Newbie to Deglazing. Advice, please.

[Hilly]

I'm about to start another project which I intend on dying using Fiebings Saddle Tan dye after I finish tooling. I want even dye coverage, with no spots that will not accept the dye. I will be using Fiebings deglazer to clean my leather. My question is do I use the deglazer before I tool, or after? I don't want any suprises in the carving lines or anywhere else on the project...

[SCOUTER]

Hilly, Fiebings deglazer and alcohol and other cleaners will get off all the waxes and oils that are on the leather prior to stain application... However Fiebings Saddle Tan dye can be a bear to use. If you want that nice golden saddle color that looks so warm and inviting you might find that in order to get coverage you will find it becomes a little DARK. From what I understand the Fieblings PRO-dye (has oil in it) tends to give that look much easier.

Hopefully someone here can give you the best way to get that look... Possibly by pre-trating the leather with oil so the absorbtion is limited... Good Luck!

[abn]

Hilly:

Two ideas that spring to my mind when reading your post.

1. Try denatured alcohol instead of deglazer. Deglazer is really nasty stuff, and alcohol should perform this task nicely.
   
2. Try your saddle tan finish on scrap before trying it on the final project! If you're looking for perfection, you may need to adjust your application method.
   

Good luck! Alex

[gunfighter48]

I have been using lemon juice and water and it cleans the leather very well. But I don't know if it cleans up waxes and such. I don't measure the lemon juice just a couple of cap fulls to 6 oz of water. The manager at my local Tandy store recommended this, he is a long time leather worker and that's all he uses. So far it's worked good for me.

John

[Rawhide]

I have been using lemon juice and water and it cleans the leather very well. But I don't know if it cleans up waxes and such. I don't measure the lemon juice just a couple of cap fulls to 6 oz of water. The manager at my local Tandy store recommended this, he is a long time leather worker and that's all he uses. So far it's worked good for me.

John

Do you use the RealLemon brand in the green bottle, or an actual lemon and squeeze some juice from it?

Marlon

[pete]

mix Bick's #4 with the tan, stir or mix well and apply in a circular motion with a t shirt scrap or very dry but soft sponge.

It is the only way that I have found to apply dye and overcome the sections of leather that absorb and don't absorb so well.

How much? well, start with 1 plastic cup(3 tsp) of dye to about 5 full plastic( nyquil, robitussin, etc ) plastic cups. I think that they hold about 3 tsp.

pour a good amount onto the shirt scrap and squeeze it a little so as to penetrate it with no standing liquid and just rub it all over until you start to run out. Don't just start in the middle or at one corner and wipe across as you might with a dauber.

[gunfighter48]

Do you use the RealLemon brand in the green bottle, or an actual lemon and squeeze some juice from it?

Marlon

I use the Reallemon in the bottle.

John

[kseidel]

Hilly, Do all of your stamping and tooling first. Then wash your leather with an oxalic acid mixture. This will clean all of your hand prints and open the pores of the leather and make it receptive to dyes and oils. Wait to apply the dye until the leather has dried at leas to damp. It does not need to be completely dry.

The oil dyes apply more uniformly. De-glazer is almost entirely isopropyl alcohol.

Keith

[Hilly]

mix Bick's #4 with the tan, stir or mix well and apply in a circular motion with a t shirt scrap or very dry but soft sponge.

It is the only way that I have found to apply dye and overcome the sections of leather that absorb and don't absorb so well.

How much? well, start with 1 plastic cup(3 tsp) of dye to about 5 full plastic( nyquil, robitussin, etc ) plastic cups. I think that they hold about 3 tsp.

pour a good amount onto the shirt scrap and squeeze it a little so as to penetrate it with no standing liquid and just rub it all over until you start to run out. Don't just start in the middle or at one corner and wipe across as you might with a dauber.

Bick's #4? I've never heard of it - what is it, exactly?

[Crystal]

Bick's #4? I've never heard of it - what is it, exactly?

Sorry - Haven't figured out how to send links - I found it at Sheplers.com. Bickmore - Bick's No# 4 It's a conditioner.

Crystal

[cybertracy]

Hilly, Do all of your stamping and tooling first. Then wash your leather with an oxalic acid mixture.

This worked very well for me on both water and oil based dyes -- and I let the leather dry to the point where you would begin tooling. As Keith mentioned, be absolutely sure you have done all of your tooling and stamping first before using the mix.