Food coloring as leather dye

[MADMAX22]

On 11/9/2016 at 5:55 PM, Big Sioux Saddlery said:

I will be sure to try this!  I have everything on hand except the Eucalyptus. I was a little concerned that it might be difficult to find in my area, but a google search revealed that is readily available in drug stores.  I am looking forward to seeing the results. Many thanks!!

I make a very similar recipe for my finish/conditioner and dont use the Eucalyptus and the same jar for the past few years hasnt developed any issues. Not saying its a bad idea but you can get by without it. 

Be sure to use pure neatsfoot oil (incase you use the compound stuff). 

I have been finishing my projects depending on leather thickness and if dyed I will do a very very light coat of neatsfoot oil (helps to even out the dye), let dry, buff real quick, then I do a tan kote wiped on thinly and quick buff once dry - usually with the tan kote I use sherling and wipe on a decent amount then go back over it before it drys completely with fresh sherling and rub a tad which gets rid of any possible streaks and leaves a nice matt finish. 

After that drys I use the "Bushmans" recipe rubbing in by hand. Let sit required time to absorb and dry a bit then buff it out to get the nice sheen talked about above. Really like how it all comes out. 

[impulse]

MADMAX

The addition of eucalyptus oil is not to preserve the dressing, but to help stop mould growing on the leather!

[Reegesc]

Lois,

On November 9, 2016 at 5:53 PM, impulse said:

1 part beeswax, 1 part parafin wax, 2 parts neatsfoot oil and 1tspn eucalyptus oil.

 I bought some eucalyptus oil but I'm unsure of the amount to use.  1 tsp per what?  Since it's a concentrate, I'm assuming it's 1 teaspoon per a sizable qty like a pound each of beeswax and paraffin and that you just size down from there.  Is that correct?

 

[Tob]

On 11/9/2016 at 7:42 AM, impulse said:

I have recently been experimenting with using food coloring as a leather dye. It comes in 50ml bottles at any supermarket at a cost of around $1.25 ea. There are basic colors of pink, red, blue, green, yellow and black from which you can mix any color imaginable. It is water soluble and a few drops give strong color. I have found it to penetrate well and not rub off when dry.

I advise prepping the leather with oxalic acid (1tspn in a cup of warm water) to give a clean start for an even finish. The dye can be painted on, rubbed on, dipped or sprayed. Strength of color is dependent on how many drops used. 

 

From what I have tried, blue will leave a greenish tint, could be the food coloring brand.  The green worked good on the less than stellar leather that I put it on.  Might have been stained with oil or something.  The Eco-Flow that I also put on it didn't want to work right either.  After it dried, there was no rub off and with good techniques, will work great.  On some of the bad areas, I tried thinning it with alcohol and got better penetration, still wasn't as good as well prepped, but enough to color it a little.

Something else I remember from the black Army boot days, was using sharpies on areas of the boot that was scuffed to plain leather.  We could get "free" markers and tended to work better than the Kiwi brand leather dye.  

Thank you for this idea.  Better than spending $8-9 for a small project.