Feibings die all look the same colour

[garypl]

1 hour ago, Northmount said:

Be careful of alcohol fumes being drawn through a fan where the motor is open to the fumes.  The motor needs to be a non-sparking type, no switch in the motor or totally enclosed fan cooled (TEFC).  A spark in alcohol fumes can give you quite an unwelcome surprise!

Tom

Tom, I agree with you about the alcohol fumes - that's why I generally try to apply dye to large pieces outside.  Thanks for bringing this important point to everyone's attention.

Gary

[howlback]

These are mostly all Fiebing’s pro and a couple standard leather dyes. There is definitely a difference. The colors you spoke of actually vary much more than their light tan colors. I have a lot of customers ask for ridiculous colors (i.e. “electric blue” not pictured) and as mentioned before, an airbrush is the only way to go. You can dip and dob all day long but you waste a ton of dye and have little to no control over how much dye you’re applying. With an airbrush, you can spray on a few light coats back-to-back and you’re finished. No streaks, no drips plus the leather dries much faster since it’s not being drown in dye. (Disclaimer: airbrushing is a learned skill, it takes time)

Edited March 17, 2018 by howlback

[Jimmy McLaughlin]

Great photo howiback, that explains it all. I also spray in my basement. I have a plastic back drop that painters use. I do have a window for ventilation and I wear a respirator . As you can see from Howlbacks photo above, how even the shades are, you just can't do that any other way, except with an airbrush. His hands are clean to, LOL,great job Howlback.

 

Jim

[MorningStarL]

I finished a costom order last night for six matching lighter brown knife sheaths.  I was dying the first Saddle Tan when I knocked the bottle over.  Much cussin'.  There was enought to do the second but they're both streaky and dark brown.  Same bottle and (I think) same hide as two I did last week.  I knew this order wuld run me out so I ordered more Wednesday night, but we had to e-mail the client to say, "Not Saturday now."  i' m searching for a way to lighten what I've got.  Was using a damp sponge on damp 9-10 ounce vegtan.  Operation's too small for a sprayer topay off 

[Jimmy McLaughlin]

Check out Harbor Fright they have a reasonable priced spray brush set. The compressor  works great, I purchased a different air brush. A NEO, works great.

Jim

[howlback]

Quick sidenote about airbrushing: When using an airbrush, the dye won’t penetrate as deep. When I am dyeing items that will undergo significant wear (such as belts) I tend to use a dobber instead. Obviously, my color options decrease significantly because, as mentioned before, many Fiebing’s dyes look similar (when using a dobber to apply). However, using a dobber means I can rest easy knowing my belts will wear-in without the bright paleness of the natural veg tan showing through. This is something that I haven’t been able to avoid yet when airbrushing on my dyes. If a buckle wears in the edges of the leather, you can start to see the natural veg color underneath pretty quickly.

[MorningStarL]

What about dipping?  Although I can see that might be hard with a belt.

[Rockoboy]

On ‎7‎/‎08‎/‎2018 at 3:54 AM, MorningStarL said:

What about dipping?  Although I can see that might be hard with a belt.

Not so difficult. I have dipped long articles by using a vertical PVC pipe. All you need to be aware of is, the volume of the pipe and the amount of dye in the pipe, and how full the pipe will be when you add the object being dyed.

One idea I have never used, but considered, is after gluing end caps on to the pipe cut the piece of pipe along its length, making a long narrow trough. Use gloves to protect hands and fingers and a floor cover sheet to catch the drips, hang your object to dry.

[fredk]

Thats doubly clever, that pipe.

For dipping belts I use plenty of dye in my dip tray and pull a belt through, one end in each hand, back and forth. It takes time and care to get an even coating of dye.

I forsee a visit to a builders merchants soon for some PVC pipe.

[Rockoboy]

I used to dip my POC wooden arrows that way. It only took a minute to figure out how much coating to pour in the vertical pipe, then dip each arrow and hang them up to dry with a pin in one end.

So much better than a brush, and spraying was not a possibility for me at that time.