Black Dye Rubbing Off

[JD50]

I don't do much black leather but I decided I wanted a black slim jim holster, belt and cap pouch. I made the cap pouch and dyed it black with Fiebings dye. It turned out great with a smooth finish with no black rubbing off. Then I cut out and tooled my holster. After it dried I lightly oiled it (outside only) with EVOO because it seemed a little too stiff. After the oil dried I dyed it black and after the dye had soaked in I buffed the excess off with sheep wool.. After a couple of days drying I was going to start sewing but when I picked it up I noticed it felt kinda tacky instead of slick and smooth. I started buffing it with sheep wool again and the black just won't stop coming off. It is getting less with more buffing but it still feels tacky.

I dyed a belt and cell phone case about a year ago with the same bottle of dye and of course the cap pouch recently and none of the other items have any black rubbing off. I didn't oil any of the other item before I dyed them so I'm wondering if the oil is the cause of my problem. I didn't oil the inside of the holster though and the black is coming off of the inside too.

I usually use British Tan or Tan and often lightly oil between tooling and dying and don't have any problem with other colors.

Any suggestions as to what happened or what I can do to fix it? I'm in the process of making some vinegaroon now so I won't be using black dye anymore but I need to figure out how to fix this mess!

JD

Edited February 22, 2012 by JD50

[Dwight]

One quick cure, . . . 50/50 mixture of Resolene and water, . . . brush on with a cheap bristle brush.

Let it dry for 24 hours.

Should end the dye coming out.

May God bless,

Dwight

[TexasJack]

This same issue comes up about once a week. Maybe there should be a comprehensive thread pinned so that people can just go to it.

My thought on your problem, JD, is that black dye is actually a suspension. By dying the leather after you oiled it, some of the particles are still suspended instead of being down in the leather.

'Course, there are folks on here with a million times more experience than me, so it won't surprise me if someone corrects my observation.

[ramrod]

three words JD: feibing's oil dye. use it and you won't have a probem.

[Rising Sun Leather Co]

I will have to agree with ramrod. I used the black oil dye for the first time two days ago on a belt i'm making for a customer. The belt is lined with veg tan, glued and stitched together. I then gave it a thorough neats foot oil bath and let it dry for about 12 hours or so. I then applied the fiebings black oil dye with a dauber to both sides of the belt. A single coat on each side is all that was needed and it went on very evenly. After three hours when I buffed out the belt, there was almost zero bleeding to my white cloth. A thin coating of satin sheen and no rub off at all.

The only other way, is to use multiple coats of super sheen. I have had very good results that way. The down side there is, everything is so damm shiny.

Hope this helps.

quote name='ramrod' timestamp='1330039097' post='235909']

three words JD: feibing's oil dye. use it and you won't have a probem.

[JD50]

One quick cure, . . . 50/50 mixture of Resolene and water, . . . brush on with a cheap bristle brush.

Let it dry for 24 hours.

Should end the dye coming out.

May God bless,

Dwight

Thanks Brother Dwight. The Resolene worked.

My vinegaroon is ready so I'll be using that from now on if I want something black.

Thanks to all who responded.

JD

[Chavez]

Same problem here.

I failed to make my first batch of 'roon in time so just used Fiebings oil dye. Finished the belt with leather balm and the crocking was absolutely dire. Stripped off the balm, put on some carnauba creme and now I hardly have any crocking at all. Just waiting for one of my shirts to come out of a wash to check that some of the dye that crocked can be washed off =)).

From what I read here black dye always crocks unless you seal it with resolene and I don't want ot do that yet=)

[craftsman827]

This same issue comes up about once a week. Maybe there should be a comprehensive thread pinned so that people can just go to it.

My thought on your problem, JD, is that black dye is actually a suspension. By dying the leather after you oiled it, some of the particles are still suspended instead of being down in the leather.

'Course, there are folks on here with a million times more experience than me, so it won't surprise me if someone corrects my observation.

[/quote

YES, I AGREE WE SHOULD HAVE A THREAD ABOUT DYE RUB OFF, & HOW TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM !!

IT ALSO HAPPENS WITH "RED" DYE, AS WELL AS BLACK...I'M IN THE PROCESS OFMAKING A DARK RED DOG HARNESS, & THE RED DYE WAS RUBBING OFF.

I BUFFED THE CRAP OUT OF THE DYED PIECES< & THEN USED FEIBINGS ACLILIC RESOLINE, LOOKS GOOD, & NO RUB OFF...

BUT A GOOD THREAD WOULD BE A GREAT IDEA

[Double U Leather]

I've been about to tear my hair out with black dye and rub off. I'd done alot of various items with initials, borders, etc. dyed black with no problem. At that time, I was using the aerosol Neat Lac that didn't require any wiping on. Then when Neat Lac became unavailable and I had to start using sheepskin to apply the LCI Clear Lac stuff, the problems began. I ruined more than one project that way. Then I thought I was getting impatient and not letting the dye dry long enough, so the latest project I let dry for 36 hours. Guess what....same result. Smeared black dye. Then I asked the question to a friend of mine who does alot of leatherwork what he thought. I believe I've now found the solution. I had been using Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Yesterday, I went to his shop and he lightly dipped a piece of leather in Neatsfoot Oil. Let it soak in about 2 minutes. Then applied black dye rather thick to a spot. Let that dry for about 2 minutes. Applied the Clear Lac and .....wait for it....NOTHING HAPPENED. No smear, no bleed, nothing. I think the secret is Neatsfoot versus Olive oil. I like the color the olive oil produces, but for things that need black dye I think I'll save the olive oil for salads. Just my 2 cents on the matter.