chevvy64 Report post Posted January 9, 2013 Hey all, hoping someone can advise me as to what this is? I have made a belt for a friend today, they only wanted a line border on and nothing more. I competed as requested and then dyed the belt black as they had asked. I noticed that what had looked like a clean hide, apart from having a lot of fat scaring, looked a bit pock marked and rougher after applying the dye; however I left it to dry and figured I would take a look when the belt was dry. It was left overnight and on inspection the next morning, is covered in patches of a white shiny, powdery (reflects like tiny crystals?) substance. Does anyone have any idea what this is? I have wiped it off, but I have no idea if it will return, or will be detrimental to the leather in anyway over time? Have dyed another strip to see if the same would happen and it has; it's currently drying but I can see the same substance starting to come through as it dries. Possibly it's activated, or whatever, after casing the leather, as I can see no evidence of any residue on the shoulder before wetting. Many Thanks Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WinterBear Report post Posted January 10, 2013 (edited) Maybe you have a case of leather spew? It's when fats (or waxes) migrate out of the leather, and if your hide has a lot of fat marks, it may have a lot of fat still in the flesh. http://leatherworker...showtopic=37192 http://leatherworker...showtopic=38118 Edited January 10, 2013 by WinterBear Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chevvy64 Report post Posted January 10, 2013 Hey WinterBear and thanks, I saw that when I was searching for an answer. Only thing I wondered about was the sparkly crystal type shine to the powdery look, would tht be fats and is detrimental at all in the long term? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Northmount Report post Posted January 10, 2013 Warm them with a hair dryer to see what they do. If it is fat, will tend to melt as it gets warm. Tom Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chevvy64 Report post Posted January 10, 2013 Ooo thanks North I never thought of that, great idea Should narrow it down at least eh Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WinterBear Report post Posted January 10, 2013 Hey WinterBear and thanks, I saw that when I was searching for an answer. Only thing I wondered about was the sparkly crystal type shine to the powdery look, would tht be fats and is detrimental at all in the long term? I'm afraid I don't know about the sparkly, unless it is bringing up salts or some of the tannins with the fat, or I guess it could be the fat itself--I forgot that coco butter can crystallize into sparkly spots, so maybe leather fat can too. I've never worked with waxed or stuffed leather, or horse hide (which are types that commonly develop spew, I guess), so I've personally never encountered spew. I don't think it is detrimental though. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chevvy64 Report post Posted January 10, 2013 Not had a chance to do try the hairdryer test yet as been out most of the day so I will do that tomorrow. It was bought as veg tanned tooling as I usually do so it's something I haven't seen before, I shall let you know how it goes Thanks for the input, appreciated Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GlenH Report post Posted January 12, 2013 if you used USMC Black, then it's probably just the dye not penetrating completely. Check out Springfield Leather's video on dying things black on Youtube. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
