Members ludmasson Posted September 4, 2017 Members Report Posted September 4, 2017 (edited) So I have been staining some veg tan leather patterns with black pro eco flo water stain. Staining small patterns have been easy, but large patterns have been extremely challenging. First problem is getting the black to be even through out the leather. I stain it with a high density sponge in a small circle motion. I have been doing close to 3 separate coats and still see the circle streaks. I've also dampen the leather as well so the leather doesn't soak it up so fast. But every time I try , I still see streaks. The other day, I ended up staining it 4 separate times and every pass I see circle streaks, so I gave up on trying to get a even coat and went more for a marbled look. I ended up liking the effect. Waking up the next day, I found my leather to extremely hardened, so I massaged Dr. Jacksons rejuvenating cream to soften it. The cream helped but much to my surprise, one if my patterns shrunk 1/2 inch!!! So now my pattern will not work since the alignment of my holes is off. I'm thinking the heat of near 100 degrees didn't help. Any feedback of the best way to go about dyeing leather streakless free. Oil, alcohol, water, what's the best? Thanks Edited September 4, 2017 by ludmasson Quote
garypl Posted September 4, 2017 Report Posted September 4, 2017 I prefer oil dyes - either dip dye the piece or spray the dye on. Dipping gives deeper penetration but spraying can also give you good results and you use less dye. Quote Cowboy 4500, Consew 206RB-4
Members Dwight Posted September 4, 2017 Members Report Posted September 4, 2017 (edited) If I dye it, . . . I dip it, . . . don't have any questions then about the coverage, . . . go over it then (or before) with a coat of neatsfoot oil, . . . use only Feibings Oil dye. Basically no problems with my process. The dip dye process takes more dye, . . . but when you are done, . . . you are done. Ya don't have to question and don't have to worry about scraping it and the color scraping off. May God bless, Dwight Edited September 4, 2017 by Dwight Quote If you can breathe, . . . thank God. If you can read, . . . thank a teacher. If you are reading this in English, . . . thank a veteran. www.dwightsgunleather.com
bikermutt07 Posted September 5, 2017 Report Posted September 5, 2017 (edited) Problem located in your first sentence. Water based dyes have more problems than questions about problems using them posted here. Use fiebings pro dye. They say the USMC black bleeds a lot (never tried it). Just use black. And if I was going black, I would dip it. (Pro dye and pro oil dye are the exact same product according to fiebings. They have discontinued the pro oil moniker to eliminate confusion). Good luck. Edited September 5, 2017 by bikermutt07 Quote I'm not paying 80 bucks for a belt!!! It's a strip of leather. How hard could it be? 4 years and 3 grand later.... I have a belt I can finally live with. Stitching is like gravy, it's only great if you make it every day. From Texas but in Bossier City, Louisiana.
Members ludmasson Posted September 10, 2017 Author Members Report Posted September 10, 2017 Thanks for the feedback. I guess i will be buying some fiebings pro dye. Do I use neatsfoot oil, before and after I stain it? Quote
Members retiredff Posted September 10, 2017 Members Report Posted September 10, 2017 Try an airbrush! I use it for saddle tan because it lets me make it as dark or light as I want. A cheap airbrush is fine for spraying large items (wallets etc), but for fine detail you should spend some $$$$$. Quote
alpha2 Posted September 10, 2017 Report Posted September 10, 2017 If you have an item that will get a LOT of wear, don't think the spray will get in deep enough to not show the raw leather. Swab or dip it. If it won't get that kind of wear, go ahead and spray it. On belts, I always put the dye on pretty heavy, so when the belt wears, it doesn't wear to the raw, lighter leather. Quote So much leather...so little time.
Members TxLeather Posted September 11, 2017 Members Report Posted September 11, 2017 14 hours ago, retiredff said: Try an airbrush! I use it for saddle tan because it lets me make it as dark or light as I want. A cheap airbrush is fine for spraying large items (wallets etc), but for fine detail you should spend some $$$$$. Same here. Particularly for saddle tan. Quote
bikermutt07 Posted September 11, 2017 Report Posted September 11, 2017 15 hours ago, ludmasson said: Thanks for the feedback. I guess i will be buying some fiebings pro dye. Do I use neatsfoot oil, before and after I stain it? I only use it after. I know some people here say it's best before and after. These people know more than I do and claim that it helps the dye penetrate more evenly. I haven't had any luck testing that procedure with scraps, myself. Quote I'm not paying 80 bucks for a belt!!! It's a strip of leather. How hard could it be? 4 years and 3 grand later.... I have a belt I can finally live with. Stitching is like gravy, it's only great if you make it every day. From Texas but in Bossier City, Louisiana.
Members Fire88 Posted September 17, 2017 Members Report Posted September 17, 2017 I will add my experience with dying using the pro dye, like you I had some issues with streaking and problems with color control with brown, purple, turquoise( all that I've used so far). so I on a hunch used some dye diluter with a little bit of dye and applied multiple coats to get the color/darkness I wanted and evenness of the dye job. Takes some experimenting but I've had success with it. Quote
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