When do you dye?

[gavingear]

Hello all, I've read of different approaches for dying holsters.

Do you dye yours:

1. Before stitching?

2. After stitching?

3. After stitching and wet forming?

I'm sure there are other options, but these seem to make sense to me...

Also, how do you apply your dye (rag, brush, dip, etc)?

Thanks!

[drof99]

I like to dye before all my stitching is done. If not your stitching will get dyed with everything else. I personally don't like that look. I like to use the foam brushes you can get at the hardware store for dye. They are pretty cheap and you can use them several times.

[gavingear]

I like to dye before all my stitching is done. If not your stitching will get dyed with everything else. I personally don't like that look. I like to use the foam brushes you can get at the hardware store for dye. They are pretty cheap and you can use them several times.

So do you dye the leather after you cut out your pattern?Thanks,Gavin....another point, if you dye before stitching, then you align the edges and burnish/round the edges, do you just touch up the dye where the burnishing/alignment was done?Thanks.

[Rawhide]

I haven't made any holsters but I would treat it like any other molded project. I would mold it, dye it, round edges, sand edges, dye edges, burnish edges, oil it, seal it. Then groove the stitch groove and stitch it.

Marlon.

[Shorts]

Cut, glue, stitch, mold, dye, edges, topcoat.

Depending on the finish I want to achieve, I use a wool dauber or an airbrush. I topcoat using airbrush at this time. (Dip dye and dip topcoat is my next step)

Edited November 1, 2008 by Shorts

[HarryB]

If I want a good, even color, I dye before assembly. The secret is: don't be in a rush! I let my leather dry COMPLETELY, apply a thin coat of neatsfoot oil, let that dry to the point no oil is standing on the surface of the leather and then dye. Let the dye dry COMPLETELY and apply a coat of saddle soap, rubbing it off as much as possible after a couple of minutes. When my leather has dried, I machine stitch together, dip holster in warm water and wet form. Set aside and let it dry COMPLETELY (are you getting the idea?!), saddle soap it again, let it dry COMPLETELY and apply a finish. I use Tan-Kote almost exclusively because I like the mellow finish instead of a hard, laquer look. The biggest mistake I see people make is trying to rush through a project. Any time you apply either a water based or solvent based dye to wet leather, it is going to turn out blotchy looking. Hope this helps.

Edited November 1, 2008 by HarryB

[Shorts]

airbrushed:

Re: "blotchy" - I take offense to that. Blotchy is a negative word. "Marbled" works better and actually come out great. I built a lot of brown marbled holsters and pictures online don't do them justice.

If you're having leather or dye problems, you get blotchy. If you want marbled, that takes a bit more skill and the proper dye and app.

Edited November 2, 2008 by Shorts

[HarryB]

Didn't mean to "offend" you but yes, by blotchy I usually mean unintentional. What you get when you are getting started and not real sure what you are doing. I make lots of holsters, belts, etc using a multi-tone dye technique that is both intentional and very time consuming. If the two-tone look is done on purpose then it came out just the way you wanted it to!