finish on the inside of holsters

[SmilinJim]

How do you finish the inside of your holsters. NOT lined holsters. Gum Tragancath to lay down the flesh side or just stain and rub? Any and all comments will be welcomed.

Keep on Smilin

Jim

[yaklady]

Hi SmilinJim,

When I do the inside of a holster, I lightly dampen the leather and rub it with glycerine saddle soap, the bar kind. Then I rub that with a cocobolo stick to make it smooth and shiny. If you are going to dye the inside, do that first. I recommend oil dye.

Kathy

[Art]

Hi Jim,

Sand if needed, then Dye, Gum, Bag Kote, Tan Kote, Lexol, any breathable finish, I use Bag, but Gum Trag is a good finish too, and it is natural.

Art

How do you finish the inside of your holsters. NOT lined holsters. Gum Tragancath to lay down the flesh side or just stain and rub? Any and all comments will be welcomed.

Keep on Smilin

Jim

[Don101]

it too dampen the inside before assembly and polish - buff with wood and bone slicker

[SmilinJim]

Thanks for the advice folks. Been doing about the same, just wasn't sure if it was 'correct'. Which brings up another question. yaklady recommends oil dye. I like the stuff myself. Seems to give a deeper color. BUT, I seem to always have a problem wanting to put on a heavier single coat of dye. As you apply some areas appear lighter as it is absorbed and other darker. I try to go back and have a more uniform first coat. Is that good, bad or just plain stupid. What methods do you folks use?

Keep on Smilin

Jim

[Johanna]

I use Leather Balm with Atom Wax or water and a rub, as suggested above. If I were going to dye it, I would choose oil dye because it seems to penetrate better.

On the top side of the leather (grain side) maybe use a cut up sponge or scrap sheepswool to apply the dye. Better two light coats than one heavy one. As one of the masters once said, "You can always make something darker and shorter, but never lighter and longer." No hide will ever absorb dye evenly; the best you can hope for is streak free. Well, I take that back. The fancy English tanned zillion dollar a square foot and blemish free (but small hides) leather will take dye evenly most of the time.

K-Man- how do you finish the insides of your holsters?

Johanna

[K-Man]

I cheat - I have the folks at Hermann Oak do the moss finish for me. :biggrin: It costs a little bit more per square foot, but compare that to the time that would be spent applying a finish otherwise, it's well worth it. Outside of that, I've heard many reports of folks having great success with the gum trag.

With respect to type of dye used - I use Angelus dyes. They penetrate well and generally have a better consistency. I buy the dye by the gallon direct from Angelus, and let me tell you if you don't already know, it is substantially cheaper than from TLF - like $35/gallon cheaper. There is a $25 hazmat fee added to each shipment. I buy a total of 4 gallons per order, so I end up only paying $6.25 per gallon for that hazmat fee. You can mix the color choice, i.e., brown, black, etc. In addition, I use their acrylic finish - great stuff. I don't remember whether or not you have to have a business license or tax ID in order to buy from them, but I would recommend to folks to check it out.