Starting From Square One With Dying, Coloring And Finishing

[SonOfLiberty]

Hello all! Been lurking some time, reading what I can, trying to apply things I've learned here from many of you excellent and knowledgeable leather crafters while silently lurking. In essence I'm just breaking into my baby teeth and have some questions.

Currently I'm working on the Tandy "Hey, buy this kit and learn some basic things" Kit (forget the name, it has the basic 7, a swivel knife and some projects like coin purse, wallet, money clip). This has been some amount of fun in learning how to carve/stamp Sheridan/floral style. I've also bought a pig belly/side for $7.00 to practice on and am proceeding through it at a decent canter in regards to carving.

One of the issues I'm encountering is that the Tandy stuff is geared towards…Tandy stuff, and they're pushing Eco Flow dye/finish-resist (Super Sheen). All well and good, but I've figured out quite quickly on this site that one should avoid Eco-Flow stuff like the plague. Fact of the matter is that I like to learn things by learning the correct techniques right out of the gate.

What I'm asking then, and I've looked beforehand, if there is any general guide available to buy (An Al Stohlman book?) that describes using Fiebrings (or other)/spirit/oil dyes and finishes, as well as the techniques for dealing with a leather work after you're done carving it -> forward, in regards to getting it to a color and finish you'd like? Currently I'm not looking to do the fancy shade blending into other shade near artist painting quality stuff, rather, things like setting a background one color, setting the foreground another color (or no color), then finishing it appropriately as described above. The problem I'm encountering is that so much of this seems appropriate to very specific situations ("Well, if you use Fred's Oil dye, only use it after applying Monica's oil first, then a coat of XYZ paste, then the dye cut with 5 parts talcum powder and feather grindings, and then wipe it off with a special cloth made out of bald eagle leg skin, then finish it as you like!").

Guess what I'm asking for is, is there a general guide for Prepping -> Dying -> Coloring (? Is it called that, not necessarily antiquing but not excluding it either) -> Finishing? I've done searches and found a lot of information about each process seperately, but nothing holistic and it seems like holistic is necessary to complete a piece? I don't mind practicing and experimenting, but would like to avoid obvious gaffs, like one I made yesterday where I applied a super sheen resist on Monday and then the yesterday applied Fieblings spirt dye. Hey, guess what, Super Sheen felt that the spirit dye was kryptonite and promptly resisted nothing, as expected. While researching today I think I found the issue with this (d'oh!), but trial and error seems like such a brutal way to learn given as we have so many resources available here on this forum, or in book form. In short, I'm utterly lost regarding dying/coloring/finishing as an entire process, excepting using eco-flow to dye a background black, using ecoflow to color the front brown and then super sheen to finish it (yuck) and am looking for an FAQ or book title reference or even basic instructions.

Hope that made sense. If not I'll try to clarify based on the feedback I receive.

[radar67]

I've read the same things here about the Eco Flo dyes, but use them anyway. I have not had any problems with them, as long as I let them dry and buff them out before applying the seal coats (I use 3 coats). Even the oil dye will bleed a little if it is not buffed and sealed properly (based on my reading here). I have a cowboy cuff I made that has seen plenty of use in a sweaty environment with no bleed of the Eco Flo.

In reference to your question, Al Stohlman has a book about using the spirit dyes and I believe it is available from Tandy.

[SonOfLiberty]

I've read the same things here about the Eco Flo dyes, but use them anyway. I have not had any problems with them, as long as I let them dry and buff them out before applying the seal coats (I use 3 coats). Even the oil dye will bleed a little if it is not buffed and sealed properly (based on my reading here). I have a cowboy cuff I made that has seen plenty of use in a sweaty environment with no bleed of the Eco Flo.

In reference to your question, Al Stohlman has a book about using the spirit dyes and I believe it is available from Tandy.

Thanks for the reply radar. I'll look for Stohlman's book the next time I'm at the local Tandy shop. There's a lot of information out here and in books, it can get a bit overwhelming and tangled for a new guy like me.

[Spinner]

Peter Main also has an excellent book called "The Main Technique for Coloring Leather" available on his website: http://www.petermain.com under the publications section. I believe his books are $14.99 and well worth every penny. His Australian Leather Carving book is great too, has some nice patterns of Australian florals that are a bit different than traditional Sheridan patterns to mix things up.

Chris

[SonOfLiberty]

I'll look up the book, thanks for the lead Chris!