Cleaning up my act on the dye bench

[UKRay]

Is it just me or does anyone else get dye on their bench top?

I have been using the current MDF (Medium Density Fibreboard) worksurface for about a year now and it is black with old dye spills, over-rubs and general splashing. This means that when I dye a nice clean piece of work it sometimes gets dirty marks on the back from the old dye.

Okay, I can hear you say "Why doesn't the fool just get himself a clean bit of MDF?" and, you are probably right. However, somebody out there in leatherland may have found the solution to cleaning up the dye process and if they have, I need to know about it!

Before we start, I have tried cleaning the top after each use. That lasted about three days. I'm in a hurry and have production work to finish and need to get on with it - I don't need to get all picky with dye spills and splatters.

I contemplated using sheets of 'butcher's paper as a surface. Has anyone done this and does it work? (Do you guys even get butcher's paper in the US?).

I wondered about using a roll of wallpaper lining paper and pulling off a new bit each time a job needed dyeing? Has anyone done this?

I thought about using paper towel on a roll - the blue stuff you see mechanics using. I suspect it would be too absorbent but maybe someone has found a way to use it?

I even thought about using the masking paper that gets used in bodyshops... would this work?

Whatever I use has to be absorbent to mop up the spillage - what else is there?

All I want is a clean work surface every time.

Hope you have some good ideas,

Ray

[Luke Hatley]

Ray......me being a Retired Meat Cutter.....of course i use Butchers Paper.

To protect my bench from the Dye.

[UKRay]

Ray......me being a Retired Meat Cutter.....of course i use Butchers Paper.

To protect my bench from the Dye.

I've seen your bench, Luke - best use more paper... LOL!

[BWL]

Yep, been there, done that. If I could put it my $ .02 (two cents), I use the local free papper. If I can put a visual picture together for you. I split in half a wooden closet pole

(2" dia.) and screwed it back together after inserting one end of the newsprint. I use about 15 sheets at one time, this prevents bleeding through. After I'm done I roll it up for next. After using it for awile a can eather tear off the top sheets or replace them. I hope this is helpful.

Michael

[Suze]

freezer paper might work as well

it is waxed on one side -- If you put that side down it might prevent bleed through

of course for small projects just use an old magazine.... when a page gets icky - flip till you get a new one that is clean.

[JRedding]

one guy I know used a pine 1x12 unfinished to lay over bench tops when they got nasty he'd grab a hand plane, take a few swipes and have a clean new surface, and just replace it when it got thin

[Timd]

I use a full section (10-15 sheets) of the newspaper. Since I have 2 papers a day delivered, I'm never without a supply.

[8thsinner]

Could you not just use a bin liner?

Or tarp even, just keep it rolled up ready to unroll when you need it, It should wash down easily after each job and would protect the bench from spills.

Just a thought.

[leatheroo]

i just use newspaper, but how about cling wrap?

[pancho47]

i use the cardboard that comes with my HO, also i use a small piece of 2x4 i cut out some slots for the little dye bottles to fit in ,this has elimenated spilled dye bottles

[TwinOaks]

I'd like to suggest:

MORE CARE WHEN DYEING !!!!! _{Sorry Ray, somebody had to do it.}

I typically do all my large area dyeing outside with an airbrush. I use the cheap purple nitrile gloves to keep my hands clean. For inside work, since I'm on the dining room table I use waxed paper , or foil overlaid with newsprint.

For a full work bench, I think Craft paper/ Butcher's paper on a spool would be fantastic, as it would provide a clean surface every time AND room to sketch out notes or pattern variations.

My ONE dye spill is at the kitchen sink (BAAAADDDD KITTTY!!!) and I've since been informed that anymore dyeing of the counter tops may result in dying.

[wildrose]

Ray, you have my sympathy and complete understanding. In one of our houses, I was reduced to staining on top of the washer/dryer, and it got REALLY colorful.

I have a great set up now, with a bench at standing height that I use for staining (it's separate from my usual workbench). Still, it is mostly covered in stain/dye. I consider it character! Anyhow, it can lead to experience like yours: mess on clean projects. So what I usually do is use old clothes/rags to lay down under the piece. Then again, most of what I do is smaller pieces.

[pete]

2 things that may help. One is that I buy a roll of clear shelf liner and cover the slab. Easy to replace, doesn't absorb dye etc. Also, glue rubs of easily.

