A Few Questions About Roon.

[ikewineb]

I made my first batch of Vinegroon....That stuff is awesome, BTW. I read that it takes two weeks, which I impatiently waited for. When I first mixed it though, I stuck a piece of leather in it just to see and it truned black, after an hour of "cooking".

So, my question...I'm working on a fork bag now. I didn't have a pan large enough to dip the pieces of the bag in, so I brushed the roon on with a foam brush. It worked well, but didn't soak through to the flesh side(which I'm pleased with). I also brushed on the baking soda and water mixture, then rinsed it under the sink. I let it sit to dry. When I was going to put my maker's mark on it, I wet the leather in the area I wanted to stamp...It wouldn't asorb the water. Is there something in the vinegroon that has water resistance properties? There was no top coat of any kind. Which, leads to my second question. What type of top coat, if any do you guys recommend on the roon? I have put on a coat of neatsfoot, but I'm not positive about the top coat.

[mlapaglia]

When you make vinegaroon you keep feeding it steel wool for two weeks until it wont take any more. Some people just put some steel wool in at first and assume thats enough. It takes a week or two but it will work after a day or two but be too acidic for long term usage.

"Roon" make the leather difficult to absorb water. FYI, an hour is about 59 minutes 30 seconds too long. I dip my stuff for 10 secs 3 times. works great.

Try a little warm water it should make it damp enough to stamp. I use Resolene 50/50 with water, 2 coats on my vinegaroon items. Works great. You might find that a week or two the flesh side may turn black anyway on the one you brushed on. Since its a chemical reaction it sometimes keeps going to the other end. Just takes more time.

Vinegaroon also makes the leather stiffer so always tool it first. Be sure to give it a coat of neets foot oil to restore what the dying removes.

Good luck. Its all I use for black leather.

[ikewineb]

Thank you for your reply. I think i wasn't clear about the vinegaroon. I leave the piece in for an hour. I dipped it an hour after first starting to mix it. I didn't think about it being to acidic. That's a good point. I think I would up using five steel wool pads. It seems to be working well. I ordered some resolene at your sugestion. If it does in fact limit the asorption of water, I would see that as a huge benefit, that I haven't really seen discussed. Thank you for your input.

[Ken G]

If I could piggyback on this thread I had some more questions about making and using vinegaroon. I started a batch exactly two weeks ago. I degreased 6 steel wool pads (size 0000) in simple green then added them to a gallon of white vinegar in a plastic pickle jar. After about 10 days I poured off about a pint and strained it and dyed up a few pieces of vegtan. It worked great. Rinsed in a baking soda/water bath then fresh water, air dried, and then applied a light coat of neatsfoot oil. I dumped the small amount of vinegaroon that I had used. Today I degreased a couple more steel wool pads and added them to the jar as the original pads all seem to be dissolved.

After a few days the leather still has a little bit of a funny smell but its not a deal breaker. I am impressed with how black it is.

My questions are: If I wait another week or two, will the additional pads dissolve (react?). Will this additional aging reduce the odor with later use? Eventually I will strain/filter this solution into a gallon storage jug. If I were to use a pint or so to dye some leather should I dump this used liquid after use? Save it in another container for further use? Or if I pour it back in the original container will the used solution contaminate my stock solution?

[DLC]

Ok, here are my roon questions since this seems to be the place for them.

I'm on my second batch. I dumped out my first--it worked great, but even after a couple months it would build up a hard oxidized layer on the top. Whenever I used it I would just scrape it off, but it became a pain. Made it with rusty nails and strained the remants out after a couple weeks. I assume I had an improper ratio of vinegar/metal, but I'm sure someone with more experience can give me an answer.

[Red Cent]

I have had a batch going for months. "...... build up a hard oxidized layer...." That is new to me. I keep my brew in a plastic drywall bucket with lid. Interesting.