Dying

[jlee]

I have been doing leather work for years, mostly all stitiching and making bags or cases or equestrian equipment just for fun. Recently i have been playing around with stamping and coloring leather. I am mostly making dog collars for practice. I recently had a request for different colored collars, red, green and blue. I bought some fiebing dye. When i put it on (with a dauber) i am having trouble getting the color uniform. i dye it and there is light spot so i go back over the light spot and then the area around the edges gets darker. I dyed one green color and by the time i finished it looked black because i had kept filling in the light spots. If anyone can give me some technique advice i would really appreciate it! thanks.

[pete]

I have been doing leather work for years, mostly all stitiching and making bags or cases or equestrian equipment just for fun. Recently i have been playing around with stamping and coloring leather. I am mostly making dog collars for practice. I recently had a request for different colored collars, red, green and blue. I bought some fiebing dye. When i put it on (with a dauber) i am having trouble getting the color uniform. i dye it and there is light spot so i go back over the light spot and then the area around the edges gets darker. I dyed one green color and by the time i finished it looked black because i had kept filling in the light spots. If anyone can give me some technique advice i would really appreciate it! thanks.

try cleaning with iso alcohol first- let it evaporate,and apply with a lightly dampened sponge so there is no initial GLOB of dye, or try several 50/50 diluted coats. I dilute with alochol.

pete

[jlee]

thanks petel, I will try that right away.

try cleaning with iso alcohol first- let it evaporate,and apply with a lightly dampened sponge so there is no initial GLOB of dye, or try several 50/50 diluted coats. I dilute with alochol.

pete

[DoubleC]

Last one I used green and blue on came lout looking tie dyed so i went with it. I've not tried diluting them even though i dilute my 'browns' all the time. Light coats, great idea. Cheryl

[Anacott Steel]

Jlee, grab a shallow pan not much bigger than the project, put a thin layer of dye in it and dip the project in it. You will get an even color. Drain off any excess dye left in the pan back into the bottle.

Alternatively air brushing will get you a consistent color as well.

Lastly, lately I have been putting a coat of neatsfooot on before I die and it really seems to give a richer color.

Both methods work for me, FWIW.

[SooperJake]

Airbrushing is the most uniform coverage method I've used yet for applying dye . Fiebing's alcohol based dye is practically dry on contact. On areas where the dye absorbs a little more ( or less) the airbrush can be set to barely fog on additional dye. Well worth the investment. It can be used to even out a blotchy dauber job too.

And the airbrush can be used for tons of other projects around the house. Ever have to paint close around a window? Run Chapstick on the glass perimeter and paint the muttons or window frame with the airbrush, for example. Scrape the Chapstick and paint off with a flat razor. You'll never tape off a window again.

Jake

[jlee]

Airbrushing is the most uniform coverage method I've used yet for applying dye . Fiebing's alcohol based dye is practically dry on contact. On areas where the dye absorbs a little more ( or less) the airbrush can be set to barely fog on additional dye. Well worth the investment. It can be used to even out a blotchy dauber job too.

And the airbrush can be used for tons of other projects around the house. Ever have to paint close around a window? Run Chapstick on the glass perimeter and paint the muttons or window frame with the airbrush, for example. Scrape the Chapstick and paint off with a flat razor. You'll never tape off a window again.

Jake

Jake,

Is there a particular make of airbrush you would recommend?

I have been doing leather work for years, mostly all stitiching and making bags or cases or equestrian equipment just for fun. Recently i have been playing around with stamping and coloring leather. I am mostly making dog collars for practice. I recently had a request for different colored collars, red, green and blue. I bought some fiebing dye. When i put it on (with a dauber) i am having trouble getting the color uniform. i dye it and there is light spot so i go back over the light spot and then the area around the edges gets darker. I dyed one green color and by the time i finished it looked black because i had kept filling in the light spots. If anyone can give me some technique advice i would really appreciate it! thanks.

Thanks for all the great ideas everybody!

[SooperJake]

Jake,

Is there a particular make of airbrush you would recommend?

Not so much a particular make, as a particular style. When I purchase another airbrush, specifically for leather work, it will be a bottom fed unit with a decent sized jar, and a couple extra jars with lids. That way you only have to clean the gun and you can fill and cap different colors of dye.

I currently have an Aztec, which is a side fed gun.

It has a duel function trigger. its greatest drawback is the capacity of the largest jar is pretty small.

Next I'll buy Iwata #4236. It is much more expensive. I think some folks have had good luck with the type sold at Harbor Freight, but I'm inclined to avoid these.

Someone else may be able to comment on another type/brand. Many of the holster makers in this forum are using them for dying and finishing.

Jake

Edited August 16, 2012 by SooperJake