Anything Wrong With Dying With Antique ?

[cleanview]

I am reading this section form the beginning .....still have a ways to go but really eye opening stuff.

One of my favorite colors is eco flo dark brown gel cut 50/50 with water. Every time I look at the holster (sits by the bed) I think "boy that is a pretty color"..... I just must a bunch on and work it in and wipe off excess and then continue on.

But as I read through this mass of information and realize there is a lot of stuff I do not realize .......I wonder if there is some reasone this might not be a good idea.

[TomG]

I personally don't use that, but my understanding is that it's more of a stain as opposed to a dye. It's meant to be put on and rubbed off. The little bit that I've worked with stains, the color is usually not a deep , but is great for showing off the grain and texture of the leather..

The few items I have stained, I've had no problem with. I still seal with 50/50 Resolene.

But I'm sure more knowledgeable people will be helping you out here.

[MonicaJacobson]

I just finished an antiqued backpack. I didn't have any problems staining a small project with antique, but a large project is a bit of a nightmare. I couldn't get it to spread evenly. Fortunately, the customer was fine with it, but I don't think I'll ever do that again at that scale. I also have a harder time controlling it, and always end up getting a little on the backside, not something I usually have too much trouble with when I use normal dyes.

I think I've read of a lot of people who use antiquing on a regular basis. They might dye it first, antique, wipe the antique off and let it dry in the cracks. I'm not sure. I think it comes down to what you like. You'll most likely find other people who like the look too.

[cleanview]

thanks

Monica .....just to be clear.....are you saying I can dye (I use angelus oil?dyes) and then accent with antique gel then seal?

if so that sounds like something to play with

[MonicaJacobson]

I haven't done it myself, you'd have to do some research on the forum, but that's the impression I've gotten from people who make holsters and belts. They resist, antique, wipe off the excess, and let the antique gel dry in the cracks, and then seal. If you search for projects with sheridan carving on this forum, you'll probably learn more about it.

Maybe you would need to dye, resist, antique, then seal? I would experiment on some small pieces and see how it works out. The gel might overwhelm your dye job if you don't resist. Of course, I've never tried cutting the antiquing gel with water. That could be my problem when using it.

[billybopp]

Antiques are generally meant to be used as Monica said:

To accentuate the detail and shading in carved and tooled leathers. Usually, you'd finish your tooling, possibly dye, apply a clear finish as a resist or an actual resist product selectively and then put the antique on thickly rubbing it into nooks and crannies and excess wiped off to allow the antique to remain behind in the low spots to dry there. A final finish is applied after all is dry.

That being said, the Eco Flo gel probably makes a better leather stain than it does antique. It tends to discolor resist too much for my taste. I also seem to have a hard time sealing the eco flo gel to prevent dye ruboff with wetness / sweat. I've swtched to Fiebings antique pastes for my antiquing, but the gel still has it's place.

In the end, it's all about what you like and what works for you!

Hope that helps

Bill

[DavidL]

I've also seen people use a heated leather tool with a rounded face straight on vegtan. They add some sort of white wax to the iron while its hot and it burnishes the leather. You may want to look into it as a possible alternative as it could be cheaper and more permanent than antique in the long run.

[Sona]

I used the antique gel for dyeing for a long time, but since I switched to oil based dyes, exspecially with adding some oil, I recognized that the colour of the antiqued pieces looks quite flat compared to the oil dyed pieces.
For the "regular" intended use: what Monica says. As third option to the gel and the paste there is a product called "Hi Liter" which works in a similar way, even if it is again a different product.
But if you search for "antique" and stuff here, you should find a bunch of informations!

[cleanview]

this forum is the greatest. Thanks