Light Brown?

[Chief31794]

That is the color I normally get if I use Feibings Light Brown full strength, I normally cut it with denatured alcohol at 3:1, 4:1, or 5:1 depending on what tint I'm going for. You can find denatured alcohol anywhere they sell painting supplies. I get mine in the gallon can from Lowes, Home Depot and Walmart carry it as well. It comes in quart containers if you don't think you'll need a gallon. I mix lots of dyes with it.

Chief

[janaka]

That is the color I normally get if I use Feibings Light Brown full strength, I normally cut it with denatured alcohol at 3:1, 4:1, or 5:1 depending on what tint I'm going for. You can find denatured alcohol anywhere they sell painting supplies. I get mine in the gallon can from Lowes, Home Depot and Walmart carry it as well. It comes in quart containers if you don't think you'll need a gallon. I mix lots of dyes with it.

Chief

thanks Chief, i must stock up the denatured thing as i like dyeing a lot, thanks for the tips.

Denatured alcohol is found in your household paint isle. It's used as a thinner for lots of things. I even use Isopropyl in a bind. If that's spirit dye though, you should be using mineral spirits instead. I usually start with 50/50 and then go from there depending on the shade I want.

The bottle's can end up with different amounts of pigment, or the pigment that's there can settle over time. They'll all be fairly close, but it's good to run a test piece. But, when it's put on heavy it just builds up. If you look in the bottle and see the color of the dye, it's probably the same as what you're seeing on the leather. That's a good sign that it was put on really heavy.

oh, it's as dark as coffee in the bottle. i'll get some of the denatured thing tomorrow.

[Cyberthrasher]

oh, it's as dark as coffee in the bottle. i'll get some of the denatured thing tomorrow.

They're always darker in the bottle, which shows how saturated with dye the leather is. That's what I meant about comparing them. Grab a scrap piece and dip a paint brush in your dye then blot it off onto a piece of paper. NOW put it on your scrap leather and see how much lighter it is. That one step of blotting it on paper will help your brush dying a lot. I'm not saying the dye isn't too rich in pigment, because it definitely is (Fiebings is known for that), but it's a way to really help you get more control of the color coming off of your brush.

[janaka]

gee, i wrongly got a bottle of thinner instead of denatured alcohol, i even wrongly told the shopkeeper that i want "un-nature alcohol".. how silly i am. :head_hurts_kr: :head_hurts_kr:

[Cyberthrasher]

Ooops. I have several of those moments a day. Heck, who knows when you might need some thinner

If it helps, I usually see the denatured alcohol in a square can, even at walmart.

[humperdingle]

I was experimenting with a bottle of spirit-based 'Mid brown' Fiebing's today... Ended up putting half the small bottle into an almost full 500ml bottle of methylated spirits. The result is a much lighter, antique tan (that's how i'd describe it!)

So i've got 1/2 bottle Fiebings and a full 500ml of tan for an extra £2 ($3?)

[janaka]

Ooops. I have several of those moments a day. Heck, who knows when you might need some thinner

If it helps, I usually see the denatured alcohol in a square can, even at walmart.

no fear buddy, the shop owner changed for me, i had did what you guys taught me, tried on scraps until i get the tone i want, and i even got up to 9-1 mix. also i used rug as you suggested, the result is awesome, color is even too. thank you thank you thank you mate. :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

I was experimenting with a bottle of spirit-based 'Mid brown' Fiebing's today... Ended up putting half the small bottle into an almost full 500ml bottle of methylated spirits. The result is a much lighter, antique tan (that's how i'd describe it!)

So i've got 1/2 bottle Fiebings and a full 500ml of tan for an extra £2 ($3?)

perhaps the pigments of your bottle of fiebing's somehow ended up in mine.

[Cyberthrasher]

no fear buddy, the shop owner changed for me, i had did what you guys taught me, tried on scraps until i get the tone i want, and i even got up to 9-1 mix. also i used rug as you suggested, the result is awesome, color is even too.

COOL!!!

[janaka]

on the other hand, have anyone tried before using wood shellac onto leather? the paint shop owner told me someone did that, i'm eager to try.

[Cyberthrasher]

I've heard of people using different wood products. I would only try it on piece that's not going to see a lot of flex and movement - like a wall hanger or coaster or something.