the edges with the same dye 10. condition with lexol conditioner. 11. add hardware Ok... so where I get mixed reviews is at what time to apply the finishes and the conditioner. I am so confused that I kind of change it up every time I make one so I don't know if the order of operation is contributing to any of my problems or not. OR if the order of operations needs to change depending on what base of dye and marker I am using. I have been told to condition right after you stamp and before you dye and let it sit over night. I have been told you always put any oils conditioners or saddle soap very last because other products wont penetrate. I have also been told it's super important to use the leather sheen finish before you finish the edges and within two hours of dying But if a water resistant finish is applied won't it seal the leather from absorbing any other products - like conditioners, edge burnishing products and touch up dye?? I feel like if I understood the chemistry behind all of these products I would have a rule of thumb So confused. Any advice would be excellent! Quote MultiQuote Edit

Hello everyone! I'm just signed on to the forum and a newbie with leather, so I was hoping for some advice. I've been lurking on the forum the last little while and found a couple of things I want to try for dyeing my leather. I've seen tea-dyeing mentioned briefly, but I've never seen the actual colour results. Does anyone have any pictures of things they've tea-dyed? Any tips as far as how long to leave in the dye, finishing, etc would also be appreciated! Another thing I'd like to try is darkening the leather with oil. I read somewhere that leaving the oiled leather in the sun causes it to darken to a nice light brown colour. Unfortunately we've a foot of snow on the ground up here right now and I can't leave the leather outside. Would hanging the leather in front of a window or something give the same effect as leaving it in the sun? I appreciate any help you can give me. Thanks!

A co-worker of mine asked if I could repair his leather bag, I agreed but cautioned him that the color of my repair would most likely not match. He is okay with, what I'm sure will be a mis-match. I am looking for some help in determining the color and best way to apply...tan's seem to give me trouble and was thinking of spraying verse sponge or shearling. I've attached a photo of the bag below. Any advice/help is always appreciated! Jesse Sorry for second post, I was thinking British Tan but not so sure now. Jess

Has anyone used the new eco flo pro water stain in black yet? If so... what kind of buffing was required? How did you seal it? Did you have to put anything underneath it? And lastly, did it give you a nice black?? Sorry for all the questions,....just wanted to get right to the point.

Help!! Being a noob to the whole staining/dyeing/finishing part of leatherwork, I took the Tandy Lady's advice and bought the little sampler pack of water-based Hi-Lite Stains by Eco-Flo. Tandy Lady said that I could just use the stain like the Fiebings dye I've used before, wipe it on, wipe it off, then finish with my choice of super shene, neutral shoe polish, resolene, whatever. So off to the races I went. Stain went on really nice, gave me a nice little antique-y look too. But now when I apply Super-Shene or Resolene the stain pulls right up off the leather, leaving almost no color on the leather. If I use my trusty old shoe polish, the stain starts to come up if it gets any water on it. I tried pulling out a spray bottle and spraying the Resolene on, we'll see how that one turns out. Is there a good way to finish this leather with the stain on it? Or will I have to pull it all off and find some dye then finish it?

I've been doing a lot of knife sheaths lately and have been wondering about the effects of using dye inside the sheath on the knifes. I currently don't don't dye the inside of my sheaths. The more I make the more I'm wanting to dye the inside. I'm afraid that the dye may have some effect on the blades or the knifes that are carried in them. I'm using Eco-Flo and Fiebing's depending the the color. What are you opions and what have you seen?

Hi, everyone. I love this forum and am so glad you all are here. My question is about getting a nice, light blue. The only way I've been able to accomplish this is by layering a diluted alcohol dye over a layer of white acrylic or oil paint. Yellows and light oranges, same. Obviously, the color of the leather itself is the factor here. What's the best solution you know? I always feel like the surface is unstable when I go for this layered thing. I don't have as easy of a time controlling the dye this way -- it tends to bleed -- and it's hard to polish and seal because a brisk rub changes it again. I also worry that when I sell my work, it might not hold up and I'm selling an inferior product. I love mixing colors and dying carvings, so I like to be as precise as possible as I learn this. Any advice will be much appreciated. K

