Staining Holsters.

[cowboy bowhunter]

Do you stain the inside of the holster too? Or do you worry about it bleeding to your gun. Im not using the best leather now and learning but here is my first 1911 holster. I started leather work 1.5 weeks ago.

[UberSquid]

I stain the inside of my holsters and then seal them when I seal the outside. I've never had any issues with stain coming off on the gun. The flesh side of the leather really soaks up the stain so I doubt that you will have that issue even if you don't seal it but I may be wrong on that one...

[katsass]

Do you stain the inside of the holster too? Or do you worry about it bleeding to your gun. Im not using the best leather now and learning but here is my first 1911 holster. I started leather work 1.5 weeks ago.

From the grump, Unless the thing were to be black (back when I made single thickness holsters) I'd leave the flesh side (inside) natural, but case it and burnish it smooth. After assembly, I'd hit it with a shot of neatsfoot oil and let 'er go. Now I make most holsters from a double layer of 4-5oz, bonded and stitched together. That gives me a lined holster that, after wet molding becomes much more firm that a single thickness of similar weight (8-10oz) leather. But even then, I leave the inside natural - with a shot of neatsfoot oil. Mike

Edited July 25, 2012 by katsass

[particle]

Personally, I only dye the interior on black holsters. Every other color I offer gets left natural on the interior. I just like it that way.

[cowboy bowhunter]

Personally, I only dye the interior on black holsters. Every other color I offer gets left natural on the interior. I just like it that way.

What do you do if you get some dye on the inside?

[particle]

I airbrush my pieces, and I always try to hold the pieces in such a way that my thumb makes contact on the edge, and my index and other fingers only touch the flesh where I know I'll be applying glue. That being said, accidents obviously do happen and I sometimes get dye on the exposed areas. If it's in an area inside the holster that will be difficult to see, I'll leave it. If it's on the sweat shield, I'll try to sand it off with a bit of 200 grit sandpaper - this usually works if it was just a smudge. If it's a full-on, nasty drip of dye that penetrated the grain pretty deep, I'll just go ahead and dye the grain (with my airbrush so I wastes less dye). That's probably only happened twice in around 300 orders.

[renegadelizard]

I usually dye the inside...no issues of it bleeding out...i seal my isides with gum trag and/or 50/50 mop and glow and water...

[particle]

renegadelizard - how well does that gum trag work for you as a sealer? Have you ever tried wetting an area you sealed that way? Did it repel water? I only ask because I gum the interior of all my holsters, and then follow it up with a 50/50 heavy coat of water/acrylic sealer and it has no trouble at all absorbing into the leather... I'd advise always following up that gum trag with a proper sealer coat.

[renegadelizard]

renegadelizard - how well does that gum trag work for you as a sealer? Have you ever tried wetting an area you sealed that way? Did it repel water? I only ask because I gum the interior of all my holsters, and then follow it up with a 50/50 heavy coat of water/acrylic sealer and it has no trouble at all absorbing into the leather... I'd advise always following up that gum trag with a proper sealer coat.

Hey Particle,

I do seal it up after i gum it..i started gummimng it after i had a mishap with gum trag and edging..i got sloppy with the gum trag and later when i tried to dye the piece, the dyd wouldnt take..so i figured i would use up the rest of my gum trag just doing the interioirs, it lays any nap down pretty good, but i doubt ill buy more...i still mop and glo after it dries unless i vinegaroon the piece, the groon makes it almost completely waterproof...Im still working on airbrushing...i cant seem to get the spray atomized enough..what airbrush are you using?

[particle]

Sorry about that - I misinterpreted your previous post, thinking you use gum trag OR 50/50 mop & glow. Don't give up on the gum trag - just use it after you dye your pieces. I use it at the very end, right before I apply my final sealer. For my airbrush, I'm using an old Badger 150. You should be able to spray anything thinner than milk just fine - is your airbrush just spitting the liquid out, or not spraying with a very heavy flow? I have to tear mine apart completely every now and then and dig around inside to pull out the gummed up dye and acrylic residue. Gets clogged up after maybe 20-30 uses.

[renegadelizard]

Sorry about that - I misinterpreted your previous post, thinking you use gum trag OR 50/50 mop & glow. Don't give up on the gum trag - just use it after you dye your pieces. I use it at the very end, right before I apply my final sealer. For my airbrush, I'm using an old Badger 150. You should be able to spray anything thinner than milk just fine - is your airbrush just spitting the liquid out, or not spraying with a very heavy flow? I have to tear mine apart completely every now and then and dig around inside to pull out the gummed up dye and acrylic residue. Gets clogged up after maybe 20-30 uses.

Mine just kind of spits..it will fan fine for a minute or two, then it will spit a little, then go back to fanning...i need to spend some quality time playing with it, but there are only so many hours in a day...but it was a harbor frieght special, so i think im gonna save up my play time till i get a better one...