libjoe67 Report post Posted January 20, 2014 (edited) First of all, I've been a long time lurker and love this site. This is going to be my first attempt at dying and finishing leather. I came into a few pieces of hide that seemed to be faded in patches and some more than others. Looks to be aniline leather that time caught up to. Doing my research on this site has led me in the right direction and here is plan: 1. Use alcohol or lemon juice to clean, deglaze, and prep the leather ( use gloves when working the leather). 2. Dye the leather ( using Angelus solvent dye- spraying the dye) . buff the hide to remove dye from the surface. 3. Apply Neatsfoot oil on the hide ( Angelus brand) 4. Topcoat the hide ( using Zelikovitz Professional Top Coat Satin) * These partial hides were never used. Just kept in storage for 8-10 years according to the seller. My real concern is about the process. I've read some oil the leather before dying and others after. Considering my hide could be lacking oils, should I oil the leather before dying? I'm a bit reluctant on this part only because I am afraid that the dye won't take as well as having the leather dry. Any helpful tips as far as brands, techniques, or experience with this, it would be greatly appreciated. Joe Edited January 20, 2014 by libjoe67 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tree Reaper Report post Posted January 20, 2014 (edited) The best thing to do would be try a piece that has two different colors and see how it turns out before dying an entire batch. I have always oiled veg tan prior to dying and have not experienced any problems. Edited January 20, 2014 by Tree Reaper Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
libjoe67 Report post Posted January 20, 2014 The best thing to do would be try a piece that has two different colors and see how it turns out before dying an entire batch. I have always dyed veg tan prior to dying and have not experienced any problems. Thanks for your reply. Yes, I am only doing one piece for now. If it works out, I'll do half one color (Tan), and maybe a med. brown. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tree Reaper Report post Posted January 20, 2014 Sorry about the confusion of typing dye instead of oil in my first post. I oil first because of a well known saddle maker that does the same and he's been doing it for a long time with good results. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
libjoe67 Report post Posted January 20, 2014 (edited) Sorry about the confusion of typing dye instead of oil in my first post. I oil first because of a well known saddle maker that does the same and he's been doing it for a long time with good results. Yeah, I figured that early on. No worries. Edited January 20, 2014 by libjoe67 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
