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Yukonrookie

Can I dye slightly tallowed Veg tan?

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Hi folks,

I have yet another question to tallowed leather.

I have some leather here that’s been slightly tallowed by the tannery. The supplier claims it’s tallowed sparingly and that it can be dyed. It takes Fiebings Hi-Liter Antique well, but I’m having some issues with dye. It does absorb the dye, but a little slowly and some spots absorb the dye faster than others. Any advice on this? It also tools and stamps well. Has anyone dyed, or worked with, tallowed leather? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance guys. 

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Try some alcohol based dyes on a test piece. Like fiebings Pro dye.

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Perhaps try a light coat of NFO first? Try a scrap, let the oil soak in overnight and then try the dye. 

Or try warming the leather first with a hair dryer and then apply the dye.:dunno: Tallow is waxy stuff so warming it may help the leather to "open up" for the dye. I'm guessing here because I've only ever applied tallow after the leather is dyed and finished.

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Tallow is just fat/oil.  A cleaning with saddle soap might do wonders.  It never hurts, and usually helps, to clean before dyeing, anyway. Try it on some scrap and judge the results.

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Thanks for all the replies guys and apologies for the late reply. 
@dikman I usually apply NFO after I’m done tooling. Warming the leather might be worth a shot. good idea. Thank you.

@DieselTech I almost only use pro dye. After trying a few different ones I came across pro dye and that’s what works best for me now. 
 

@TonyV I tried saddle soap and it did help a bit. Thank you. 
 

Again, thanks for all the advice guys. I appreciate you taking the time to help out a new guy like myself.

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