The best thing about Angelus dye...

[Tina]

Ok,

You guys just made me spend some more money...I ordered about 6 or 7, 3oz bottles of dye from turtlefeathers... Tina, you did it again, I give up.

*LOL*

It was Peters talk about spirit dyes that made me going in the first place...I just had to get me some and I'm very happy with them. A bit tricky to paint with in the beginning when I started but I soon "got the hang of it". What I love is the clear colors and the way I can decide the strenght of them...I hope you remembered to get the reducer too? It is that one that makes all the difference in the world, for shading and such it's a must. I always get 2 quarts of it and I'm still short most of the times///

Have a fab weekend//T

[Rawhide]

*LOL*

It was Peters talk about spirit dyes that made me going in the first place...I just had to get me some and I'm very happy with them. A bit tricky to paint with in the beginning when I started but I soon "got the hang of it". What I love is the clear colors and the way I can decide the strenght of them...I hope you remembered to get the reducer too? It is that one that makes all the difference in the world, for shading and such it's a must. I always get 2 quarts of it and I'm still short most of the times///

Have a fab weekend//T

Is the reducer not the same as any other solvent reducer? I didn't get their brand...I do have another brand of reducer though...Do you use the neutral dye or the actual reducer?

[Ian]

Is the reducer not the same as any other solvent reducer?

That's what I was wondering.

Boy, that color is outrageous isn't it? How diluted is that? Also, you said you dip the dye and finish - how did you keep the finish so streak-free? You also mentioned about going to airbrush to get more even color. What you have there looks about as even as it gets - how would airbrushing improve on what you have?

That is some awesome looking work. Your stitching is immaculate!

I'm definitely getting a few bottle of Angelus to try.

[Tina]

Is the reducer not the same as any other solvent reducer? I didn't get their brand...I do have another brand of reducer though...Do you use the neutral dye or the actual reducer?

All colors is very pigment strong and I discovered early on that I had to use a diluter.

I use the actuall reducer now but have also used the neutral dye, I can't see a difference between them. I tried to use dental alcohol and some spirit bought on Lowes but it did not want to work properly, It might be a brand thing (or not?) I guess trial and error will do it? If you found something that works outside the Angelus brand, please let us know:-)

[Shorts]

I got my order yesterday, 4 pints. Black, Med Brown and 2 Reducers. A note though, the Reducer is $8/pint and the Neutral is $10/pint. If the two can be used the same way, why the difference in price? What is the significant difference that warrants $2 ?

Edited June 6, 2009 by Shorts

[Rawhide]

Tina. Right now I use fiebings dye reducer. It works well with other spirit dyes I've used.

[MADMAX22]

Not sure but I have been using denatured alcohol that I got at lowes with my feibings dyes (the non oil dyes) and I mixed some with the angelus dyes and it worked well from what I can tell.

I dont know if anything works better then denatured alcohol but Ill give anything else a shot its just this stuff is cheap.

[Shorts]

Not sure but I have been using denatured alcohol that I got at lowes with my feibings dyes (the non oil dyes) and I mixed some with the angelus dyes and it worked well from what I can tell.

I dont know if anything works better then denatured alcohol but Ill give anything else a shot its just this stuff is cheap.

I'll grab some next trip to HD or Lowe's. Try it out.

I need to mix up my brown but have to decide how much to mix

[brinyar]

Ian-the light brown was undiluted. I would like to try the airbrush just to maintain consistency of the color from holster to holster. I am happy with the even color of the light brown holster pictured, but have had a previous holster turn out slightly blotchy. That one ended up black....

I really appreciate the comments on the stitching. I had never touched a stitching or sewing machine until I got mine. I still struggle to keep everything even, particularly when when overlapping the starting stitches with the final stitches.

After thinking about it, I'm not sure I will bother with using a reducer to get different shades of color. I might just stick with factory colors to keep it quick and easy without having to mix up a unique color every time I buy dye. That could change, though, if it would be possible to save a significant amount of money by cutting the dye with a cheaper reducer.

[Shorts]

Color consistency has been my concern in regards to diluting for a shade. I suppose it'd stay close if parts were measured even and only filled in the dipping container when it was at a certain minimal level.

Your stitching looks great. I'm struggling too getting the end and beginning of stitches to 1. be secure and 2. look good. I'm tempted to leave thread tails and handstitch the backstitches for a good lock. But by doing that I will never get better with the machine and it will still be slower. Granted its only a couple stitches but sometimes it takes me forever to get the needle threaded LOL

[Tina]

I have found that having the leather slightly damp when dyeing (diluted or not) helps getting it more even and less worrie for big bleeding in small painted details.

