Vinegaroon Process

[renegadelizard]

Hey All...im starting to feel like a 6 year old..you know, you try to learn something and you hear all sorts of different opinions then eventually you think you have and proudly tell the teacher that William Tell discovered America after he escaped the African Penal Colony, and that if it weren't for Pocohontas he would have been eaten by the Pygmies on the Plains of Apache. So, I seriously need some guidance here guys. Here is kind of what I'm thinking...

Option A: stitch and wet form holster, stick in oven on 170 (lowest mine goes) for about 10-12 minutes, let dry overnight. Dunk in Vinegaroon, then baking soda, then in clean water, re insert gun, and let dry again....(will redunking in all of these thing ruin my first molding?)

Option B; Stitch and dunk in vinegaroon, backing soda, clean water, then wet form, bake and let dry....

How about edging...do i do the hard to reach places before I stitch?...and will vinegaroon color it after it has been edged with gum trag?

Any help from you guys would be great...im bald and trying to find hair to pull out...

[chiefjason]

OK, I'll give a few of these a shot with my meager experience. And hopefully someone will be along to expound on my woefully lacking answers.

Option A- I have done one holster and one mag holder this way. I have noticed no ill effects on the molding. I brush my groon on, then dunk in baking soda mix, then rinse. Then I pat dry and start burnishing the edges.

Option B- Wet form and edge while still wet from grooning is the best bet, don't let it dry first. I let one dry about 48 hours and could barely wet the leather to mold it. I have not personally tried grooning then molding but it was recommended to me here.

Grooning over a finished edge is a mixed bag. Sometimes it takes, and sometimes it does not. I no longer edge first. I groon first so that I have good color. I have had a few edges not take the color well when they were burnished before grooning. If I think it will be nearly impossible to get to, I may chance edging first.

As with anything, you'll probably need some trial and error of your own to flesh these out. Good luck.

[mlapaglia]

Option A: stitch and wet form holster, stick in oven on 170 (lowest mine goes) for about 10-12 minutes, let dry overnight. Dunk in Vinegaroon, then baking soda, then in clean water, re insert gun, and let dry again....(will redunking in all of these thing ruin my first molding?)

Option B; Stitch and dunk in vinegaroon, backing soda, clean water, then wet form, bake and let dry....

Either option will work. Its what you decide you like better. I do "B" but I dont dunk it I in the vinegaroon I use a dauber and "paint" it on. Then the same for the baking soda after about 5 minutes and finally a QUICK rinse in water. Bake it for 25-30 minutes. (if your over does not go low enough put in an oven thermometer and cycle the heat on manually.)

How about edging...do i do the hard to reach places before I stitch?...and will vinegaroon color it after it has been edged with gum trag?

Yes always edge as much as you can before assembly. Its much easier. Gum Trag will not take vinegaroon so I use USMC black and pain my edges after I have then burnished with the gum trag.

Hope that helps.

Remember there are probably 10 ways to do these steps. Find what works for you and do that.

[renegadelizard]

Thanks for the replies guys....i think I'm gonna try option b first and hopefully it will come out okay....my main concern is the leather coming out stiff enough for good retention...

[malabar]

I am not the most experienced leatherworker on this forum by a long shot, but I have made several dozen holsters and belts wit the vinegaroon method (I do most of mine today with drum-dyed Herman Oak). Here's the method that has worked best for me......

For holsters:

Cut your parts, stitch your seams, mold the gun. While it's wet, stamp your mark and cut your edges round.

Bake in the oven. Let dry overnight.

Dip in vinegaroon. Wait until it darkens up (this can take several minutes). Now brush with baking soda solution.

Let dry for 24 hours. Buff, apply diluted resolene. Let dry. Buff. Apply second coat of resolene.

If you do the roon right, it make the leather almost waterproof. So if you roon first, then try to mold, you can have problems.

tk

[chiefjason]

FYI, I bought a cheap toilet seat seal the other day to experiment with for my wax. It's mostly beeswax I believe. I found it to be too soft, and paraffin to be too hard. I had read a tip on here previously, Lobo gunleather IIRC, about cutting them 50/50. So I weighed out similar amounts of wax from the seal and from the block of paraffin. I melted them together and used plastic wrap and an old egg carton as my mold. I used 2 oz each and got 6 or so small blocks of wax. This stuff works better than anything I have used so far on the grooned leather. I partially burnish the edges with it while it is still wet. Then after it dries I go back and burnish again. This stuff smooths the edge right up. Previously I had real problems getting the grooned leather to burnish well.

As far as retention with grooning it after molding. I saw no loss of retention. But I did not dip in groon, I brushed it on. I did dip in baking soda and rinse with water. Like I said, try each and see what works best. I still need to try the groon and mold at the same time process myself. I may end up liking it better.