Second- I clean my brushes in a cap or two o reducer(thinner). I pour the dirty dye into another bottle. After a few jobs I have a bottle of really interesting dye that I use to clean the marble. Doesn't leave it colored

pete

[terrahyd]

my dipper don't drip.............doc............

[UKRay]

Lots of really good ideas and one or two that are definitely worth a try. Many thanks people.

Mike, I just looked at my leather receipts and did the sums - this past year I have dyed slightly more than a thousand square foot of leather by hand, mostly in the form of small items like pouches, belts, hair barrettes, bracers and bags - it is hard to be careful ALL the time but I do try!

If anyone else has any thoughts on ways to keep work clean then I'd be very pleased to hear 'em.

Thanks for all your contributions.

Ray

[Kevin]

I'm a Kraft paper kind of guy, I've thought about rosin paper, but that might be too expensive. Seems like I've read or heard about somebody that uses a window shade attatched to the end of the bench. I personally am afraid of newspapers, both because of the ink and I always seem to find something interesting to read that I missed the first time around.

Kevin

[barra]

Ray. Ultimately I would like to have a dedicated dye bench but space at the moment does not allow. A coulpe of things I do or have done.

1. I use an old plastic shower screen and lay it on the bench and lay my paper or similar on top of this.

2. I dye on a sheet of glass as it cleans up easily (presently using perspex)

made a dye/spray booth out of an old box and screwed bulldog clips around the tops on the inside. I then clip my sheets of paper to the bulldogs.

I decanter my dyes into small jars and only pour in small amounts at a time. If I do have a spill it is not a gallon of dye or so I have knocked over.

http://www.trojanhorseantiques.com/CoffeeMugPartners.jpg

The small jars I put inside a travel mug like the pic as the wide base makes it very stable.

Barra

[CitizenKate]

As you can see from this photo, when I go to work play at my bench, sometimes the color really flies. Not much I can do about the stuff that hits the wall - heheh!

But here is something I came up with that helps keep some of the mess off the bench. It's a blotter I make out of the 25"x18" sheets of newsprint I buy for shipping material. I take about 15 sheets of it, staple it together along one edge, to make a kind of blotter. It's thick enough to stop a dye spill. Then when it gets covered with dye or stain smudges or spills, I just tear off a sheet or two, and the blotter is clean and ready for the next job. When it gets down to about 5 sheets, I add more to it.

Kate

[celticleather]

I use 1mm thick greyboard, in A1 size. It's cheap, very absorbent, and made from recycled paper. When one side gets mucky, I just turn it over and use the other side. It's also useful for making templates.

[UKRay]

Okay, the clean-up decision has been made. A combination of Kate's newsprint paper blotter and Terry's grey board ought to do the trick. I have covered the filthy bench with two sheets of greyboard I have had stashed away for the past five years (where on earth can I get some more from, Terry?) and invested in £15 worth of bright new and very clean looking newsprint paper from a packaging company on eBay. I'll make myself a few pads and see how I get on.

For what it is worth, I thought almost the ideas (apart from Mike's - LOL) had merit but these were the easiest for me to implement.

Thanks for all the great ideas, folks. I'm in with a chance now...

Ray

[celticleather]

Greyboard can be bought from http://www.roberthor...ined-greyboard/. Or (cheaper option!) talk to your local printer. It's often used in the packaging for printing plates.

[UKRay]

Thanks, Terry. I'll give them a call - after I've had a chat with the printer!

Ray

[BradB]

I just use newspaper or old magazines, I have used kitchen garbage bags (don't throw away when you are done, let them dry and you can use them in the kitchen). If you have the room you could just make a dedicated dying area, that is my hope some day!

Let us know what your final solution is!!!!

[BearMan]

Hi Ray, & All,

What I use, I actually have to buy,,, but I feel it's worth it. What I use is, the Puppy Training Pads, they are about 20" square, & are waterproof on the back, & Very absorbant on the top. I've been pretty lucky lately, & have been able to use the same one for the last several projects. They cost about $8.00, for 15 of them. When you are done with them, either throw them away, or re-use them. They have saved my bench a couple times, from spillage. Although, I do use a dye bottle holder, to support the bottle while open.

I hope this helps some,,, Ed the"BearMan"

[dirtclod]

I use cardboard sometimes and it's free. Other times i use a piece of plywood from a old drawer i took apart. Both work fine.

John