Brown/dk Brown Dye Alternatives?

[zaynexpetty]

Hello, I have a dilemma.

I am looking for a good brown to dark brown dye. I used fiebings pro oil dyes in the past with good results, but I do not like how toxic they are, and won't be using them. I looked into Tandy's Eco-Flo dyes, and in doing research, I found a leatherworker.net thread with a bunch of people talking about how they had ruined projects by the dye turning a greenish color, and I don't want to chance that.

I actually spent a lot of time and effort brewing a batch of black walnut dye a few weeks ago, and I am not at all happy with the results. It takes WAY too many applications to get to dark brown, and WAY too much time (oiling, then waiting for it to dry, applying the dye, and waiting for it to dry, repeat). I have tried multiple ways of dying the leather with the black walnut dye, only to get disappointing results.

Long story short, I would like a brown/dark brown low VOC leather dye that is not fiebings pro oil dye, or tandy Eco-Flo.

Any suggestions?

Thanks!

Zayne

Edited December 17, 2014 by zaynexpetty

[cem]

The only other ones I know of is Craftsha dye from Japan and Roapas Batik also from Japan both are water based but the Batik has an off putting smell to me kind of like vinegar so I prefer the Craftsha both are better quality than the Eco-Flo stuff though. I haven't used the dark brown in the Roapas Batik only grey and beige so can't tell you exactly what it is like.

The Roapas Batik is available from both http://www.leathercrafttools.com and http://www.goodsjapan.com (they are down for stocktake at the moment though). There are some other places that stock it as well but I haven't used them. Goods japan used to stock the Craftsha but it's been awhile since I've bought any and they didn't have any listed a couple of weeks ago I expect both stores should be able to order it in though.

The Craftsha also comes in larger bottles of 500ml for some colours http://translate.google.com.au/translate?hl=en&sl=ja&u=http://www.craftsha.co.jp/&prev=search

I've attached a photo of most of the Craftsha colours the dark brown fourth on left side is number 10 on Craftsha's colour chart.

Hope this helps a bit

Edited December 18, 2014 by cem

[zaynexpetty]

The only other ones I know of is Craftsha dye from Japan and Roapas Batik also from Japan both are water based but the Batik has an off putting smell to me kind of like vinegar so I prefer the Craftsha both are better quality than the Eco-Flo stuff though. I haven't used the dark brown in the Roapas Batik only grey and beige so can't tell you exactly what it is like.

The Roapas Batik is available from both http://www.leathercrafttools.com and http://www.goodsjapan.com (they are down for stocktake at the moment though). There are some other places that stock it as well but I haven't used them. Goods japan used to stock the Craftsha but it's been awhile since I've bought any and they didn't have any listed a couple of weeks ago I expect both stores should be able to order it in though.

The Craftsha also comes in larger bottles of 500ml for some colours http://translate.google.com.au/translate?hl=en&sl=ja&u=http://www.craftsha.co.jp/&prev=search

I've attached a photo of most of the Craftsha colours the dark brown fourth on left side is number 10 on Craftsha's colour chart.

Craftsha-Dye.jpg

Hope this helps a bit

That helps a lot, thanks for the advice!

I contacted leathercrafttools.com and they responded saying that they can probably get them for me. Do you know how much they charged in your currency for the two different sizes?

[cem]

Not sure exactly and the Australian dollar has also taken a bit of a nose dive since I bought them but I think it was about $5 AUD for the small and $17 AUD for the large. I definitely know they weren't anymore than the Fiebings or Angelus dyes I also brought from overseas.

[zaynexpetty]

Not sure exactly and the Australian dollar has also taken a bit of a nose dive since I bought them but I think it was about $5 AUD for the small and $17 AUD for the large. I definitely know they weren't anymore than the Fiebings or Angelus dyes I also brought from overseas.

Should be getting some of the Craftsha dye in soon! Thanks for the recommendation.

[raysouth]

Hello Zayne,

Have you used Angelus Products before? They have a coffee dye that imparts a beautiful deep dark brown and have never had an issue with the dye. No discoloration, etc.

I purchase mine from www.turtlefeathers.net and have done so for several years. Great folks and some interesting products.

Have a wonderful Christmas and great new year.

God Bless.

Ray

[retiredff]

I have read this here; apply neatsfoot oil and put it in the sun.

[zaynexpetty]

Hello Zayne,

Have you used Angelus Products before? They have a coffee dye that imparts a beautiful deep dark brown and have never had an issue with the dye. No discoloration, etc.

I purchase mine from www.turtlefeathers.net and have done so for several years. Great folks and some interesting products.

Have a wonderful Christmas and great new year.

God Bless.

Ray

I was looking into some Angelus dyes before, but I am trying to avoid the more toxic dyes, of which their dyes are. Probably not as bad as Fiebings, but I would like a more water-based dye. If this Japanese dye I ordered doesn't work, I may have to give that Angelus Coffee Dye a try.

Thank you for the input! Have a great Christmas and New year as well!

[cem]

If you have trouble with the smell of the Fiebings dyes the Angelus ones aren't any better and were actually worse for me. I'm able to use the Fiebings but the Angelus bought on migranes due to the ethanol base they use so I sold the lot which was a shame as they do have some really nice colours.