Hello, I just pulled out my old kit of Pro Dye. I don't know much about dying and only read the bottles for how to use. It said to have a clean surface and apply with douber, cotton swobs or sponge. Then rub down again with a clean clothe to remove dried dye. So I adorned the plastic gloves and took a whack at it with a sponge paint brush. The stuff streaked all over the project and dried up each time ofter only covering 5-8 inches (which happens to be 1 brush stroke). ... you can guess the outcome of doing this. It got really dark and looked pretty bad and I had no control on it. I looked up a ton of sites of how to's and found that you supposed to dampen the leather first... 1st question: Is this true with all dyes? is it supposed to be damp first with all types of dyes in general? (I don't know what my dye is... it don't say but it does say it has alchol in it.) Many places listed a few dyes...but from what I gathered. Theres spirit dyes, oil based dyes, alchol dyes and water based dyes... 2nd Question: Is this true? Is that all of the types or are they not explaining everything or are they mixing things up? So the next day my project was as hard as a rock. So I took water and used a sponge and soaked it to spread out the dyes... it worked a good bit and evened out the blotches. I then took it and flexed it a bunch to help the fibers... after a few hours of flexing it and letting it dry; it felt somewhat better. So I took out saddle soap and drinched it with a sponge and vigrously rubbed it in. Saddle soap is to help restore the leathers natural properties... So I figured it couldn't hurt as this point. After applying it 2 times. It's now 80% better! I kept it moving as well for hours while it dried. So I hope that part helps out others as well if they find them selves stuck like I did. Here's my last question... I have few options for finishes and I'm confused on what to do. 1st... the saddle soap helped alot... do I even bother with adding a finishing protective coat? I'm not sure if it is considered a finish or not...? 2nd: I have the following finishes available and they all seem to be just as good as the other and I have no clue what to use and if 1 of them would screw it up again or whatever. and can I use more than one of them? Here is the list of what I have. -Fiebing's Leather Balm with atom wax (neutral) (The side says: ... is specially formulated for cleaning, softening, polishing and restoring smooth leather, shoes, handbags, boots and sporting goods. Buffs to a rich, satiny gloss. Do not use on fibrous or suede finish leathers. Protect from freezing.) -Carnauba Creame Leather Finish #22012-01 by LF tandy (The side says: Natural Carnuba Creme - Recommended for fast, easy application on all leather goods. Tandy's carnauba Creme providess a natural wax finish that resist finger prints and scuff marks.) -Snow-proof Weatherproofing - Orginal formula (Helps prevent mildew, dry rot, salt stains, and scuff marks. -Fiebings's Saddle Soap - Clean and Polish in one easy Step. This is not a liquid version (Bottom says: Cleans thoroughly while restoring the natural preservative leather oils. ... Cleans leather and lubricates the fibres to prevent brittleness... Maintaining suppleness and strength.

Hello, I just pulled out my old kit of Pro Dye. I don't know much about dying and only read the bottles for how to use. It said to have a clean surface and apply with dauber, cotton swabs or sponge. Then rub down again with a clean clothe to remove dried dye. So I adorned the plastic gloves and took a whack at it with a sponge paint brush. The stuff streaked all over the project and dried up each time after only covering 5-8 inches (which happens to be 1 brush stroke). ... you can guess the outcome of doing this. It got really dark and looked pretty bad and I had no control on it. I looked up a ton of sites of how to's and found that you supposed to dampen the leather first... 1st question: Is this true with all dyes? is it supposed to be damp first with all types of dyes in general? (I don't know what my dye is... it don't say but it does say it has alcohol in it.) Many places listed a few dyes...but from what I gathered. There's spirit dyes, oil based dyes, alcohol dyes and water based dyes... 2nd Question: Is this true? Is that all of the types or are they not explaining everything or are they mixing things up? So the next day my project was as hard as a rock. So I took water and used a sponge and soaked it to spread out the dyes... it worked a good bit and evened out the blotches. I then took it and flexed it a bunch to help the fibers... after a few hours of flexing it and letting it dry; it felt somewhat better. So I took out saddle soap and drenched it with a sponge and vigorously rubbed it in. Saddle soap is to help restore the leathers natural properties... So I figured it couldn't hurt as this point. After applying it 2 times. It's now 80% better! I kept it moving as well for hours while it dried. So I hope that part helps out others as well if they find themselves stuck like I did. Here's my last question... I have few options for finishes and I'm confused on what to do. 1st... the saddle soap helped allot... do I even bother with adding a finishing protective coat? I'm not sure if it is considered a finish or not...? 2nd: I have the following finishes available and they all seem to be just as good as the other and I have no clue what to use and if 1 of them would screw it up again or whatever. and can I use more than one of them? Here is the list of what I have. -Fiebing's Leather Balm with atom wax (neutral) (The side says: ... is specially formulated for cleaning, softening, polishing and restoring smooth leather, shoes, handbags, boots and sporting goods. Buffs to a rich, satiny gloss. Do not use on fibrous or suede finish leathers. Protect from freezing.) -Carnauba Creame Leather Finish #22012-01 by LF Tandy (The side says: Natural Carnuba Creme - Recommended for fast, easy application on all leather goods. Tandy's carnauba Creme provides a natural wax finish that resist finger prints and scuff marks.) -Snow-proof Weatherproofing - Original formula (Helps prevent mildew, dry rot, salt stains, and scuff marks. -Fiebings's Saddle Soap - Clean and Polish in one easy Step. This is not a liquid version (Bottom says: Cleans thoroughly while restoring the natural preservative leather oils. ... Cleans leather and lubricates the fibers to prevent brittleness... Maintaining suppleness and strength.) Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.