Black Dye...natural In Middle.....belt

[dfrensdorff]

Hello All.........I am in the process of making a veg tan belt.....basketweave stamping......I would like to have the first 1/4" of the edge to be black, and the middle basketweave section to stay natural....kind of a moving/blending from black to natural. I hope I am explaining this well enough..........Any thoughts on how this is done? Thanks............Don

Edited January 11, 2016 by dfrensdorff

[electrathon]

air brush

[TinkerTailor]

air brush

+1

[electrathon]

This effect

Edited January 11, 2016 by electrathon

[TinkerTailor]

This effect

Just a heads up, I have had the dye from those printed paper towels transfer to stuff when using them with solvents.

[dfrensdorff]

This effect

Not exactly......what I am looking to do is have black along each of the edges in about 1/4"-3/16", and then fade to natural through for the center of the belt.

[Studio-N]

Couple of ways -

1) the airbrush is still a good suggestion.

2) You can resist the area you want to keep natural by using lacquer or a clear acrylic (clear lac or super sheen).

Paint it on where you want to keep natural. HOWEVER - you can't use a dye. It will burn thru. You'll have to use a stain.

3) There was a thread on here years ago about using a brush on rubber masking substance that would resist the

dye and then could be rubbed off later.

Best of luck.

[Halitech]

Only issue with using a resist or mask is you end up with a solid line instead of a faded effect. Airbrush or block dying would be the best 2 options

[Studio-N]

you're right. I didn't really see he wanted to fade it. Airbrush is a good way to do it.

And if money is not an issue the best airbrush to use is a dual action airbrush.

Single action airbrushes go 100% flow when you press the trigger. A dual action

gets the air flowing when you press the trigger but zero flow. You control the flow

as you pull the same trigger back. Gives you a lot of control and option. You can fade a line

as you go across it in any direction and back to full in the same swipe. Iwata is a good brand.

Cheers!

[Halitech]

I have a cheap one of both. The double action is good for dye and I use the single action and adjust the pressure for spraying resolene.

[dfrensdorff]

Thanks Gents..........I guess I am in the market for an airbrush.........not that I've ever needed much of an excuse to buy a new tool......

[jrny4wrd]

If all you want is a fade you dont need an airbrush. Start at the edge and go all the way around with the dye on a sponge or fabric. As the dye lightens move towards the middle and press down lighter. You can also just put dye on the sponge or towel, wipe it on some card board until it fades and slowly use it from edge to center.

If all you want is a fade you dont need an airbrush. Start at the edge and go all the way around with the dye on a sponge or fabric. As the dye lightens move towards the middle and press down lighter. You can also just put dye on the sponge or towel, wipe it on some card board until it fades and slowly use it from edge to center.

[Colt W Knight]

I use an airbrush to do what you are talking about. I never had much luck dying evenly with a sponge or rag.

[Widget]

I may be really misunderstanding what you're after...but if not, give block dying a try. There's a good tutorial here (and you can see the finished result in the first 5 seconds of the video so if it's not what you're after, no time wasted).

[dfrensdorff]

I may be really misunderstanding what you're after...but if not, give block dying a try. There's a good tutorial here (and you can see the finished result in the first 5 seconds of the video so if it's not what you're after, no time wasted)

Thank you.......that is basically what I am after, especially when only the edge is block dyed and the middle stays natural.....I will give it a try, but still would like to try the airbrush.......thanks again......Don