Problem With Water Stains On Dyed Leather

[AndreasB]

Hi all,

I got another question for you guys. I usually dye my leather stuff with Fiebings oil dye in dark brown. Now when I wet the corners to burnish them the dye turns almost black. Also if I spill water during that process the leather turns black. Another time this happens if I try to wetform dyed leather.

Does anyone of you have some advice on how I can avoid this colour change. I usually put Sno Seal as a top coating on my stuff. This helps to prevent the colour change but then of course the leather doesn't absorb the water anymore and so I can't wetform it or burnish the edges nicely.

Thanks for your help.

Andreas

[katsass]

Hi all,

I got another question for you guys. I usually dye my leather stuff with Fiebings oil dye in dark brown. Now when I wet the corners to burnish them the dye turns almost black. Also if I spill water during that process the leather turns black. Another time this happens if I try to wetform dyed leather.

Does anyone of you have some advice on how I can avoid this colour change. I usually put Sno Seal as a top coating on my stuff. This helps to prevent the colour change but then of course the leather doesn't absorb the water anymore and so I can't wetform it or burnish the edges nicely.

Thanks for your help.

Andreas

Sounds like you are using too much water for burnishing. Just a damp sponge will apply enough moisture. As for the dye darkening when wet molding -- it does, but returns to it's normal color when dry. I dye all of my leather after cutting the pattern -- allow to dry for 24 hours, then assemble. Prior to the final burnish of edges I wet mold, and again allow to fully dry. I then dampen the edge with a damp sponge and apply a bit of glycerin soap applied with a damp finger, burnish, polish and apply a finish. I have used Fiebing's dyes only for around 50 years, and have never seen the problem.. You might try and dilute the dye 50/50 with denatured alcohol -- most folks I know thin the stuff down A couple of burnished edges and a couple of wet molded holsters Mike

Edited June 22, 2012 by katsass

[AndreasB]

Hi catsass,

thanks for the advice. It seems like I'm using too much water to burnish the edges. Next time I'll try less.

What I figured out is that if I don't wait long enough after dying the water changes the color more. But even if I wait 24 hours it still changes the color and doesn't go back to its original color. There's only a slight difference but it's still there. The problem here is that I only want to wetform part of my project and then it's quite obvious to see the difference. Maybe I would have to apply the moisture to the whole project in order to get an even color.

That's some nice leatherwork you posted here. I'm far away from such perfection but I'm trying to improve my work.

I've read that some people wet the leather or apply oil to it before dying. In my projects I recognized that if parts of the leather are still damp the color after dying is different to the dry areas. Is this something you would recommend and if so how much moisture should I apply?

[katsass]

Hi catsass,

thanks for the advice. It seems like I'm using too much water to burnish the edges. Next time I'll try less.

What I figured out is that if I don't wait long enough after dying the water changes the color more. But even if I wait 24 hours it still changes the color and doesn't go back to its original color. There's only a slight difference but it's still there. The problem here is that I only want to wetform part of my project and then it's quite obvious to see the difference. Maybe I would have to apply the moisture to the whole project in order to get an even color.

That's some nice leatherwork you posted here. I'm far away from such perfection but I'm trying to improve my work.

I've read that some people wet the leather or apply oil to it before dying. In my projects I recognized that if parts of the leather are still damp the color after dying is different to the dry areas. Is this something you would recommend and if so how much moisture should I apply?

Frankly, that's something I don't understand when using Fiebing's dyes. They are all alcohol (or spirit) dyes -- even the Pro Oil dyes (which I use a lot of). To add water prior to dyeing just doesn't make sense to me. I do (once in a while) apply oil and immediately shoot my stuff with the dye to get a smoother transition when doing something along these lines -- sort of a 'sunburst' effect. I've heard of the water thing, but since water and Fiebing's dyes don't mix well, I've never tried it. I certainly don't think that water would assist in penetration of the dye. Mike

P.S. Drying time on solvent based dyes takes longer than most folks realize. I live in the desert area of California, and I let my stuff sit a full 24 hours -- in temperatures that have been in the100 degree (F) range, and a humidity of 5 to 10%. In a more moist and cooler climate it may take longer for stuff to dry, especially for leather to dry out as much as possible.

Edited June 23, 2012 by katsass

[AndreasB]

I just burnished my newest project. Since I was gone on a business trip the past two days the dye had enough time to try. I also used much less water. Now it looks really good and the dye color didn't change.

Thanks again for your help.

[katsass]

I just burnished my newest project. Since I was gone on a business trip the past two days the dye had enough time to try. I also used much less water. Now it looks really good and the dye color didn't change.

Thanks again for your help.

From the grumjp: One thing that finally came to light after re-reading your post is that you wish to only wet mold a portion of your project. Even if the molding is to be done in only one portion, all of the attached pieces of leather generally need to be evenly moistened, or the possibility of a waterstain can appear. Mike

Edited July 1, 2012 by katsass