Does Anyone Know Why My Finish Is Removing My Dye?

[Natalie O]

Hey guys,

I am kind of new at leather crafting. I have been making quivers mostly wich didnt require any tooling but i decided to start some new projects. I bought books, stamps, tools, dyes and everything that seemed to be needed. I tooled my leather, cleaned it to remove any wax or oil, and then when it dried i proceeded with the colouring. I used a water based dye (eco flo). I let it dry, i buffed it and then i applied the finish. I used a super shene....and it was a disaster! I only wanted one part of the project to be dyed and the rest to remain in its natural colour. I took a cloth, put some of the product on it and started working it on the leather. The dye came off the coloured parts and just spreaded on the rest of the project which now looks so bad i ll have to throw it away. Any ideas about why this happened???

Please!!

Thank you!

[DoubleC]

I can think of a couple of things that MIGHT have happened. I would have cleaned it before tooling instead of after and made sure whatever you cleaned it with was removed completely. Did you let the stain dry overnight? A picture would help...Also I use resolene so I don't know how super sheen works with these things. I would really like to see a picture. Cheryl

[ReneeCanady]

I just started leather working in December of last year and had this happen to me also. I was soooo ready to just throw in the towel. I am a newb still but this seemed to work for me. The step right before dyeing for me is to use a coat of neatsfoot oil on the project, let it dry completely, and then dye it.

[Natalie O]

I can think of a couple of things that MIGHT have happened. I would have cleaned it before tooling instead of after and made sure whatever you cleaned it with was removed completely. Did you let the stain dry overnight? A picture would help...Also I use resolene so I don't know how super sheen works with these things. I would really like to see a picture. Cheryl

Hello and thanks for your reply,

I ll try to upload a picture of it later (although the outcome makes me very NOT proud to show it in public )

Well, i cleaned it with alcohol (someone told me its good to use it, i dont know if its right???). and basically that kind of dries instantly. As for the tooling....the dye that came off was actually frost a part that wasnt tooled at all! I left it dry but not over night. Maybe it needed more time, i dont know. And also another thing that happened with this product is that it says that if you use 2 layers of it , it can be used as a resist finish. i was trying to work my way around the patern but the dye just didnt look consistant (using a small brush to do the details) so i put 2 layers of the product, let it dry, and thought that i could then just work the dye on the patern, having the patern to remain in its original colour and the rest of it to get dyed evenly.....The patern changed colour too.

I know there are special products for that but it said on the bottle it could do the same thing. Any ideas about that?

Thanks

[Natalie O]

I just started leather working in December of last year and had this happen to me also. I was soooo ready to just throw in the towel. I am a newb still but this seemed to work for me. The step right before dyeing for me is to use a coat of neatsfoot oil on the project, let it dry completely, and then dye it.

Hello. I guess i could try that, but using oil would still make it ok for me to work with water based dye?

Thanks

[Chief31794]

Hey guys,

I am kind of new at leather crafting. I have been making quivers mostly wich didnt require any tooling but i decided to start some new projects. I bought books, stamps, tools, dyes and everything that seemed to be needed. I tooled my leather, cleaned it to remove any wax or oil, and then when it dried i proceeded with the colouring. I used a water based dye (eco flo). I let it dry, i buffed it and then i applied the finish. I used a super shene....and it was a disaster! I only wanted one part of the project to be dyed and the rest to remain in its natural colour. I took a cloth, put some of the product on it and started working it on the leather. The dye came off the coloured parts and just spreaded on the rest of the project which now looks so bad i ll have to throw it away. Any ideas about why this happened???

Please!!

Thank you!

Natalie,

Sorry you're having trouble, dyes are wonderfully mysterious things. There will always be some "rub off" when rubbing dyes whether they are spirit based or water based. The best way to approach a project where you want to keep part of the leather natural and part dyed is to protect the natural area. If I were going to do this I would use Neat Lac, thin it to about 2:1 2 parts neat lac and 1 part thinner. Dye the areas, let dry for at least 8 hours (normally you would buff the piece after that to remove any rub off, you can't do that or it will bleed onto the natural areas that are adjacent. Apply the prepared neat lac (preferrably with an air brush if no air brush is available then with a very soft brush), if you use a brush, paint the neat lac onto the natural areas only and let dry for at least 8 hours, then apply Clear Lac to the entire piece at full strenght, the first coat on the natural areas will resist and dye transfer.

Oiling is done to restore natural oils that are lost during the dying process, this is more important with spirit based dyes, but it never hurts to oil before dying, very light coat, before dying. I think this can be done with supersheen but I don't trust it, and not many people do, it's a fine product for some applications, it just doesn't measure up to some of the better products on the market, Clear Lac (used to be called Neat Lac) is the best finish on the market in my opinion, some folks use homemade finishes (glocoat/water), I've never tried them, but I know that Clear Lac works. It's available from Springfield Leather Company and some of our other sponsors as well.

Hope this helps, maybe some other folks will chime in with other ideas.

Chief

[David8386]

Neatsfoot oil in a very light coat helps replace the oils lost in tooling and cleaning. I use old cotton socks and put a couple of drops on it and rub it on the leather. The key word being light coats. Let it dry completely before dying. Do it a couple of times and you will get the feel of how much you want to put on.

David

[Wishful]

I use the spray finish so I dont have to "touch" it.

[abn]

Natalie, you're receiving good advice above. I've used Super Shene and Eco-Flo for years. As Chief said, all dyes will have some rub-off, so the trick that Wishful posted is probably the best bet -- use a spray-type finish so you don't have to rub the surface.

Also, as someone who has ruined good projects on a regular basis, be sure to test all new dyes, finishes, processes or techniques on scrap first! That helps avoid the pain of throwing away an item with hours of work invested.

Good luck!

[Natalie O]

Thank you all for your advice!!! It has been really helpful.

I was so frustrated. I had spent hours making that project and now it looks like something a kinder garden student made.I surely will start testing everything before i use it.

And now i got more things i have to buy. Is everyone here from the US? I live very far from that, and cant get nearly anything here. I'm afraid leather crafting is not that popular in my country. I get most of my things from amazon. If i don't find the Clear Lac whats the next best thing?