My guide to the best vinegaroon you've ever made.

[SUP]

@Annemiek222 , ordinary household vinegar is 5% strength. It has a pH of 2.5; iron Acetate which forms when we add iron, the pH would be about 3. Once the leather is dyed, a rinse in plain water should be sufficient to rinse off the vinegaroon and bring up the pH to about 4.5-5 since, water has a neutral pH of around 7. A baking soda wash could raise the pH too much and end up actually making it basic instead of acidic and that could actually damage the leather more.

Making Vinegaroon is a simple matter - old iron pieces in whatever form - old nails, steel wool, whatever - soaked in household vinegar over 2-3 days. I keep mine completely covered and never has it exploded - not sufficient gases to do so. Mine turns brown and sludgy but it does not affect the dyeing - I dip, rinse in running water and allow to dry. Works fine for me.

If your leather turns grey it is either because your vinegaroon is depleted or, as @Gosut says,  the leather needs more tannins. If the latter, a tea soak should work. Only thing is, after the treatment, the leather should be well  rinsed in water  to remove all of the liquids, else this can cause color transfer. Plain leather, without a tea dip will not transfer or leak black liquid because the tannins getting dyed  are bound to the leather, but when we dip leathers in a tea solution and then the vinegaroon, the tannins in the tea liquid that are free on the leather and not actually absorbed, will also react with the vinegaroon, so  you will have a wet piece of leather dripping a black dyed liquid. It needs to be rinsed off. If allowed to dry and the leather gets wet later, it can cause transfer. I have experienced this. So, a plain tap water rinse is sufficient.  

If the leather turns grey because the vinegaroon s depleted, and there are still pieces of iron in the solution, try adding more vinegar. Else try adding a few pieces of iron. It does take a few days. I have never had it be ready in less than a day but others have, so it might work for you. 

It is all a matter of trial and error. Rather like cooking. Like adding a bit of salt here or a smidgen of pepper there.  It is a very simple reaction after all. 

Did you try to dye your leather pieces again after the vinegaroon was kept aside for 2-3 days? It will probably be of a greater strength by then and dye your leather better. 

 

[Annemiek222]

20 minutes ago, SUP said:

@Annemiek222 , ordinary household vinegar is 5% strength. It has a pH of 2.5; iron Acetate which forms when we add iron, the pH would be about 3. Once the leather is dyed, a rinse in plain water should be sufficient to rinse off the vinegaroon and bring up the pH to about 4.5-5 since, water has a neutral pH of around 7. A baking soda wash could raise the pH too much and end up actually making it basic instead of acidic and that could actually damage the leather more.

Making Vinegaroon is a simple matter - old iron pieces in whatever form - old nails, steel wool, whatever - soaked in household vinegar over 2-3 days. I keep mine completely covered and never has it exploded - not sufficient gases to do so. Mine turns brown and sludgy but it does not affect the dyeing - I dip, rinse in running water and allow to dry. Works fine for me.

If your leather turns grey it is either because your vinegaroon is depleted or, as @Gosut says,  the leather needs more tannins. If the latter, a tea soak should work. Only thing is, after the treatment, the leather should be well  rinsed in water  to remove all of the liquids, else this can cause color transfer. Plain leather, without a tea dip will not transfer or leak black liquid because the tannins getting dyed  are bound to the leather, but when we dip leathers in a tea solution and then the vinegaroon, the tannins in the tea liquid that are free on the leather and not actually absorbed, will also react with the vinegaroon, so  you will have a wet piece of leather dripping a black dyed liquid. It needs to be rinsed off. If allowed to dry and the leather gets wet later, it can cause transfer. I have experienced this. So, a plain tap water rinse is sufficient.  

If the leather turns grey because the vinegaroon s depleted, and there are still pieces of iron in the solution, try adding more vinegar. Else try adding a few pieces of iron. It does take a few days. I have never had it be ready in less than a day but others have, so it might work for you. 

It is all a matter of trial and error. Rather like cooking. Like adding a bit of salt here or a smidgen of pepper there.  It is a very simple reaction after all. 

