Members Yellowhousejake Posted October 5 Members Report Posted October 5 I have had hit and miss luck with Dying Saddle Tan Fieblings. Sometimes it goes on even and looks great, other times it goes on blotchy and looks terrible. I have tried sponges, airbrush, dip dye, all with no luck. Oddly enough my best luck has been dying Springfield Leather craft squares. Every attempt on quality Herman Oak looks uneven. Here is a picture of my latest article holster. A copy of a late 1930s Berns Martin for a S&W N frame snub. This was dip dyed and still came out splotchy. I can't help but think I am doing something wrong here. Any thoughts? DAve Quote
Contributing Member fredk Posted October 5 Contributing Member Report Posted October 5 Are you wetting the leather before dyeing? I always do and its removed any uneven dyeing. Some others also prefer to use NFO on the leather before dyeing. And did you leave the holster in the dye for long enuf for the dye to really saturate thru the leather? Quote Al speling misteaks aer all mi own werk..
Members Yellowhousejake Posted October 6 Author Members Report Posted October 6 1 hour ago, fredk said: Are you wetting the leather before dyeing? I always do and its removed any uneven dyeing. Some others also prefer to use NFO on the leather before dyeing. And did you leave the holster in the dye for long enuf for the dye to really saturate thru the leather? No, I do not wet the leather before dying. How much do you wet the leather? Casing wet or just a quick wipe down and a minute to soak in? I do use NFO before dying a customer holster, but I let it dry/cure for 48 hours before dying. I left this holster in the dye for about 15 minutes, no idea if that is long enough. Or, clearly it was not ;^) I only tried dip dying because every other attempt on scrap leather from the same hide was mottled when spraying or using a dauber/sponge. I have watched Mike Dorsett's videos so many times I have them memorized. My dye never looks like his 100% of the time. DAve Quote
Contributing Member fredk Posted October 6 Contributing Member Report Posted October 6 7 minutes ago, Yellowhousejake said: No, I do not wet the leather before dying. How much do you wet the leather? Casing wet or just a quick wipe down and a minute to soak in? Nearly casing wet 7 minutes ago, Yellowhousejake said: . . . I left this holster in the dye for about 15 minutes, no idea if that is long enough. Or, clearly it was not . . . That should have been long enuf but not so if the leather was really dry 9 minutes ago, Yellowhousejake said: . . . I do use NFO before dying a customer holster, but I let it dry/cure for 48 hours before dying. . . Dyeing soon after NFO, about 2 hours or so, might help Quote Al speling misteaks aer all mi own werk..
Members HandyDave Posted October 6 Members Report Posted October 6 Leather is natural material. And even really good leather has differences throughout the hide. Sometimes with lighter colors then pure black your just gonna have uneven areas. You'll save yourself alot of headache if you learn to just let it ride. The variation in finish is just part of it. Even when you buy pre dyed veg tan you can see lighter and darker areas. Quote
CFM chuck123wapati Posted October 6 CFM Report Posted October 6 i'll bet it evens out with time. I intentionally put on dye with a sponge to get a mottled effect, and most of it disappears after a month or so. Plus, the sun will darken it further, Quote Worked in a prison for 30 years if I aint shiny every time I comment its no big deal, I just don't wave pompoms. “I won’t be wronged, I won’t be insulted, and I won’t be laid a hand on. I don’t do these things to other people, and I require the same from them.” THE DUKE!
Members Dwight Posted October 6 Members Report Posted October 6 I had the same EXACT problem with saddle tan . . . darn near quit using it. Now I take a bristle brush . . . and coat the hair side with NFO . . . and make sure you ARE NOT using the compound . . . buy the good stuff. I dip the brush and start brushing . . . watching that every square inch gets a light wetting . . . it has to change color or I add oil to it until it does. I leave it for 24 hours . . . belts laying on their side . . . holsters laying on their back most of the time. After 24 hours . . . I get out the 9 by 16 baking dish (my dyeing pan) . . . and I put it in the dye just long enough to know for absolute certain that every piece of it has contacted the liquid dye. Pull it out . . . and set it up to dry. I quit having "serious" blotchy problems using the above process. There are still slight variations . . . but nothing like your holster. And I can't comment on your process because I've never tried it. I've also never dampened my leather . . . as that is water . . . my dye is oil based . . . and I never believed that oil and water will mix in a good way. YMMV May God bless, Dwight Quote If you can breathe, . . . thank God. If you can read, . . . thank a teacher. If you are reading this in English, . . . thank a veteran. www.dwightsgunleather.com
Members Yellowhousejake Posted October 7 Author Members Report Posted October 7 Hmmm, all food for thought. I need to experiment on some scrap. DAve Quote
Members 1961Mike Posted Saturday at 01:29 AM Members Report Posted Saturday at 01:29 AM Hi, for the color you showed above, the easiest way to get that saddle tan color is to carve the leather, but don't glue it up or sew it. Put a couple of coats of EVOO (extra virgin olive oil) on the holster and put in your dashboard in the sun. When it's dark enough, finish with Tan or Bag kote and then Resolene. Later Quote
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