Iwb Holster Just Finished

[Steven Kelley]

I just finished 2 of these holsters. I am really disappointed in the finish. I dyed them with black Fiebing's Pro Dye, and the looked ok until I sprayed them with Super Sheen. After that, the got a splotchy pattern of dark and light. You should be able to see it in the pics. Any idea what I did wrong here? I'm definitely learning that dyeing leather is an art!

[marine mp]

Steven, Although I'm not a real fan of IWB holsters, those are quite nice, indeed. If these are your first tries at the art of holstery, you have a stellar start. The black dye takes a LOT of rubbing to get the excess powdered particles out of the surface. When I was dying black, I would do a coat, then rub, rub, rub till my hands were like putty. Then I would do a second coat, even if it didn't need it. Then rub, rub, rub....you get the picture. If you don't get the excess surface particles off the leather, it runs with the finish. Anymore, I use vinegar black for the black colors and don't worry about the black dye rubbing or leaching off into clothing. Pretty much my holsters are finished in Natural (olive oil 2) Feibings Oxblood red 3) Vinegaroon. I've made my own top-coat or sealer in 3 equal weight parts of beeswax, parrafin and neatsfoot oil rubbed into the leather. Again, great work. Semper-fi Mike

[Steven Kelley]

Steven, Although I'm not a real fan of IWB holsters, those are quite nice, indeed. If these are your first tries at the art of holstery, you have a stellar start. The black dye takes a LOT of rubbing to get the excess powdered particles out of the surface. When I was dying black, I would do a coat, then rub, rub, rub till my hands were like putty. Then I would do a second coat, even if it didn't need it. Then rub, rub, rub....you get the picture. If you don't get the excess surface particles off the leather, it runs with the finish. Anymore, I use vinegar black for the black colors and don't worry about the black dye rubbing or leaching off into clothing. Pretty much my holsters are finished in Natural (olive oil 2) Feibings Oxblood red 3) Vinegaroon. I've made my own top-coat or sealer in 3 equal weight parts of beeswax, parrafin and neatsfoot oil rubbed into the leather. Again, great work. Semper-fi Mike

Thanks for the info! So what do you use to rub between coats of black? I was really surprised how the top coat affected it. The color looked great until the Super Sheen hit it.

These are somewhere around my 9th and 10th holsters. My 1st 5 were horrible. Way too tight or way too loose, or I would forget to stitch the reinforcement piece on (getting in too big of a hurry to finish). I enjoy making things, and hope this can turn into a hobby that can bring in some income (sometime in the future), rather than just cost me money.

[Dwight]

Good job on the holsters, Steve, . . . I won't show you my first one.

Your problem has been mostly addressed by marine mp, . . . it is the unground black pigment left over on the top of the leather when the solvent dries that is causing your grief.

You can rub and burnish until you are blue in the face, . . . you'll not get it all, . . . and sometimes it is in the exacltly wrong place.

My wife can attest that she lost a couple of (previously) beautiful wash cloths to my using them for that burnishing purpose, . . . it is the best "rag" I've found so far.

Additionally, though, . . . I use Resolene as my final finish, . . . it gives a much better finish (I think) and is more forgiving of the left over pigment.

Anyway, . . . good start, . . . keep at it.

May God bless,

Dwight

[Steven Kelley]

Thanks guys. That makes a lot of sense. I've used Resolene, but got lazy and wanted the convenience of a spray can. Learned my lesson! Finishing is turning out to be a lot harder than I expected.

Thanks for all in help.

[bitone40]

Great looking holsters. My trick on black dye whether oil or spirit, it to use the super or satin sheen and apply with a old clean t shirt, just waad it up into a square big enough to cover the opening and the bottle . Apply some sheen to t shirt and rub into leather, at 1st it will be bubbly but just keep rubbing and it will start to dissappear and start to soak in until it is all gone, then stop or after that point it will start streaking. This method has not failed me yet. In the past I would airbrush resolene/water mix and if it didn't "set" right the finish would peel right off, I have tried all the brushes, wool, towels , airbrushing, spraying and could not get any as good as the t shirt method. Now remember this is only for black dye that I do this for, sure it will work on all colors but for the other colors I use the resolene/water mix airbrushed and have had no problems.

Don't forget that preparation(rubbing excess off) is a very important key to getting your sealer to look and seal well.

Ben