Black Turned White

[rundogdave]

I believe I've seen a topic about this, but I can't seem to find it. I dip dyed a holster, my first original, in Tandy's professional black water stain. I t has been drying for about 3 hours now, and it has what looks like a white frost covering. It was in the stain for about 30 seconds. I put the dye in a 1 gallon zip lock bag, then dropped the holster in, and sloshed it around until I was sure it had all been covered. Removed it from the stain, wiped of the excess, and set it aside to dry. Now the white covering. Doesn't seem to wipe/rub off, and can't scrape it off with my finger nail. What did I do wrong?

[Dwight]

I don't know, . . . but I'm posting on this thread so I can get the answer too.

I just invested in some of this product, . . . may have to re-consider it.

May God bless,

Dwight

[Cyberthrasher]

I don't use the water stain, but that problem is common with Pro Oil black as well. Usually I'm able to get rid of it by applying neatsfoot oil after the dye.

[TomG]

That stuff contains some waxes and I suspect that may be what's showing up. The video on how to apply shows you rubbing it in until almost dry, it seems.

I've used the Tan and Bordeaux but I apply with a sponge. Haven't tried to dip dye it.

Since it's water-based, try taking a damp rag and rubbing a small spot and see if it comes off. If not, try some more of the dye on a damp sponge and run a small section with it and see if that takes it off.

I'm going to dip a small piece of veg-tan scrap and see if my colors do that.

Let us know if it works.

[TomG]

Dipped both and dried just fine. No white residue.

Tom

[Northmount]

If the white stuff happens to be wax ... You can test for wax by warming it up some. If it melts easily, it's wax. Can probably rub it with your fingers to work it into the leather, or buff off the excess. There was another thread a few months ago about wax forming on the surface after doing some finishing work. Try a search for it.

Tom

[TomG]

Removed it from the stain, wiped of the excess, and set it aside to dry. Now the white covering. Doesn't seem to wipe/rub off, and can't scrape it off with my finger nail. What did I do wrong?

Did you fix the white issue?

[rundogdave]

I'm out of town until tomorrow evening. I'll try the suggestions, then get back to you. I did read on Tandy's web site that the stain is made of different waxes, so that may very well be the problem.

[rundogdave]

Haven't forgotten. Computer problems. Doing this from an iPod. Damp sponge with stain has taken care of most of the white coloring/covering. I rubbed the snot out of it before hand with little effect. Several coats of neatsfoot oil have given it a nice black color. I was hopping the oil would have softened the leather up, but it is still stiff as cardboard. Any suggestions on how to soften it?

[rundogdave]

Here are some pics of the finished holster. Learned a lot. The next one will be better. I need to work on the stitching and the belt slots. Don't have a good pic of the edge, but it needs some improvement also. Comments and criticisms welcome. You are not going to hurt my feelings. Don't have any, so my wife tells me!!

[mlapaglia]

You do not want soft for a holster. Keep it hard. looks good, You should stay away from sharp corners. They tend to fray quickly and can look bad in just a few months. Keep them more round than angled.