info here on Bick-4

[Regis]

I've read some of the info here on Bick-4 and thought I'd give it a try. I mixed in some dye as had been suggested (by Pete, I think) and the results are great. I can apply VERY even color. A few drops of Fiebling's spirit dye goes a long way when mixed in Bick-4. Very good control of overall color.

QUESTION: How long will it last? Can I consider this a permanant color (of course subject to same fading that might occur with straight dye)? Or, will it need to be periodically re-applied?

Sure applies nice and I hope it does last.

Regis

[pete]

according to the fella who showed it to me it is permanent as would be straight dye. Bo Riddel the bootmaker in Springfield has used it for years and won't dye with anything else.

And yes- it applies better than ANYTHING that I have tried. It's like putting on an even cream of colored conditioner. What am I saying....IT IS!

pete

ps- when making boots he rubs in Bick's to the lining and hits it a few seconds with a hair dryer on low. Just enough to warm it up. He says that his customers rave that it fees like the boots are broken in already.

Edited April 13, 2007 by pete

[esantoro]

according to the fella who showed it to me it is permanent as would be straight dye. Bo Riddel the bootmaker in Springfield has used it for years and won't dye with anything else.

And yes- it applies better than ANYTHING that I have tried. It's like putting on an even cream of colored conditioner. What am I saying....IT IS!

pete

ps- when making boots he rubs in Bick's to the lining and hits it a few seconds with a hair dryer on low. Just enough to warm it up. He says that his customers rave that it fees like the boots are broken in already.

I also just received some Bick 4 and Fiebings British Tan. Big thanks to Pete for telling us all about it.

I've got to experiment more with the dye, different ratios. But right now, the british tan is going on too orangish for my tastes. I think I need something more like a tobacco brown.

Ed

[pete]

I thought that it was too orange at first but I added a little more and found that if you rub it in unti it is all absorbed it gets darker. If you want a classic color try feibing's "chocolate"

It looks better than brown or dark brown- not as muddy

pete

[esantoro]

I thought that it was too orange at first but I added a little more and found that if you rub it in unti it is all absorbed it gets darker. If you want a classic color try feibing's "chocolate"

It looks better than brown or dark brown- not as muddy

pete

I've got to experiment more. I started mixing in more dye. Then the mix got too liquidy and not the creaminess that goes on so nicely and smoothly without the streaking.

I swabbed the mix on rather gently and have not rubbed it in. I'll try this next. I also tried putting on the die by itself. I certainly prefer the Bick 4 mix. I don't think such a mix would work nearly as well with any of the other more liquidy conditioners. I'm very happy I bought a case of the Bick 4 (to save on overall price and shipping).

The chocolate die makes a lot of sense. It is very dark, so you need only a few drops, thus preserving the creaminess of the mix.

What other colors can you recommend? I'm beginning to thnk I should just get all the colors that are similar to what I want:

dk brown

lt brown

med brown

buckskin

mahogony

Russet

Chocolate

lt tan

tan

Should I throw any of these out, or are there a few that are really very useful? The British is Tan is very useful and I'm glad I have it. Perhaps I should throw out all the light and medium colors, since all I really want to do is mix in with the Bick 4 only a few drops of whatever dye I use to preserve creaminess? I think I know one of your answers: Throw out all the browns and go with a few drops of the chocolate.

I do have on hand right now Tandy dark brown all-in-one stain and finish. I'll mix that up and experiment. I Imagine I should stay away from any all-in-one but I'll try it anyway to give me an idea of how dark brown will work out.

Thanks Pete,

Ed

[esantoro]

Is Tandy's Pro Dye worth buying. They have a chocolate brown and a few other colors I'd like to try and at a pretty good price?

Ed

[whinewine]

I've read some of the info here on Bick-4 and thought I'd give it a try. I mixed in some dye as had been suggested (by Pete, I think) and the results are great. I can apply VERY even color. A few drops of Fiebling's spirit dye goes a long way when mixed in Bick-4. Very good control of overall color.

QUESTION: How long will it last? Can I consider this a permanant color (of course subject to same fading that might occur with straight dye)? Or, will it need to be periodically re-applied?

Sure applies nice and I hope it does last.

Regis

What would be a good proportion of british tan to bick-4? I just got an 8 oz bottle of bick-4 & am willing to mix up to half that with british tan to get a nice color. If I like it, I'd simply mix up the rest in the same proportion.

So my question is: to 4oz of bick-4, how much british tan should I add?

Btw, I've never used bick-4, and I've never used british tan, either. This will be a new experience to combine both into a cream- sort of dye.