...I'd Love to have an airgun (one of these days *S*)

[CitizenKate]

I've considered trying it, but have yet to get an answer to the question: How well does the color hold up in sunlight?

I discontinued using spirit dyes because they fade in sunlight, and it doesn't have to be direct sunlight, either. They look great when you put them on, but how are they five years later after being exposed to normal indoor lighting conditions?

By the way, beautiful work on those holsters, Scott. I'm not into holsters, but I always appreciate fine workmanship.

Kate

[zbean]

Brinyar,

Those are beautiful holsters! May I ask where you procured the snaps you used on them? I really like the look of them.

-Beans

[MADMAX22]

I've considered trying it, but have yet to get an answer to the question: How well does the color hold up in sunlight?

I discontinued using spirit dyes because they fade in sunlight, and it doesn't have to be direct sunlight, either. They look great when you put them on, but how are they five years later after being exposed to normal indoor lighting conditions?

By the way, beautiful work on those holsters, Scott. I'm not into holsters, but I always appreciate fine workmanship.

Kate

I didnt realize that. Do the oil dyes hold up longer then the spirit dyes do? Have not been doing this long enough to get a good grip on what last and what doesnt.

[Tina]

I can only go back a year and a half...

The stuff I made back then is still just as when I painted/dyes them and some of them is just 2 feet away from a window. They seam to keep up really well.

[CitizenKate]

I can only go back a year and a half...

The stuff I made back then is still just as when I painted/dyes them and some of them is just 2 feet away from a window. They seam to keep up really well.

That's quite a bit better than Fiebings, then. I'll have to get some and test it. Thanks!

Kate

[TheTrooper]

@Tina

Sadly I still haven´t got an response from Angelus about ordering from Europe, even after 2 times additional mailing :-(

But I will get back to you, when I have some informations.

@all

Due to the fact that I often order my stuff in the US, I am also thinking of purchasing my angelus dyes from an US supplier. I saw on the turtlefeathers homepage that they offer the reducer just in the US.

I think it must also be possible to thin the anglelus dyes down in a another way. When someone of U is using the reducer from Angelus, could this one be so kind an post what the exact ingredients are ?!? From what I know this has to be written on the label.

I am working in a chemistry lab and can maybe mix something by my own. Even when someone can tell me how he/she is thinning down "normal" spirit dyes this can help me much.

Thanks for any hints in advance.

Cheers,

Marcel

[CitizenKate]

I think it must also be possible to thin the anglelus dyes down in a another way. When someone of U is using the reducer from Angelus, could this one be so kind an post what the exact ingredients are ?!? From what I know this has to be written on the label.

I am working in a chemistry lab and can maybe mix something by my own. Even when someone can tell me how he/she is thinning down "normal" spirit dyes this can help me much.

We've been kind of dancing around this subject of reducers for awhile, with no definitive answer.... Here's what I know.

When I used Fiebings' spirit dyes, I always used plain denatured alcohol to reduce it, and I could not tell any difference between that and their "special" reducer formula.

However, I just bought some Angelus dye for testing. One of the things I asked the person taking my order was, "What do I use to reduce it?" I thought she was going to tell me I had to get the Angelus reducer formula to use with their dyes, but she said "Just use denatured alcohol."

Sure enough... I tested it with plain denatured alcohol and it reduces the color just fine with no side-effects whatsoever.

Just my opinion... you guys can stop wasting your money on their "special" formulas. You can buy a gallon of denatured alcohol for less than the cost of a pint bottle of "reducer".

Kate

[Rawhide]

We've been kind of dancing around this subject of reducers for awhile, with no definitive answer.... Here's what I know.

When I used Fiebings' spirit dyes, I always used plain denatured alcohol to reduce it, and I could not tell any difference between that and their "special" reducer formula.

However, I just bought some Angelus dye for testing. One of the things I asked the person taking my order was, "What do I use to reduce it?" I thought she was going to tell me I had to get the Angelus reducer formula to use with their dyes, but she said "Just use denatured alcohol."

Sure enough... I tested it with plain denatured alcohol and it reduces the color just fine with no side-effects whatsoever.

Just my opinion... you guys can stop wasting your money on their "special" formulas. You can buy a gallon of denatured alcohol for less than the cost of a pint bottle of "reducer".

Kate

That's exactly what I'm going to start doing...Wish I would have seen this about an hour ago...I just came from home depot.

[TheTrooper]

We've been kind of dancing around this subject of reducers for awhile, with no definitive answer.... Here's what I know.

