Marbled Finish From Dye

[steelhawk]

I made a holster and mag pouch and had a problem with the brown dye I applied first, so I applied a different brown dye as a second coat. Fiebings tan (alcohol) and fiebings light brown (oil). The end result was a marbled finish. I didn't like it, so I made the customer another one. My wife, however, thought it was cool, so I finished the holster and posted a pic on my page. The next day a guy bought it for his wife. She thought it was cool.

I don't know how I did it, and am unable to reproduce it. Now another customer wants one marbled just like it. The picture posted below. Any ideas?

Edited August 2, 2012 by steelhawk

[TwinOaks]

That is caused by incomplete absorption of the dye by the leather, which can be caused by a few things - first is the leather itself. Fat marks, stretch marks, and sometimes just the quality of the leather can cause that. Second is any 'contaminates' on the surface of the leather such as oils, dirt, and grease which act like a resist.

As to how to do it intentionally, and in such a naturally random pattern......I'd say just repeat the process with leather cut from the same hide, using the same method. You can also try daubing on 'spots' of the darker then applying the lighter color over it.

[electrathon]

That looks way better than solid brown. I like it.

[mlapaglia]

Try this it worked for me and looked the same just a little lighter. Thanks. Miix Eco flo dye and stain, 1 part eco-flo Hi-Lite color stain briar brown #2650-03 and 1 part eco-flo dk coco brown leather dye #2650-01. I mixed 1 tablespoon of each one in a 1.5 oz plastic bottle. It separates so keep it well shaken. It tends to streak so I worked in small sections and was careful not to overlap much with the previous section. Once you get the feel for it its not hard but if you go back over a small section that part may be lighter than the rest. When I had to redo the breach I actually did the top of the slide ending on an obvious site line so any difference was hidden be the curve of the molding.