Old Dogs And New Tricks

[WillGhormley]

I'm a stickler for the "Old School" and I mean real old. So, it was difficult for me to try anything new. However, I finally had a project that I could use the Eco Flo Professional Waterstain on, (a modern paddle holster). I was particularly interested in the Eco Flo because I had heard it was pretty water-fast. When you are carrying things so close to your person, (shirts especially), you hate to have dye bleeding off on the clothes when wet or sweaty. So, I tried the Eco Flo Waterstain and was very impressed. I took photos and made a webpage for how I used it. If you are interested in my experience with it, visit the link:

http://www.willghormley-maker.com/OldDogsAndNewTricks.html

Hope this helps,

Will

[Sylvia]

I'm a stickler for the "Old School" and I mean real old. So, it was difficult for me to try anything new. However, I finally had a project that I could use the Eco Flo Professional Waterstain on, (a modern paddle holster). I was particularly interested in the Eco Flo because I had heard it was pretty water-fast. When you are carrying things so close to your person, (shirts especially), you hate to have dye bleeding off on the clothes when wet or sweaty. So, I tried the Eco Flo Waterstain and was very impressed. I took photos and made a webpage for how I used it. If you are interested in my experience with it, visit the link:

http://www.willghorm...dNewTricks.html

Hope this helps,

Will

LOL "Since I"m Scotch.... " Golly, didn't know there was a liquor breed of human beings!?!

Nice tutorial. I liked that... and the fact that the Scottish in you came out and made you frugal. LOL

[electrathon]

Will,

Did you do any testing with abrasion? I tried the waterstain and it did look OK on the leather. I did a similar piece in Fiebings dye. I rubbed both pieces on the concrete to simulate rubbing on something, the surface was slightly rubbed off on both pieces. The waterstain piece had no color left at the wear area. The dye piece had no missing color, just the damage to the leather. Sort of soured me from trusting the durability of the waterstain.

Aaron

[Spinner]

Will,

Did you do any testing with abrasion? I tried the waterstain and it did look OK on the leather. I did a similar piece in Fiebings dye. I rubbed both pieces on the concrete to simulate rubbing on something, the surface was slightly rubbed off on both pieces. The waterstain piece had no color left at the wear area. The dye piece had no missing color, just the damage to the leather. Sort of soured me from trusting the durability of the waterstain.

Aaron

Hey Aaron,

I figured out something that works very nicely if you're looking for the deep solid color of waterstains with the abrasion durability of oil dye...use both!

When the waterstains first can out I started playing with them to see if I could get the dark jet black color on my tank bibs. Once it's sealed with Resolene or Super Sheen the black is straight out of the depths of hell black, pitch black, 2 minutes after midnight black...you get the idea, but I had the same issues you found...zippers, etc can abrade the tank bib leaving natural color wear marks.

Here;s what I do now and it worked out great with some of the bikes being on the road through winter snow, rain, etc. for 6+ months:

2 heavy coats of Pro Oil dye (base color) let dry

1 good application of neatsfoot oil let sit overnight

1 good coat of black waterstain rubbed on with a soft sponge, let dry for at least an hour or more

buff the surface to get a dull sheen with a polishing cloth apply two coats of acrylic finish letting dry in between (I spray mine on)

let dry overnight to make sure it hardens/dries completely

apply Pecard's black leather dressing & buff to desired shine.

Cheers,

Chris

Here's an example of a bib finished this way:

Here's one with oil dye only (4 applications, hand rubbed in):

[WillGhormley]

Wow Spinner! Nice. Been a long time since I did custom leather on a bike. I had forgotten how nice it looked!

Hey Electrathon, No, I hadn't done any abrasion tests. I was too focused on the color fastness of the project. However, I do remember Byron telling me I needed to put on multiple layers of the conditioner in thin coats to protect the finish. I think you are probably right about the relative nature of the surface application. Easy, fast, colorfast, not so deep. Makes sense. But, Spinner seems to be on to something with the oil dye undercoat. You get the best of both worlds with that application. Genius!

I'll have to try that on another project. However, one of the things I do is the distressed look. I can see some real applications for some cool effects. I'll have to play around with it a bit more...past the color-fastness issue. Maybe a saddle tan undercoat with Black Waterstain overcoat for that "Hollywood" distressed look. We'll see...

Excellent point!

Will

[WillGhormley]

I got to wunderin' if the Waterstain wouldn't penetrate deeper into the leather if the leather was damp when the Waterstain was applied. I'll have to do some tests on that.

Will

[Luke Hatley]

Nice write up Thank you.

What is your thoughts on the Waterstain Edgecoat as compaired to Fiebings Edgecoat?

[WillGhormley]

Hey Luke,

The vast, vast majority of the work I've done has been reproduction old west gear. My edge treatments have been pretty much limited to organic bee's wax and Gum Tragacanth. Neither one really cover the actual leather, just burnish it down. I have used Fiebing's, but I didn't like the look on my old west gear, so my experience is limited. However, I liked the way the Waterstain edger went on. But, I don't have a whole lot of experience with that either.

Not much help I'm afraid.

Will

[WillGhormley]

OK, I tried another test with the Waterstain, applying it to dampened leather to see if I could get better color penetration and abrasion resistance. The answer is "Yes!". To see the results of that test, visit the same webpage as before:

http://www.willghormley-maker.com/OldDogsAndNewTricks.html

However, this test got me to thinkin' there are better results to be had with the Waterstain. So, I guess I'm goin' to have to do at least one more test.

Will

[randypants]

Will,

Did you do any testing with abrasion? I tried the waterstain and it did look OK on the leather. I did a similar piece in Fiebings dye. I rubbed both pieces on the concrete to simulate rubbing on something, the surface was slightly rubbed off on both pieces. The waterstain piece had no color left at the wear area. The dye piece had no missing color, just the damage to the leather. Sort of soured me from trusting the durability of the waterstain.

Aaron

i heard a rumor(maybe just someone trying to push their water based stains and dyes on me) that the EPA is working on banning spirit based dyes. anyone heard any truth to this?