Sunset Or Faded Look.

[bronc701]

Below is a link to a holster site. It should show a holster set with a "sunset" finish. I am interested in making something like this and would like some input from experienced people on the best way to approach this type of finish. I am assuming the light area is simply a clearcoat but how do they get it from black to light brown with the light speckling. This is probably a really dumb question but after construction do you apply neatsfoot oil before using an oil based dye? What is the process step by step for using deglazer, oil based dye, neatsfoot, and resolene? If you can help please spare me a couple minutes of your time.

Thanks

http://www.mernickleholsters.com/pssys/ps6sys1r7.html

[iwannabeacowboy]

The sunset finish I believe can be done with an airbrush to get the proper fade in/out of different colors. The rest I'll leave to better qualified for your questions.

charlie

[CitizenKate]

I am assuming the light area is simply a clearcoat but how do they get it from black to light brown with the light speckling.

Hi bronc,

The speckling is most likely done by stamping around the inside of the border with one of the E294 series stamps, hitting the stamp progressively lighter as you work towards the inside of the area being stamped.

The dye work around the edges can be easily done by just spraying dye around the edges with an airbrush.

If you don't have an airbrush, you can get a similar effect by dripping some dye into a piece of cotton cloth and rubbing it around the edges. It takes some practice with this method to get the saturation of dye just right so it fades gradually towards the inside of the area being dyed, but it works fairly well once you get the hang of it.

I'll defer the question about neetsfoot oil and oil dyes to someone who has worked with those products together.

Kate

[bronc701]

Hi bronc,

The speckling is most likely done by stamping around the inside of the border with one of the E294 series stamps, hitting the stamp progressively lighter as you work towards the inside of the area being stamped.

The dye work around the edges can be easily done by just spraying dye around the edges with an airbrush.

If you don't have an airbrush, you can get a similar effect by dripping some dye into a piece of cotton cloth and rubbing it around the edges. It takes some practice with this method to get the saturation of dye just right so it fades gradually towards the inside of the area being dyed, but it works fairly well once you get the hang of it.

I'll defer the question about neetsfoot oil and oil dyes to someone who has worked with those products together.

Kate

Thanks for the help on this, and sorry for the late response. I have been sick for the past 2 weeks and am just now getting back to it. Time to play catch up on holsters. Once caught up i'm gonna give this a try and we will see what will happen. Thanks

[jbird]

ok so yes a airbrush is the biggest offender, but the really nice light brown to dark brown edges is neats foot oil and that my friend is tricky task.

I will lay it best I can, allow the piece the dry from any moister then apply a light coat of neats foot, let dry. then dip yes I said dip in oil warm oil works best pull out and let dry. this should get you close apply oil the edges to deepen the effect.

this photo of my work shows this pretty well.

Josh

last one is oil then air brush!

Edited March 9, 2010 by jbird

[jbird]

I should say also that dye can be added the oil to darken it, but for the most part oil is the finish no dye after this process,

as far as air brush thats a dye then reslone or whatever you like I use bagkote.

if you are just dyeing it then add oil before or after either one works and this just adds oil not a lot of color change some but very little.

Josh

Edited March 9, 2010 by jbird

[bronc701]

ok so yes a airbrush is the biggest offender, but the really nice light brown to dark brown edges is neats foot oil and that my friend is tricky task.

I will lay it best I can, allow the piece the dry from any moister then apply a light coat of neats foot, let dry. then dip yes I said dip in oil warm oil works best pull out and let dry. this should get you close apply oil the edges to deepen the effect.

this photo of my work shows this pretty well.

Josh

last one is oil then air brush!

Ok, so you dip the edges of the holster in neatsfoot oil, correct? Or do you dip the edges in the oil based dye? I know I am making this harder than it probably really is but I dont like to create waste. I have used neatsfoot oil on some of my stuff and have a hard time getting it to darken the leather, I didn't know you could mix the neatsfoot with the dye, that is a pretty good idea to try.

Thanks

[jbird]

If your using the dip method then you dip the hole piece and the oil migrates to the edges natrually, when mixing a dye with the oil I don't no what is used but it's not your run of the mill dye it's special stuff.

Josh

[bronc701]

If your using the dip method then you dip the hole piece and the oil migrates to the edges natrually, when mixing a dye with the oil I don't no what is used but it's not your run of the mill dye it's special stuff.

Josh

Ok, I just finished a holster and will post the pics on here probably tomorrow. But have you ever had any problems with resolene leaving bubbles or have a hard time getting an even finish witout it running? I have worked out my issues with the oil dyes but but the actual "clearcoat" is a different story. I have used resolene on about 6 different items and it wants to run or leave bubbles when applied with rag, sponge, or spray.

I do greatly appreciate the feedback. Also what brand of basketweave tool leaves the most detailed or defined pattern? I used a tandy cheap one and when I folded over the holster it kinda stretched out the pattern and made it look faded.

[RobDude30]

Ok, I just finished a holster and will post the pics on here probably tomorrow. But have you ever had any problems with resolene leaving bubbles or have a hard time getting an even finish witout it running? I have worked out my issues with the oil dyes but but the actual "clearcoat" is a different story. I have used resolene on about 6 different items and it wants to run or leave bubbles when applied with rag, sponge, or spray.

I do greatly appreciate the feedback. Also what brand of basketweave tool leaves the most detailed or defined pattern? I used a tandy cheap one and when I folded over the holster it kinda stretched out the pattern and made it look faded.

To get a nice even finish with Resolene, apply it with a damp sponge in multiple very light coats. I take a sponge, wet it, and wring it out. Hold the bottle of Resolene upright with the sponge over the opening, and shake it upward one quick time. This method gets very little Resolene on the sponge. Wipe over your project with the sponge making sure to get an even cover. If you see a milky appearance, wipe over that area again to smooth it out. You want the application to be so light that you can hardly tell you applied it, both by look and feel. Let that dry for a while and repeat until you are happy with the appearance. I make mostly belts and holsters and usually apply 3 coats.

As a side note to the above, I started off using Eco-Flo dies and had a terrible problem with the die rubbing off during the finishing process. I switched over to Fiebings alcohol dies and they have been much easier to work with using my method. On the first coat of Resolene, I usually get a tiny amount of die rub-off on the sponge. Just enough to see a little color on the sponge. On subsequent applications I get no rub-off. The 3 coats of Resolene have given me the colorfastness that I have been looking for in my finished work.

Hope this make sense and helps!

Edited March 13, 2010 by RobDude30