Problem With Finish After I Molded Mag Holster

[JasonL70]

I've always been fond of the orange-ish British saddle tans. after some experimentation blending ecoflo pro watetstains, i came up with one i was curious to try. so i made a mag holster, dyed it, stitched it 2 days later, then wet molded it the next day. the next day after molding it, the dye had turned splotchy on the most visible part (not the normal fading where the leather stretches) . the wings and back are all fine, so I'm leaning towards it not being a dye issue. towards the top of the holster it has a spot that lighted up considerably (my picture doesn't seem to capture it well) , and the bottom 3rd darkened as if it had been oiled.

I'm new to leather work, having made maybe 5 or so holsters the past couple months. I've tried figuring out what i did differently this time besides the mixed dye colors. all i came up with is this:

1) i used hotter water than normally (still from the tap though) . The top discolored part MAY have got a longer blast of hot water.

2) i did not wet the leather as much as i normally do

any thoughts? a local saddle shop saw one of my pancake holsters and wants to display/sell some of my work, and i was planning to do a full matching set of belt/holster/mag holster/knife sheath/Leatherman holster for them using this color . (obviously nobody other than batman would wear all of it at once )

[OLDNSLOW]

looks good to me but I am a newby myself, is that your pattern looks nice and the stitching looks nice.

[JLSleather]

I don't use the waterstain thing. Or any stain thing. But I agree that the stitchin' looks "tight"...

[JasonL70]

yes, i made the pattern myself. i made one previously with it, and made some small tweaks to it for this one.

i enjoy the stitching - i pull up Netflix and watch a movie while i do it

i had to reduce the picture size to post here (using my phone) - i think it may have degraded the pic significantly

[JLSleather]

What mag? 45? 380? ....

[JasonL70]

9mm from my walther ppq

[JLSleather]

Oh, well then you should let us know if it fits this ...

http://www.jlsleather.com/sdm_downloads/magazine-pouch-single-stack-9-pancake/

[JasonL70]

Oh, well then you should let us know if it fits this ...

http://www.jlsleather.com/sdm_downloads/magazine-pouch-single-stack-9-pancake/

it's a double stack. My father has a single stack (938 no less), I'll have to send him a link to your pattern.

[JasonL70]

this picture may be better for seeing what im talking about.. since then, I've oiled it lightly, stained it some more. its only helped a bit. I'm going to just start over and cross my fingers it isn't an issue with the stain combination i used.

[mlapaglia]

Next time, on a scrap, oil the leather and put it in the sun for a few hours. The leather will tan and you can get the same color.

As for your problem its possible that you compressed the leather near the top while you were forming it or it is just the way the leather is. Light tans are hard to do. Its why I let them tan in the sun instead. YMMV

[JasonL70]

Next time, on a scrap, oil the leather and put it in the sun for a few hours. The leather will tan and you can get the same color.

As for your problem its possible that you compressed the leather near the top while you were forming it or it is just the way the leather is. Light tans are hard to do. Its why I let them tan in the sun instead. YMMV

I've been wanting to try that, but it's been raining every time i think of trying

[JasonL70]

oil & tons of conditioner took care of it, but now i doubt I'll be able to replicate the end color on the belt. one more accessory to toss in the drawer

[JLSleather]

We've all got "that" drawer!

[Oldtoolsniper]

One thing to remember is that each piece of leather will take stain differently, even from the same hide. I doubt anyone will ever win that battle. Al Stolmans book on coloring leather mentions it on almost every page. Woodworking has the same issues and after many years of doing it you learn to embrace the color shifts as part of the project. Kydex will stay the same color but I'm not to fond of plastic holsters.

How did you apply the dye?

I've found on some leather if I pre wet the leather with denatured alcohol before I spray (airbrush) on the dye it seems to penetrate better. I've never tried this with applying the dye by the dauber method but it might help. It works on wood that's prone to blotching.

[malabar]

If you dyed the leather before working it, you should have been all right. Molding will stretch the leather; burnishing it will close the cell structure. Both will cause uneven dye absorbtion

How did you apply the dye?

What brand of leather is it?

tk

[Paramedic04]

If you dyed the leather before working it, you should have been all right. Molding will stretch the leather; burnishing it will close the cell structure. Both will cause uneven dye absorbtion

How did you apply the dye?

What brand of leather is it?

tk

I was thinking along the same lines. I wet mold first before I dye, because I had some inconsistencies such as what you've experienced using water based stains and dyes. I switched to Fiebing's Pro Oil and now I can do the dye job before or after, the color stays regardless.

[malabar]

I've never been satisfied with the results I've gotten from any of those techniques (you may have better technique than I do), that's why I prefer drum-dyed leather. When I need a custom color, I'll spray it. I've gotten some OK results by first applying an even coat of neatsfoot oil, then applying Angelus leather finish over top. But you have to do that on the leather pieces before you put them together.

tk

[JasonL70]

i had applied a second application of stain a day after the first, still a few days before wet molding. someone pointed out to me that this might be an issue when using the ecoflo pro waterstains since they contain waxes, etc. The second coat may have not penetrated well and sat on top of the previous coat, and sloughed off. the lightened area happens to be the area that was directly under the faucet that had hot water running (in the future i will stick to submerging in water).

one of the colors I used is yellow, and I've had odd issues in general with yellow. it seems to seal the leather quite a bit when it dries compared to the other colors i have. oil will sit on top for an hour, instead of minutes. odd. so I'm working on a new mix of colors avoiding the yellow.

Edited July 30, 2015 by JasonL70

[snubbyfan]

On these I used Fiebings Professional Oil Dye in saddle tan.

How I prepare the leather for dyeing.

Applying the dye.

Edited August 3, 2015 by snubbyfan

[snubbyfan]

Finish explained.

Damp sponge method, the leather was left damp too.

Finished sheath.

http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=65104

Edited August 3, 2015 by snubbyfan

[Sixer]

Just my .02 cents... but Eco-Flo dyes are junk. I don't think I've ever gotten a consistent finish on anything after wet molding when using the stuff. Like others have said, stick with Feibings Pro Oil dye. If you still get a blotchy finish after that... you probably want to try leather from a different tannery.

But hey... that's the beauty of working with leather! Each piece has character of it's own... as frustrating as it may be sometimes

[malabar]

On these I used Fiebings Professional Oil Dye in saddle tan.

How I prepare the leather for dyeing.

Applying the dye.

Nice results. You must have good technique.

tk