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Posted

Thank you! I used Dr. Jackson's leather conditioner, and mixed it with a little bit of the dye I was using. It didn't seem to mix very well, as it retained a lot of little lumps no matter how much I tried to mix the dye in. Next time I will try Bicks 4. That's what the guys at Springfield Leather use in some of their videos too.

  • 2 weeks later...
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Posted

Another option - one I have used successfully - is using Fiebings water stains and added some neatsfoot oil to my cup of stain, warmed it up a little more than room temp, then applied. It seems to go deeper into the pores of the leather and never rubs off. Let it dry a day, then Resolene, & good to go.

Resolene cut 50/50 with water.

No dead ends -- only detours.

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Posted

Hillbilly Tim, I use my own beeswax / neatsfoot oil mix to finish some items. What I've found is that you need to use a quality beeswax, (sorry Tandy). I buy from a local beekeeper and the difference IMHO is noticeable.

I use a small mason jar, resting in a saucepan with about an inch of water. It's important to have the jar resting on something, not on the pan itself as it will jiggle around and could break. I've used a couple of skewers lying in the pan to keep the jar raised.

Then I melt 3 parts wax to 1 part neatsfoot in the jar on a gentle boil Next, I use cup cake liners in muffin tins and pour the wax into these, let them cool and I have nice little wax cakes.

The consistency is very similar to shoe polish. It took a little experimenting to get the right consistency. Note that if your first batch is too hard or too soft, just start the process again and add more of the wax or oil to achieve the result you like.

I actually re-purposed some wax coated cupcake liners and these work amazing, you can use them over and over again.

Hope this makes some sense....

www.manypawz.com.

http//www.etsy.com/people/manypaws1?ref=si_pr

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Posted

After reading your post and the considered replies, I have a bit of a different slant on your issue.

I think it is not the finish but your dyeing process. I use Fiebings Pro Oil dye exclusively, with fine results -- or I would change. In my experience, optimal results with leather dye can only be achieved if the dye penetrates the leather fully, through and through. It looks to me like your dyeing only the surface, which will not be protected by any finish. I think this is one reason folks like vinegaroon. They dip the leather fully and the chemical reaction penetrates into the leather.

I do use alcohol to dilute dyes but only to allow me to adjust the final color. If I don't want a really dark shade I'll dilute 1:1, 2:1, 3:1, or 4:1 alcohol to dye to get the ratio that gives me the desired end result after I dye the leather. I do that by first prepping the leather well (I like Fiebings dye prep -- never dye dry leather), then soaking the leather with the dye, either by dipping or by heavy use of a sponge or swab. I dye both sides of the leather to ensure full penetration.

My point is that any finish will only protect the surface of the dyed leather. If the dye has penetrated the leather through and through, the finish can wear off without exposing any raw, undyed leather.

At least that's the way I see it.

Michelle

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Posted (edited)

I make holsters and often wet mold after dyeing. I have tried every dye on the market. All of them. The ECO Flow professional dyes are the best as far as color fastness. When I use Angelus or Fiebings a yellow tinge (with the black dye) will develop in the water when wetting the piece. However with the DRIED Eco Flow I never get this bleeding of color. It has some kind of wax or something in it the seals it when dried. My holsters are mainly sold here in the south where we get good and sweaty in the summer so this color fastness issue is real important to me. My customers often wear a holster next to the skin and I don't want them telling me they got a yellow tinged backside because of my holster.

I really hate to say this but after you get used to Eco Flow it is hard to go to anything else. Oil based dyes are good but take forever to completely dry. Alcohol base dyes dry fast but bleed like heck. Yes guys I know if you seal it with acrylic it won't bleed until the acrylic wears through or the leather gets soaked enough. The reason I hate to say Eco Flo is because the only place you will get it is at Tandy and they have been getting difficult to deal with. That is the reason I have tried everything else and it failed to stand up to the Eco Flo.

You might try an oil based dye if you have the time for drying. But seal it well or have yellow wrists.

Edited by adams484
  • 2 months later...
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Posted

Adam, what are YOU using with your Eco flow as a finish? Have you used the beeswax? Also, it appears that the eco flow pro is very different in terms of their sample pack. Just wanted to note that since I originally tried their sample pack and there was a huge run off. Their pro line seems to stay.

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