When I used Fiebings' spirit dyes, I always used plain denatured alcohol to reduce it, and I could not tell any difference between that and their "special" reducer formula.

However, I just bought some Angelus dye for testing. One of the things I asked the person taking my order was, "What do I use to reduce it?" I thought she was going to tell me I had to get the Angelus reducer formula to use with their dyes, but she said "Just use denatured alcohol."

Sure enough... I tested it with plain denatured alcohol and it reduces the color just fine with no side-effects whatsoever.

Just my opinion... you guys can stop wasting your money on their "special" formulas. You can buy a gallon of denatured alcohol for less than the cost of a pint bottle of "reducer".

Kate

Hi Kate,

big THX for your reply. That was what I wanted to hear

It is good to see that life can also be very simple sometimes, too. *gg

So I will stay also just with the alcohol (just for thinning the dyes of course )

Cheers,

Marcel

[carljc72]

I bought Angelus black and light brown. I used them both today for the first time. I don't know what the light brown will look like when dry, but it sure seems very dark right now.

What type of prep do you do before dipping (or spraying for those who use an airbrush)?

[esantoro]

After reading this thread, I'm wondering if the Angelus Dye is what I need.

I currently use Fiebing's Edge dye in dark brown and black. The black seems fine, though I like what I'm hearing about black Angelus dye regarding rub off, or lack of rub off.

My real problem is dark brown. I got the Edge Dye thinking it would give a deeper, darker dark brown than what a regular dye would give. What I end up getting is more like a reddish brown. It's not a terrible problem right now, as I mostly use the dye as a base for an edge finish, but I would like to have the option of just using dyes and beeswax on bag edges.

Do you think Angelus dye in dark brown will give me an actual dark brown edge on vegetable tanned leathers? I'm also thinking of trying Weaver's dye (from LCI) and Kelly's dye.

Thanks,

ed

[Rawhide]

After reading this thread, I'm wondering if the Angelus Dye is what I need.

I currently use Fiebing's Edge dye in dark brown and black. The black seems fine, though I like what I'm hearing about black Angelus dye regarding rub off, or lack of rub off.

My real problem is dark brown. I got the Edge Dye thinking it would give a deeper, darker dark brown than what a regular dye would give. What I end up getting is more like a reddish brown. It's not a terrible problem right now, as I mostly use the dye as a base for an edge finish, but I would like to have the option of just using dyes and beeswax on bag edges.

Do you think Angelus dye in dark brown will give me an actual dark brown edge on vegetable tanned leathers? I'm also thinking of trying Weaver's dye (from LCI) and Kelly's dye.

Thanks,

ed

Ed,

To tell you the truth, the best edge dye I've used is fiebings oil dye...It penetrates very deep in the edge. I tried the Angelus dye on the edge and didn't like it, but you may have better luck with it, but I like the oil dye. (As a matter of fact, I HATE the edge dyes)

[esantoro]

Hi Marlon,

I'll take your word on this. I was expecting more from the edge dyes, but they don't seem to be anything special. The one thing I like about the spirit dyes is that they dry quickly and I can get on with the next construction step. How quickly do the oil dyes take to dry? My wait time for trying is consumed with the edge finishes, and I'm not sure I want to factor in additional waiting, especially if I'm using the dye only as a base. I'll have to look into some oil dyes for finishing the edges. Out of curiosity, I threw in a 4 oz bottle of Fiebing's Edge Enamel with my ZW order today.

Thanks,

Ed

Ed,

To tell you the truth, the best edge dye I've used is fiebings oil dye...It penetrates very deep in the edge. I tried the Angelus dye on the edge and didn't like it, but you may have better luck with it, but I like the oil dye. (As a matter of fact, I HATE the edge dyes)

[Rawhide]

Hi Marlon,

I'll take your word on this. I was expecting more from the edge dyes, but they don't seem to be anything special. The one thing I like about the spirit dyes is that they dry quickly and I can get on with the next construction step. How quickly do the oil dyes take to dry? My wait time for trying is consumed with the edge finishes, and I'm not sure I want to factor in additional waiting, especially if I'm using the dye only as a base. I'll have to look into some oil dyes for finishing the edges. Out of curiosity, I threw in a 4 oz bottle of Fiebing's Edge Enamel with my ZW order today.

Thanks,

Ed

Oil dye is really just a spirit dye with a little better alcohol and better dyestuffs for color. I would estimate the same dry time for oil dyes as regular spirit dyes. I do have to warn you that my edging process is fairly lengthy, so my timeframe may be different...