Dye not penetrating leather very deeply

[ffjdh]

I am having difficulty getting my dye to penitrate my leather.  If I the rub dye into the leather it only dyes the very outer edge of the leather.  With a slight scratch it will show the raw leather.  To get better penetration I tried dip dying.  If I dip dye for 60 seconds it penitrates better, but nowhere near full penetration ( see attached for a picture of a small piece of leather that has been dip dyed for 60 seconds).  I have been using fiebings pro dye diluted with denatured alcohol 50:50.  

  I thought dip dying would fix this issue.  It sounds like most people dip dye for a few seconds to achieve complete penetration.  I am not sure I would get the dye to absorbs through the full thickness even if I dipped it for a few minutes.   What am I doing wrong?

 

 

[AndersenLeather]

It is not possible to get complete penetration when you dye leather yourself. 

[Troy I]

When I dip dye, I do not dilute my dye...depending on the color I want, I let it in the dye at least 30 to 60 seconds...sometimes a little more.  

I do prep the leather, sometimes not always, by cleaning it with rubbing alcohol. This get any surface dirt and wax that it might have picked up off the work surface.

I only work with veg tanned leather...are you working with veg tanned?

And yes you can get full penetration from dip dying, but it will take some experimenting and a longer soak...also note that this will make your leather real stiff...you will have to condition it well when you are done.