Thank you. Russ

Edited April 24, 2007 by whinewine

[Regis]

Russ,

I haven't done anything large enough to measure in ounces. What I mixed was Fiebing med-brown dye. I used about 4 parts Bick to 1 part dye and am very pleased with color and evenness. I seemed to mix well but I had to stir pretty good.

Regis

[pete]

You've got enough there to do a saddle! All I do is take one of those Robitussin measuring caps(3-4 tsp) and put my finger over a soda straw and dip it into the dye. I get what might be 2-3 drops out of an eye dropper.

Thats all I need for a wallet or checkbook cover.

EXPERIMENT PEOPLE!. Mix a little as you go until you get the color that you want. With Br. Tan it is too orange for some people or some leather. I use it on Herman oak after oiling it and it looks like a classic Chester Hape foto. On cheap leather it looks terrible so I make it stronger and slop it on and rub it in well or use mahog or chocolate.

By the way , I asked Bo if you could mix it directly with antique paste- he replied" Why not! Give it a try- I'm going to!"

[Billsotx]

How are the Bick 4 and Brit Tan experiments going? Has anyone come up with an exact proportion of mix? I just got a bottle of Bick 4 to see how it goes. Right off what I don't like about it is the warning on the label - contains a chemical known to cause cancer in California, birth defects, etc. etc. I'm not in CA so I don't have to worry ... lol!

[pete]

the nice thing about it is that you can use it and you get the exact color right away..no waiting to darken,etc. If you don't like the result you can add chocolate or tobacco or dk. brown or whatever. It blends immediately.

Kinda like getting a too short haircut though. Once you darken it you can't lighten it again. as long as you mix the darker color with the Bick's it goes on evenly with no streaking.

As far as Esantoro goes- Bo mixes so much of the chocolate with the Bick that it has the consistency of water!Don't be afraid of thinning it. He uses a sponge inside what looks to be a nylon stocking and swipes it around the borders of his pieces. Gives a great effect like some of the motorcycle seats that I have been seeing here. Real dark around the border and lighter towards the center.

Hope that this helps.

By the way- anyone have an answer as to where I can get Chan Geer's lacing video. I too want to make some albums and notebooks with 2 colors like in his notebook video. Can't figure our how to do it, where to start and how to finish off the last loops.

pea-aire'

[Billsotx]

Y'all weren't kiddin' when you said "Orange"! Must be the wrong color tan in this bottle of Fiebings Brit Tan I'm using. I'll keep adding until I figure it out or run out of scrap. I'm on sample number 12 over two days and it ain't gettin' close to the straight tan straight out of the bottle. I am measuring the stuff so should I find the formula I may be able to repeat it.

[llucas]

Which Fiebings dye product is being mixed with Bick #4? Professional oil dyes; water-based; alcohol based?

[ichkraut]

I am brand new to leather work. I am very interested in this topic. I had a pair of boots made for me in Europe (alpine mountaineering boot with cleats and hobnails) and I am in the process of dying them. I used a deglazer first to remove the existing finish on the leather and I have put one coat of Fiebing's Professional Oil Dye in light brown on the boots. I am trying to accomplish a very lighter brown color. I have used Birk 4 a lot in the past on other boots I own and have a large 16 ounce bottle. Can I mix the Fiebing's Oil Dye with the Birk 4? The reason I ask is that the first coat of Fiebing's Oil Dye left the color uneven, except the tongue of the boot. I am hoping to even the dye this morning then work the Birk 4/Fiebing's Oil Dye mixture into the boots to get the even color I am looking for in the finished product. I can send photos if that helps.

Sorry I typed incorrectly, I meant Bick 4!

[ichkraut]

Here are some photos of my boots after deglazing and one coat of Fiebing's Light Brown Oil Dye that has been thinned with denatured alcohol at a ratio of 3 to 1 (3 parts dye to 1 part alcohol). The thinned dye was applied with a wool dauber. I am debating about putting a small amount of dye on a cotton rag and lightly touching up the lighter areas. Or blending some dye with Bick 4 and rubbing that it to even the color. What is everyone's thoughts?

I plan on putting Bick 4 on the boots after the dying phase, then coating the boots with Fiebing's Snow Proof Water Protector to waterproof and seal the boots.

[ichkraut]

I am trying to upload the photos again of the boots I am working on.

[club49]

YOU SHOULDN't use more then a few drops of the dye with the Bick 4.More is not better in this case.The pigment from tIhe dye will lay on top.I think Springfield Leather did a video on it.

Jim