Dye wont penetrate leather

[Joelandersson]

First of all, Im new to leather working. Been doing smaller things for a year or so. Recently i have interested myself into dying and finishes. Ive been trying out various spirit based dyes and right now my favorite is the Fiebings Professional Oil Dye. I get great results with this dye and it penetrates the leather well. However i recently acquired a natural colored leather side 1,5mm thickness. It seems to have a light finish applied to it. Ive tried to dye this leather but the color only penetrates a very little amount. By very little i mean that a nail scratch penetrates the color and the natural color is exposed. Ive tried removing the finish with both denatured alcohol and aceton, same result. Ive even tried sanded the leather with 240 grit still bad color penetrating. So obviously something is stopping the dye to soak in. Could the fibers on top be compressed in anyway? I want to learn why it is behaving this way regardless if it can be fixed or not. 

Ive tried dip dying still bad results.

Color penetrates flesh side very well but stops when reaching "grain side layer"

Appriciate any help!

[Mattsbagger]

Where did you get the leather from? Pictures might help. I got some veg tan pigskin from Tandy that wouldn't dye and I returned it.

[alpha2]

It sounds like it isn't veg tanned leather. Other leathers with a surface treatment aren't designed to accept dye.

[Matt S]

17 minutes ago, alpha2 said:

It sounds like it isn't veg tanned leather. Other leathers with a surface treatment aren't designed to accept dye.

There are plenty of veg tanned leathers with a top finish. There are chrome tanned leathers without Since the dye is penetrating the flesh but not the grain it does sound like there is some surface treatment involved, perhaps a sealant or maybe just a glazing.

 

Joel, post us a picture if you can.

[Joelandersson]

I will, cant get the pictures to upload from phone, but will try with the computer asap! Thanks for your replys! It is veg tanned according to the supplier which is a trusted one. 

Edited September 17, 2017 by Joelandersson
Typo

[Joelandersson]

so here is a picture wich is dyed. this one i acctually sanded down abit before i dyed it. so without sanding the dye penetrates even less.

[gigi]

Have you tried Fiebing's Deglazer? https://www.tandyleather.com/en/product/fiebing-s-deglazer-4-oz

5 hours ago, Joelandersson said:

Color penetrates flesh side very well but stops when reaching "grain side layer"

In the picture looks like it works only on the grain side.  It's easier to buy blank leather (natural, not finished). 

[Joelandersson]

44 minutes ago, gigi said:

Have you tried Fiebing's Deglazer? https://www.tandyleather.com/en/product/fiebing-s-deglazer-4-oz

In the picture looks like it works only on the grain side.  It's easier to buy blank leather (natural, not finished). 

Picture only show dye atemp on tge grain side. Will de fiebing deglazer work much different than denatured alcohol:aceton? 

[battlemunky]

After seeing the pics I don't see too much of a problem. How far are you wanting the dye to go? As long as it goes deep enough to avoid surface abrasion and minor wear, it should be good. If it is for some high wear item, dye it multiple times. Also, dampening with water a little prior to dye may help penetration too.

[Joelandersson]

2 hours ago, battlemunky said:

After seeing the pics I don't see too much of a problem. How far are you wanting the dye to go? As long as it goes deep enough to avoid surface abrasion and minor wear, it should be good. If it is for some high wear item, dye it multiple times. Also, dampening with water a little prior to dye may help penetration too.

As said that was after sanding the surface. Without sanding it is very shallow.

i just thought you would be able to get the dye deeper. Right now it quickly conecentrate the color so its hard gettinf anything else than dark colors. 

Ill try the dampening tomorrow and reply with the results! 

[Troy I]

Dip dye some scrap and see what happens.

[Joelandersson]

So ive done some more testing. this is what ive tried:

Dip dye: will eventually dye trough the leather but it takes long time.

I applied dye with a dauber from the flesh side (alot of dye) to see if it would penetrate the surface which it kinda did very odd i got small dots of dark color and the rest just was just the alchol comming trough.

I made the dye thinner by adding denatured alcohol and "soaked" the grain side which gave me better results and deeper penetration but again it seems like its mostly the alcohol which is getting trough. a quite pale coloring deeper in the grain.

Going to keep testing different ratios to see if i can get the result which im looking for.

Next time ill take this in consideration before i buy leather.

 

Thanks for all replys!

[Joelandersson]

So, ive done some more testing. Grain layer wont penetrate on this leather. Tried to sand ir down with 120 grit sand paper no difference dye stops between grain and flesh layer. Took some scrap true veg tanned non finished leather. The dye soaked up good and eventually went all the way true. Ill just use this as a natural leather piece.

Case closed no loss ends. If you are going to dye leather, only dye unfinished veg tan leather of good quality.