bikermutt07 Report post Posted October 18, 2016 Following this thread for the last few days reminded me to try something. In another thread we had mentioned maybe we could use spirit dyes with water. I think somebody brought up scotch and water mix well together. So just now I tried it on some scrap. This is fiebings chocolate mixed 50/50 with water. The two on the left are on hermann oak. The one on the right is the crappy Tandy leather I mentioned earlier. I think this looks more like what I think chocolate looks like. Ill report back after it dries. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bikermutt07 Report post Posted October 18, 2016 (edited) Here is Mahogany and light tan mixed with water 50/50. The mixture looks a little muddy in the container but seems to go on well (this was applied with daubers). I think I will try it on a project soon. Edited October 18, 2016 by bikermutt07 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KeithHideWorks Report post Posted January 13, 2017 I am getting ready to start dip dying as well. Has anyone tried the Pro Dye and Neatsfoot oil in a 50:50 ratio or similar vs denatured Alcohol? I know the ethanol is a solvent and will dry out, just wondering if this will keep the dye from dying out too much (problem with regular dye vs the Pro, Pro seems to have more oil in it). I am about to order some 2 gallon buckets with twist lids to keep this in. Don't want to waste $80 worth of dye and $30 worth of neatsfoot oil if i don't have to. This will be for holsters, belts, ect... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bikermutt07 Report post Posted January 13, 2017 55 minutes ago, KeithHideWorks said: I am getting ready to start dip dying as well. Has anyone tried the Pro Dye and Neatsfoot oil in a 50:50 ratio or similar vs denatured Alcohol? I know the ethanol is a solvent and will dry out, just wondering if this will keep the dye from dying out too much (problem with regular dye vs the Pro, Pro seems to have more oil in it). I am about to order some 2 gallon buckets with twist lids to keep this in. Don't want to waste $80 worth of dye and $30 worth of neatsfoot oil if i don't have to. This will be for holsters, belts, ect... I don't think you want to mix any oil with the dyes. They aren't really oil based. Even though Fiebings says "Professional Oil Dye", it's not an oil based product. It is still alcohol based. It works better then the regular, but it is still spirit based. When I first started diluting dyes I didn't have any alcohol close at hand. My impatience led me to trying mineral spirits. I wound up with a small amount of what looked like a mahogany lava lamp. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sheilajeanne Report post Posted January 14, 2017 (edited) Based on my limited experience with dyes: Fiebing's Pro dyes are the best I've tried so far. Fiebings alcohol based, and Eco-flo water based don't go on evenly UNLESS the leather is slightly damp. I had a real disaster when I tried dyeing a cell phone case with Fiebings, and also a couple of other items with the Eco-flo. Several people suggested dampening the leather, and that did the trick! Here's the cell phone case after the initial dyeing, then the finished product: The background was done with Fiebing's alcohol based dye, and the flower with Eco-flo Hmm...still need to work a bit on those edges! Edited January 14, 2017 by Sheilajeanne Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chrism Report post Posted January 19, 2017 I use a different way of which my own. I'll clean the leather with denatured alcohol, spray dye it with an airbrush, lightly oil it, do my sitching, then finish the edges and final coat of resolene or balm with atom wax. After that a light polish of saddle soap. If I painted the leather it'd be a different way. Works for me. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
silverwingit Report post Posted January 20, 2017 I love the organic look and feel of fine leather. I feel that spraying or dipping it produce results that are actually too uniform and fail to bring out the beautiful grain, barbed wire scars, insect bites, brands, and natural non-uniformities in a good piece of vegetable tanned leather. Therefore I prefer block dyeing because it enhances these natural marks. I use 1:1 or 2:1 alcohol to Feibing's Pro Oil dye dilutions. Wrap a piece of 2x4 with several layers of strips cut from an old t-shirt and staple them so there are no seams or wrinkles on the bottom surface. Dip in the diluted dye until it's saturated and pass it over the leather with overlapping strokes using light pressure. You'll see the natural organic beauty enhanced as you go. Stop when you have the desired shade. Of course the dye will lighten up significantly when it dries. If you haven't over done it and wanted it darker you can go back and repeat the process. So it's better to be conservative the first time. Try it -- you'll like it! Michelle Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
