Removing Leather Stain And Refinishing?

[h00ver]

Hello everyone,

I'm pretty new to leather work, and I've been working on a holster and a knife sheath. I bought some Eco Flow Cova Color from Tandy, and i was so excited to start staining that I didn't read any of the directions . I used the die without diluting it and instead of dye, it looks more like paint.

My question is, how do I go about removing the coloring without harming the leather? I understand that the cova color is a water based acrylic paint, so I could theoretically remove it with nail polish remover. Is that safe for the leather or are there some products specifically made for the job?

Any help would be appreciated.

~h00ver

[Jwalker]

jus my experience...but yeh, thin yur colors with a lil water (Jim Linnell taught me yrs ago)...makes it easier to build to the color ya want, plus its not on there so thick....i would go for the nail polish remover...its great for removing jus about any finish as well (i havent tried it on natural shoe polish)...i would suggest having a large number of rags on hand for the job at hand in effort to keep from dealing with so much color being moved around....rub the leather with the wet rag, not pour the liquid onto the leather...

this will leach out the fat liquors n oils from the leather...you might consider a light coat of neatsfoot (let sit 24hrs) before re-coloring

btw...i spend plenty at Tandy, great team....but the acrylics at walmart work jus fine

[camano ridge]

hOOver, it looks more like paint because it is. Tandy's eco flo Cova color is a water based acrylic paint ( see description on Tandy site). Cova color works fine if you are trying for different colors on a design. However they are not meant to color an entire holster or sheath. The Eco Flo Pro dyes work pretty well for that and are more of what you want, if you are trying to dye the entire project. They do not need to be thinned unless you want a lighter color. Back to the Cova color you can dilute them with water to the point of being a wash, however they will not be as effective as a dye for dying the entire project.