Belt Finish Question

[Jordan]

I realize this has probably been covered ad-nauseum before the great crash of 08, but I need a little help. What and how do you apply to belts as a finish coat that will both provide a proper finish, soften the belt and not crack the leather? I made a belt 3/4 in wide 6/7 wt. designed to wrap double around the waist, dyed it tan with tandy pro dye then put a topcoat of fiebings acrylic sheen, after it was all done and was putting it on (the wife not me) the darn thing cracked across the belt in many spots and in others it crinkled up pretty bad? Am I missing a step, maybe some type of conditioning when I dye it? I dunno it does get frustrating at times to have it go south in the final steps.

[pete]

I realize this has probably been covered ad-nauseum before the great crash of 08, but I need a little help. What and how do you apply to belts as a finish coat that will both provide a proper finish, soften the belt and not crack the leather? I made a belt 3/4 in wide 6/7 wt. designed to wrap double around the waist, dyed it tan with tandy pro dye then put a topcoat of fiebings acrylic sheen, after it was all done and was putting it on (the wife not me) the darn thing cracked across the belt in many spots and in others it crinkled up pretty bad? Am I missing a step, maybe some type of conditioning when I dye it? I dunno it does get frustrating at times to have it go south in the final steps.

Try deglazing it and simply saddle soaping it. For a shinier finish I would use neutral shoe polish. I finish almost all of my things that way.

p ete

[bruce johnson]

Jordan,

I haven't made a belt in 15 years that wasn't finished with either Supersheen or Feibing Leathersheen. I put the finish on - one good coat, let dry about 10-15 minutes, and then another. I then work the belt back and forth around a bend a little to soften it. Reading your post, I am seeing something, and if true. might be the cause. You used pro dye and an acrylic finish. Any type of oil after the dye? The dye will (in my experience) stiffen the grain and make it boardy, prone to cracking. Especially so if you used good firm leather to start with. The oil will replace the conditioning the dye took out or moved around. Some folks like Lexol, others Bick, others probably that chunk of orange fat off the top of canned chili, I know how my oil behaves in my leather. It just takes something to replace that conditioner after dyeing.

[Jordan]

Sounds like that is my problem, I will use some type of oil on the next one. I did note the belt seemed very stiff after dyeing. Thanks.. Jordan

[pete]

I second Bruce's opinion. I ALWAYS tool, light oil, dye, oil again, RTC or some other blocker, antique, and finish with neutral shoe polish.

I have found that I get a MUCH better dye job if the leather has been oiled FIRST. The dye doesn't seem to want to bleed run, or "spiderweb" especially in those reeeeaaaalllly tiny spots.

By the way- after tooling and drying, THIS is when I give it a restoring oiling WITH a dye mixed in if I want to change the color of the leather. Mostly Bick's#4 and chocolate dye,british tan, med brown, etc.

hope this is of help

pete

[gunfighter48]

Hi Jordan,

I have been using a couple of light coats of Lexol conditioner on my belts after I dye them. Then I finish them with 2 coats of Super or Satin Sheen and have not had a problem with them cracking.

John

[JRedding]

Jordan, I don't know if it will help but we finish between two and three hundred belts a year and I'd be happy to tell you how we do dyed belts. We dye belts with Feibings Oil Dye, not the alcohol based the oil based, we give two to three light coats of dye on the top of the belt we don't dye the back and we don't do anything before we dye,we dye the raw leather, the theory is that leather will only absorb so much of anything, before it reaches it's saturation point, we apply dye to the dry, untreated leather because we want the dye to penetrate as deep as possible (without saturating through), this creates a dye job that will wear and not wear off , applying oil before you dye lessens the penetration, it's really common sense oiled leather isn't as absorbant as dry. If you want to soften the belt, lightly oil it from the back, we use olive oil I know there's a lot of talk about using veg oils on here but we've used it for years, it really doesn't turn rancid. A light oiling from the back will penetrate and soften the belt without fooling with your dye, just be careful if it's a light (thin) belt you don't saturate the dye through to the back, or the oil through to the front, just go slow it's hard to foul up. When you're done dying and oiling you can top coat it with a lot of things, we've used feibings harness dressing for a flat finish, tan-kote, bag kote,or neat-lac, be careful with neat-lac it's a great finish but it will pull a little dye back off if you 'don't handle it right. Any of the finishes when applied will pull a small amount of the dye off on the wool when you apply it, this is normal.

[Jordan]

Thanks for the very good information I appreciate the help.

[bcurrier]

We dye belts with Feibings Oil Dye, not the alcohol based the oil based ...

As an FYI, the Oil dye is alcohol-based also. From Fiebing's website:

Professional Oil Dye

A new, improved version of our traditional leather dye. Professional Oil Dye is also an alcohol-based dye created specifically for natural strap leather, vegetable tanned leather and bag & case leather.

...

Bill

[BOOMSTICKHolsters]

I dunno if this will help any more than the other posts, but I use Bick 4 leather conditioner to prep the belt and Angelus 600 as a finish. I love that stuff. I have never had it crack. It is much more flexible than resolene in my experience. I think it is one of the best kept secrets in leather production (I only say this 'cause I haven't hear of anyone else eho uses it ).

[robert]

Jordan, i had the exact same situation as you... except it was for a paying customer, not my wife... very embarrassing. I was told then that the dye has alcohol in it... so between casing and tooling, and the alcohol based dye, the leather was dry. Now I put a very light coat of oil before dying. I havnt had any problem since.