I don't think you should have any trouble with the Craftsha, I've used it on a quite a few different veg tan leathers by brush, airbrush and dauber and have used a few different finishes with it Satin Shene, Montana Pitch Blend, Tan Kote and Atom Xax and it's looked just as good as the Fiebings professional oil dyes.

I do mostly airbrush with it now as it's so easy to change colours being that it is waterbased.

[ramrod]

i just used tandy's ecoflow professional waterstain for the first time. the color i used was called tan. it leaves that nice warm whisky color look to it. i applied it in several coats and it gets darker and more rich with each coat. you might give it a try.

there was no odor of any kind.

[NVLeatherWorx]

Just so everyone knows going into the world of water-based products, they do not give you long-lasting coverage and have a very long history of rub-off and bleeding. If you are putting high-quality products to the end user then you will only get a high-quality finish from a product that has a long history of meeting that objective and that is to use a spirit/spirit-oil blend based product. That means that you need to use either Fiebing's or Angelus. Besides, unless you are actually intentionally inhaling the fumes from these products for the purpose of trying to "get high" they are actually not that toxic nor will there be any permanent damage. And, if the odor is really that strong for you then you might want to consider getting yourself one of those little respirator masks that you can wear and make sure that you are always doing your finishing in a well ventilated area (which is recommended by the manufacturers by the way, not to mention OSHA, etc.). I have been using the Fiebing's line since I started working with leather and have had no ill effects from it as I pay attention to the cautionary things such as ventilation and wearing a respirator and have done so all along.

[cem]

Funny I've never had a problem with rub off or bleeding with Craftsha water based, have you used it. It's more UV stabilised than spirit based dyes from my testing and that is comparing it to Fiebings, Angelus and some other spirit based dyes from Australia in our hot West Australian summer and if you haven't used it how can you comment on what it's like, it's not like the Ecoflo stuff which I've also used. Why has this place turned into if your not using this certain product,stitching this way, applying dye that way it's wrong well pfft to that, it's fine to let people try different things and let them figure out personally if it's right for them in how they want their stuff to look. The OP asked for a recommendation for a low VOC and that is what I gave him and if it doesn't work for him at least he tried it.

I have no trouble with Fiebings and still use it regularly on items I repair, I also have a respirator mask, spray hood that vents fumes and actual windows that open woo hoo. I've also worked with all types of casting resins and fibreglass and are well aware of OHSA. I have a sensitivity to the ethanol base that Angelus uses and there is no getting around it. The OP may or may not have the same problem. If the OP had asked for spirit based dyes I would of given all the ones I know of but again he asked for low VOC ie waterbased.

[NVLeatherWorx]

Have a nice day.

[zaynexpetty]

Just so everyone knows going into the world of water-based products, they do not give you long-lasting coverage and have a very long history of rub-off and bleeding. If you are putting high-quality products to the end user then you will only get a high-quality finish from a product that has a long history of meeting that objective and that is to use a spirit/spirit-oil blend based product. That means that you need to use either Fiebing's or Angelus. Besides, unless you are actually intentionally inhaling the fumes from these products for the purpose of trying to "get high" they are actually not that toxic nor will there be any permanent damage. And, if the odor is really that strong for you then you might want to consider getting yourself one of those little respirator masks that you can wear and make sure that you are always doing your finishing in a well ventilated area (which is recommended by the manufacturers by the way, not to mention OSHA, etc.). I have been using the Fiebing's line since I started working with leather and have had no ill effects from it as I pay attention to the cautionary things such as ventilation and wearing a respirator and have done so all along.

Funny I've never had a problem with rub off or bleeding with Craftsha water based, have you used it. It's more UV stabilised than spirit based dyes from my testing and that is comparing it to Fiebings, Angelus and some other spirit based dyes from Australia in our hot West Australian summer and if you haven't used it how can you comment on what it's like, it's not like the Ecoflo stuff which I've also used. Why has this place turned into if your not using this certain product,stitching this way, applying dye that way it's wrong well pfft to that, it's fine to let people try different things and let them figure out personally if it's right for them in how they want their stuff to look. The OP asked for a recommendation for a low VOC and that is what I gave him and if it doesn't work for him at least he tried it.

I have no trouble with Fiebings and still use it regularly on items I repair, I also have a respirator mask, spray hood that vents fumes and actual windows that open woo hoo. I've also worked with all types of casting resins and fibreglass and are well aware of OHSA. I have a sensitivity to the ethanol base that Angelus uses and there is no getting around it. The OP may or may not have the same problem. If the OP had asked for spirit based dyes I would of given all the ones I know of but again he asked for low VOC ie waterbased.

I received the Craftsha dye, and I love it. There are almost no fumes, and after a couple of layers of dye, and buffing with a clean white cloth, the dye transfer is VERY minimal, especially compared to Fiebings. I can not comment on the "long-lasting coverage" because I have only just received and tested the product, but I am sure that if my customers aren't happy, they will let me know. As well as with my own experience, as I use my own products for months to test them. I think this dye is exactly what I was looking for, thank you!