Did you try to dye your leather pieces again after the vinegaroon was kept aside for 2-3 days? It will probably be of a greater strength by then and dye your leather better. 

 

I put some new steel wool in the solution and dipped the leather pieces back in. They turned blackish. Did not expect that, because of the fact that the bath with baking soda made the leather more basic than acidic. But… it is still possible that the black will fade again when dried, I think.

So what is your advice to do next? Leave to dry? Rinse in plain water? Have I damaged the leather?

[SUP]

@Annemiek222 You need to leave the iron in the vinegar for a couple of days before it will dye well. I, at least, need to leave it in for a minimum of 3 days. That is when I get the best color. But others get it sooner. Either way, the iron needs to be in the vinegar for a sufficient amount of time. Did you wash the steel wool with a light soap solution first and rinse thoroughly? . I'm not sure if there is anything on them to keep them from rusting but that could prevent the vinegar getting to the actual iron and delay the forming of Vinegaroon. If not, just take them out again, clean well and put it back in.  I have done it and everything was fine.

Right now, I would suggest you let the leather dry and see what happens. 

I doubt you have damaged the leather. Leather is pretty hardy that way. Once all the dyeing is done, you can condition it to preserve it. I would just not  put it into baking soda. An alkaline pH is not good for leather.

People have been making Vinegaroon for hundreds of years. It is a simple procedure and some trial and error occasionally. Just relax about it. There is always a solution and if all else fails, there is always dye. 

[cowboyjune]

Anyone ever try this with concentrated vinegar? My hardware store sells 30% vinegar, as opposed to the 4-5% standard white vinegar. Guessing it would speed the reaction, but would it be safe to put on leather? 

 

[Nowandagain]

I just started my first batch, using your recipe. Wish me luck!

Any guesses whether this will work on natural color veg tan if a few spots were previously colored with alcohol art markers- vermilion, burgundy & green? I’m hopeful it will blacken the colored areas as well. 

[Littlef]

4 hours ago, Nowandagain said:

I just started my first batch, using your recipe. Wish me luck!

Any guesses whether this will work on natural color veg tan if a few spots were previously colored with alcohol art markers- vermilion, burgundy & green? I’m hopeful it will blacken the colored areas as well. 

It’ll still blacked the leather, My guess is, if you look close, you’ll probably still see the markers.  From a distance, you probably won’t see the markers.  The lighter green will probably be masked more than the darker purple.  Hard to say 100% until you try it.  

[Nowandagain]

Yesterday I applied a few drops to one corner & got a very light gray. Maybe using a foam brush or dipping the leather might give me a better result. In any case I’m going to let the mix sit another week. 

[Littlef]

I normally pour it in a big Tupperware container.  I dip the leather in it.  I’ve noticed that if I let the leather sit after dipping for 5 to 20 minutes, it continues to get darker.   Also, when you put some neatsfoot oil on it, it also gets darker.  

Just now, Littlef said:

I normally pour it in a big Tupperware container.  I dip the leather in it.  I’ve noticed that if I let the leather sit after dipping for 5 to 10 minutes, it continues to get darker.   Also, when you put some neatsfoot oil on it, it also gets darker.

 

[Nowandagain]

LittleF I’ll have to try dipping next time. I applied it generously with a foam paintbrush today. After several minutes to an hour, the piece turned a satisfying black. 
The piece is now very stiff and dry. I plan to do the back tomorrow. 
 

Any suggestions whether Otter Butter, Bick 4 or oil would be best to recondition the leather? 

[SUP]

It is a good idea to dip the leather in Vinegaroon and then rinse it in running water to remove excess vinegar. Vinegaroon is not a dye and need not be applied like one. Since the color happens because of a chemical reaction, the excess should be rinsed off. With a dip for a few minutes and rinse, the leather does not harden very much. Using Neetsfoot oil before Vinegaroon gets a better color and also prevents much hardening. At least, that is my experience. I use only Vinegaroon to dye my veg-tanned leather black.

Neetsfoot oil might soften your hardened leather some. Not sure how much though.