is there a way to fully cover a belt (1 1/2" wide), a belt bag and leather belt cover on a ligther shade?

[whinewine]

Whinewine, thanks for clarifying. Now, a question on the Preval units -- is this something that should be done outside? I might like to try something like that, but would prefer not to blast the whole room with a new coat of British Tan...

ABN:

Oh, yes- absolutely! The dye spread is relatively large, compared to an airbrush, and more coarse, too. Take it into an area outside where it is protected from wind (especially the wind that changes direction & blows back on you), & spray lightly (start OFF the leather & end OFF the leather...). Make several light coats rather than 1 heavy one. You'll find that sometimes some areas may take dye more readily than others, & that's not a bad thing, as you can stress the 'natural' qualities of leather rather than the boring uniformity of plastic or vinyl. I spray both sides of the project & I always do use a dauber to dye up the edges when I'm done spraying. Again, I don't know how they would compare to a spraygun, since I don't have one, but for a quick, nice overall dye job, they are perfectly fine

Patrice:

I paid $4.98 USD (including Pennsylvania State tax of 6%) for a complete unit just today. Your price quote works out to about $7.042 per each (Canadian $$). I don't know how that compares to the US-Canadian exchange rate of today...[ usually 75-80%]... if the rate is 75%, you'll be paying approximately the equivalent of $5.28 per kit- pretty darn good, if you ask me.

Anyway, Patrice: good luck! If you stress the qualities of leather (non- uniformity) he may be very happy with it as is. I always try to stress that we try to get the color match, but there is no guarantee, because of the aforementioned factors involved.

Also, you may also want to google "Preval" to see if there are any additional dealers in your area to see if you can get a better deal.

[Dale]

You may also consider using a folded rag. Fold it into a pad, get some dye on it (don't saturate it), and rub it into the leather in a circular motion. What doesn't get onto the leather eventually spreads out into the pad. At some point, your pad will become saturated, but you'll be able to judge how saturated it is by that time and more evenly apply it to the leather. When using this method you'll probably need to apply it several times. The benefit is, you'll be able to stop when you reach the color you're looking for.

[pepin1948]

I finally found it on the Tandy website: Fiebings Deglazer 4 oz., it's stock number 2105-01. It stinks to high Heaven, so make sure to use it outdoors.

My first experience with it was when I was making a matching set of tri leg stools for my parents' horse show barn stall front. I had used Super Shene as a resist and forgot to apply it to the carving's legs! This became REALLY obvious when I applied the stain to the rest of the project : Anyhow, I applied the deglazer to remove all the stain, redid the resist and reapplied the stain, and all was well!

I know sometimes one can convince a customer that leather can have a "unique" look, but I for one can't stand much streaking - call me a perfectionist...

[freak]

I did a guitar strap using British Tan after seeing the color on a wallet at TLF. Mine came out so much darker then the wallet, i thought no way was it the same color. I too used it with a dauber. I'm starting to notice evertime i use a dauber it comes out dark.

I've always had a hard time getting the desired shade of a color i'm after.

A few days later i tried my hand at the British Tan again. This time i cut pieces of a sponge up into ruffly 2"X2" squares. I would get the pieces and get them both moist. Add stain to one and rub it on and if needed go back over it with the other one. It came out much, much lighterr in color and even. Of course this would not work very well for small areas but it's been working well for me.

Know take note i'm still new to this so i'm just telling what has worked for me on something i've had the same results with.

Your friendly neighborhood freak

[wolvenstien]

If I bought 12 power units with glasses, TLF number 2019-00, at the club price of 5.59 each, it would come to 73.63 after 9.75% tax added. This wouls be a total of 85.39 canadian. Plus shipping to the border and re-shipping at the border to advoid customs.....

You are getting yourself a deal at 84 total.....

[K-Man]

I always mix reducer in with my dyes (other than black). The amount I use is 25-50% depending on what color I'm using - the most common amount of reducer is 25%. As ClayB mentioned, you can then apply the dye in "layers" to achieve the shade you're looking for.

I mix a gallon of dye with a quart of reducer and pour both into a large container. I then kind of mix/jiggle the container. I then spray the item with water from a spray bottle a couple of coats. Then I just dunk/dip the item (holster, in my instance) in the container. Pull it out, let the dye soak in, and then most often will dip it in again. I've learned how many "dips" it takes to bring the leather to the shade I want. I use nothing but Hermann Oak, so I've learned how it reacts with the dye. (Sometimes I'll use a different type of leather if I have a two-layer holster. This will give me a slight two-tone effect from the dye.) You get a much more consistant finish with dipping than trying to use a dauber or other applicator IMO. I then wipe off whatever excess dye there is and let it dry overnight. Then in the morning I buff off the remaining excess. Here's an example:

Here's a brown colored holster:

Edited February 24, 2007 by K-Man

[Patrice]

ABN:

Anyway, Patrice: good luck! If you stress the qualities of leather (non- uniformity) he may be very happy with it as is. I always try to stress that we try to get the color match, but there is no guarantee, because of the aforementioned factors involved.

Could you explain what do you mean by ''stress the qualities of leather''? I don't understand what you are saying

[whinewine]

Could you explain what do you mean by ''stress the qualities of leather''? I don't understand what you are saying

I mean, that, because it is leather, it has certain characteristics that plastic does not... there are brands, there are range markings from the animal scratching itself on brush or barbed wire, the thickness varies, the dye sometimes doesn't take as evenly or as uniformly throughout, etc, etc, it's all natural versus man made... in other words, "...if you want it absolutely the same throughout, go to walmart, buy plastic. If you want the character that leather offers, then by all means stick with leather. Feel it! Smell it! There is absolutely nothing quite like the real thing..."

[$$hobby]

what ive found to apply dye to large projects is to use a large SS pan. you can find them at you local outlets. we have a place here that gets alot of surplus, excess stuff and i found them there.

i just pour the dye into the pan and if possilbe dunk the whole piece in it and then remove it and let it drip the excess. i just finished 2 gun belts for my friend and they were the British tan color. they turned out fine too.

[Patrice]

:biggrin:

My client just came up today and guess what? He loved the product!

Even thoug the leather was far more darker, he love it!

Finally, everything went well! But rest assure that i will dilute my dye next time!

Thank's again for all of your tips, and rest assure that i will put them to the test!

I'll be sleeping well tonigth, better than teh lats time that i wrote my first post

Edited February 26, 2007 by Patrice