When To Stain

[302mike]

I apologize if this has been answered elsewhere, but I searched and didn't come up with anything.

I'm new to leather crafting and my question is when is the best time to stain a piece of tooling leather after you've finished working on it? Do you stain while it is still cased or wait until completely dry?

Also, with water based stains such as the eco-flo hi-lite color stain, should you use a damp sponge to apply it or a dry one?

Thanks in advance.

- Mike

[terrymac]

Mike,

I would let the leather dry before staining. Can't answer concerning the Eco Flow stains. I will stick with the Fiebling products. The times I tried the EcoFlow did not turn out well. Other people seem to get along fine with them. I just stick with what I know.

Terry

[302mike]

Mike,

I would let the leather dry before staining. Can't answer concerning the Eco Flow stains. I will stick with the Fiebling products. The times I tried the EcoFlow did not turn out well. Other people seem to get along fine with them. I just stick with what I know.

Terry

Thanks Terry. I'll check out the Fiebling stains too. I was getting weird results with the eco flow which was what prompted the question. Maybe that will be the answer.

[katsass]

I apologize if this has been answered elsewhere, but I searched and didn't come up with anything.

I'm new to leather crafting and my question is when is the best time to stain a piece of tooling leather after you've finished working on it? Do you stain while it is still cased or wait until completely dry?

Also, with water based stains such as the eco-flo hi-lite color stain, should you use a damp sponge to apply it or a dry one?

Thanks in advance.

- Mike

I do very little (if any) tooling anymore, however you would do all tooling prior to dying your project. If doing as I do, where all embellishment is done with the dye or by inlay, I prefer to dye first and allow to dry prior to assembly. When using a solvent based or oil based dyes, the leather should be totally dry prior to application. I personally use only Fiebing's Pro Oil Dye. As you seem to have found out, the water based dyes don't seem to work as well as one would like them to. The only time I color my project after construction is when using 'vinegaroon' as it seems to make the leather a little more difficult to work with. Mike