Stain Vs. Dye

[Rohn]

I have some Fiebing's Walnut stain and wonder if someone could tell me the difference between dye and stain? Can the stain be used just like the dye?

Rohn

[benlilly1]

All my Fiebing's says 'dye' not stain. Even my Fiebing's Walnut says dye. The term stain usually is for wood. I've probably said stain in the past meaning dye but unless Fiebing's has changed the names it should be dye for leather and stain for wood. (if you use wood stain for leather- it goes on very even if it's oil base.)

[Rohn]

A picture is worth 1,000 words.

[benlilly1]

Huh, wonder if that's a new bottle?

[Rohn]

No, it is probably 10-12 years old.

[ENC]

According to the Weaver catalog the stain is oil based and can be mixed with harness oil.

[Rohn]

Thanks ENC,

I just died one of my holsters with it and it seems to be doing a good job.

[cem]

I've got a couple of small bottles of stain and it's listed as an acrylic water based antique finish in the Fiebings book.The small bottles also have acrylic on them, so it looks like there still could be two versions of the stain.

[Rohn]

The stain that I have smells like paint to me. It does seem to darken the leather very well. I'll know more about it Monday when I get back to my shop and see how it looks when it has completely dried.