Dye Rubbing Off Belt

[SlowLeadBullets]

I am brand new to leather working, so please bear with me. I made a belt, dyed it, then asked the guy at the leather shop about finishing it. He said Aussie Wax. I have rubbed in several coats and am really pleased with the result. Problem is, the dye/wax rubs off on my clothes. I thought it would be temporary, but it is not really stopping.

Is there something I can put on over the wax to seal in the color, or remove the wax, seal and then reapply the wax? Suggestions? BTW, I have dyed and waxed both the inside and outside of the belt.

Thanks

Robin

[Dwight]

I have never used Aussie Wax, . . . so I cannot speak for the product good or bad.

I do know that if you finish a belt in Resolene, . . . a 50/50 Resolene/water mixture, . . . the dye has never leaked out of any of those I have done in the past 5 or 6 years.

Another product is BagKote, . . . and I believe the ratio there is 60/40, . . . 40 being the water portion. It keeps the dye in also.

Since that piece of leather is basically a waste of time and effort so far, . . . don't be too concerned about ruining it, . . . as it is right now it belongs in the round file.

A last shot, . . . if you don't like either of those ideas, . . . a 50/50 mixture of beeswax and neetsfoot oil (equal weights, not equal volume), . . . warmed together into a paste, . . . then applied like good old Kiwi shoe polish, . . . it has also done the same thing. My black cowboy belt is done with it, . . . never had any problems.

As a parting comment, . . . the most important thing you can do before you "finish" a belt, . . . take a wash cloth you do not ever want to use on your face again, . . . rub the belt (that was recently dyed) with it until the belt shines and there is not more residual pigment coming from the leather. That means front, . . . back, . . . and edges, . . . and if you don't work up a sweat and/or your heart kick up 20 or so beats a minute, . . . you don't have enough effort going into the project. Work it !!!

May God bless,

Dwight

[SlowLeadBullets]

Thanks Dwight,

I was hoping there was some way of salvaging the belt. I have around 40 hours invested in it. Question about the Resolene, do you coat the inside and outside with it? Is there any prep work for the inside?

Thanks

[Chavez]

Hi.

Is it a black belt by any chance? =)

Take some saddle soap and give it a good clean. Just soap up a wet sponge and rub the belt and you will see how the foam lifts up excess dye. Once its clean, any finish should do.

I don't have that much experience with leather yet, but the saddle soap wash and a lot of buffing after every stage (dye - buff - oil - buff - clean with saddlesoap - buff - oil - buff - finish - buff) leaves practically no dye bleed.

That's quite labour intensive but it worked for me (even with black dye). I wear a black (fiebing's pro oil) belt with white shirts to work and i get zero ruboff, even though its just finished with mink oil & carnauba, not even bag kote or acrylic stuff. Made a black belt for the mrs following the same technique and had no complaints so far.

I'd still recommend using an acrylic sealer for the edges though. And if you expect excessive exposure to moisture, seal with bag kote or in extreme cases - resolene.

PS Aussie lifts up a bit of dye and then the coloured wax bleeds the dye when you rub it off. As a rule of thumb, the stronger the sealer, the less crocking you get. Resolene seals it dead, but I just cannot get consistent results with it. Bag kote seems like a better sealer and I believe it doesn't seal your leather completely, letting it breathe. Aussie is alright, but it needs to be reapplied regularly and it darkens the leather a lot.

Edited July 7, 2012 by Chavez