Has Anyone Tried Dyeing With Dylon Dye Without Adding Meth?

[Macrdhu]

Hi All,

I've searched the forum to see if anyone has used Dylon's fabric dye and the two topics I found (don't know how to reference them here)mentioned adding meths and were about edges.

I'm wanting to dye quite a big bit of hide and happen to have a load of dylon wee silver pots of powder dye.

Has anyone tried just soaking leather in a solution of the powder in water?

Also when used on fabric the dye is set with salt, any reason not to soak leather in a saline solution?

Thanks for any help and advice.

Cheers

Gill

[gary]

Gill,

I think I wrote one of the posts on edge staining with Dylon. Since then I've tried dyeing some plain leather, rather than just edges, and the results were quite hit and miss. The methods weren't scientific and the leather (thinned russet) had been lying around for a while so there could have been several reasons.

I used water as a solvent in purple and green Dylon and even when it was a concentrated solution the colour wasn't very strong - it looked good to start with but faded as it dried. It took several applications to get an acceptable colour (well, sort of acceptable) and they were patchy.

Fortunately. it was for a thistle insert (about 3" x 2" overall) on a guitar strap so I could choose the best small bits to use.

I applied it with a dauber and didn't immerse it.

I hadn't considered fixing it with salt but finished it with acrylic Resolene which seemed okay as it won't be used outside and shouldn't get too wet.

Hope that helps.

Gary

Edited February 10, 2010 by gary

[UKRay]

Hi Gill,

I played around with Dylon some time back and gave up on it for all the reasons Gary has outlined. I also used it on veg tan russet and had the same 'patchy' results even though I eventually dipped it rather than applied it with a dauber.

I used neatsfoot oil to seal the leather after dyeing and drying and it worked pretty well. It also softened it up after the immersion in Dylon.

Salt as a mordant? No idea. Hopefully one of the chemists on here will pick this up, but frankly, and only IMHO, the results obtained from Dylon hardly seem worth the grief. I would be fascinated to hear how you get on with it though and do post if you find a workable solution (no pun intended).

For what it is worth, I don't think it is the fixer that causes the problems, more that the dye is simply too 'wishy washy'. I've had much better results dying with onion skins and other assorted bits of fruit and veg!

Ray

[celticleather]

Gill

Amen to all of the above! If you're looking for intense colour, the little tins are not going to deliver. They seem OK for subtle pastel shades (from my experiments), but don't give an even coverage. Also, if you're looking for repeatable colours, be cautious . . . I'm pretty sure the little tins (cold water dyes) have been discontinued. They've been replaced by 'hand dye', but the colour range is different from the old cold water dyes.

As for using salt as a mordant, I've never tried it, but I could imagine that salt staining (such as occurs on shoes in snowy weather) could be a possibility when used on leather. The salt has to go somewhere, and as the moisture in the dye dries out, the salt may precipitate on the surface of the leather.

Terry

[cem]

Gill,

I've played around with Dylon and Rit as well and I think there are a couple of threads still around where I mention it. Out of the two Rit was better colour wise and like others have said the Dylon was only really good for pastel shades keep in mind though that I was using it for colouring figure carvings and not dipping it although I did dip a few small pieces when I first started experimenting with it and the colour didn't dry anymore intense than brushing it on. I gave up on it and Rit as the results were pretty inconsistent between the packets even on the same hide. I used both plain water and Metho and the colours came out the same with both.

Clair

[Macrdhu]

Thanks everyone you've helped my make up my mind, well as much as I ever do anyway.

Taking all you say into account think I'll save my leather from the dylon and maybe use it for lining fabric instead. That is if my curiosity doesn't get the better of me or need one off paler colour. If i do i'll post pics.

Terry, I think your right in that they've been discontinued, the ones I have are pretty ancient. Another reason not to maybe waste leather by using them.

Removing the salt residue, which off course would likely precipitate on the leather (obvious now you mention it), may be one wetting too far to be worth it or to leave leather in condition that will work well.

Thanks again.

Gill