DeWayne Hayes Report post Posted November 23, 2023 (edited) Hi folks. Quick question. I recently made a gun holster and dyed it English Bridle, but I had some weird water stains when wet forming and they never would go away. So, I decided to salvage the project by re-dying the holster black. So, I stripped off the coat of Kiwi Shoe Polish I had on the holster using rubbing alcohol, and then dauber dyed Fiebings Pro Dye Black. Looked really good, and I laid the dye on fairly heavily - a couple coats at least. In parallel, I wanted to try out a new top coat besides my usual brown shoe polish, so I bought some Fiebings Leather Balm with Atom Wax. Now, I was pretty sure I needed to wait 24 hours for my dye to fully dry, but I am a terribly impatient sort! So, after five hours, with the holster feeling dry to the touch, I applied the LB+Atom Wax, burnished, and it looks really nice. However, the next day, I can get some traces of black if I burnish or rub cloth on the holster fairly firmly. I'm second guessing that I probably applied the finish too soon. Maybe not. But I'm wondering if I should strip with alcohol and let it air dry for a full 24 hours. Does anyone see any problems with this tactic? Or do you think my dye was probably dry enough after 5 hours? It's not like it's bleeding everywhere, but that said, I wouldn't want to wear it with a white linen suit either! Thanks all, DeWayne Edited November 23, 2023 by DeWayne Hayes Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hags Report post Posted November 24, 2023 My guess is there was shoe polish on there first. Can you really get it all out? Don't really think so. I tried that early on and found it wanting. All fiebings now. Tankote isn't bad, but I prefer resolene 50/50 with water. But, all kinds of choices there. I have resolene and tankote. BUT, nice looking holster! Good work. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DeWayne Hayes Report post Posted November 24, 2023 Thank you. I think I'll be alright. I wore the holster tonight while wearing jeans and didn't see any noticeable rub off on the jeans, and realistically, that's all I'd ever be wearing this holster with anyway. So I'm going to call it good. But patience is a running battle for me! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Simplejack1985 Report post Posted November 24, 2023 You gotta buff black dye after it dries with and old shirt or a firm brush to get all the dye pigment the leather didn't absorb. Then you seal it with whatever top coat you prefer. Check out my buddy viktorgeorge on you tube. He breaks this down in a couple of his videos. He also used to do a super helpful Tuesday tip on his IG. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DeWayne Hayes Report post Posted November 24, 2023 Incidentally, that's the third gun holster I've made (I've made several knife sheaths though several years ago). But importantly, this was the first time I've done an interior lined holster and the first time I've ever mounted a snap in leather! SO much hand stitching to do a liner, I was cross eyed by the end. But I like a cross-draw holster, and simply couldn't' find one for this pistol in this configuration, so I had to try and make it myself, based on a factory holster I like, but which doesn't come in cross-draw. I reverse engineered the pattern from the factory holster and designed my own cross-draw belt loop. But I seriously worried about the dimensions of the pattern I was tracing off a 3-dimensional holster, and how much thicker the leather would be when the liner was attached. I just didn't fully believe that: A) the gun would fit in the holster, and B) that the thumb snap would fit together correctly. I was holding my breath until the bitter end. Anyway, I was kind of amazed everything worked out ... but this one makes me seriously consider getting a leather sewing machine! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
