Getting Black to Stay True Black!

[farmkidkoko]

Once again, thank you to everyone for weighing in.  In case you were wondering, here's what happened with my project:

I got a wet rag and scrubbed the heck out of it.  I was worried about gummy residue on the blacker parts - luckily, I was able to scrub all that stuff off completely, leaving me with a fairly consistent light brown.  I let it all dry and then went back, dampened and re-dyed it (thinking it wouldn't work, but hoping it would).  Application was patchy.  Second application looked a bit better, but still nowhere near up to spec.  I intended to go to Tandy and get the Pro Dye, hoping it would solve my problem, but Tandy is a good four-hour round trip that I didn't really have time to make.

Ultimately I called my customer to let him know what was going on (mostly cuz of the time lag due to me having get the Pro Dye).  His suggestion: use a Sharpie.  I laughed pretty hard at that (thought he was kidding), but when he said it again, I figured why not.  So I Sharpied it, let it dry, put a top-coat on...and it's about the nearest thing to perfect I could hope for at this stage.  Project salvaged!

I'm not sure about longevity, especially since the ink is on top of all that dye, but I rubbed it good and hard with a white cloth and nothing came off.  I'm still going to get the Pro Dye on my next trip to Tandy and I'm still going to try the purple/blue trick and the wetting the leather trick...but I'm also going to do a little more digging into the Sharpie thing.  I'm interested in making a piece I can keep and use to find out what happens with it over the long term!

[BDAZ]

I have used a black marker for edging which seems to hold up. Permanent marker is soluble in Alcohol. You may want to try to wipe down the belt with Acetone or Methylated Spirits (denatured Alcohol) and remove as much gunk as possible and try again. I doubt it will ever be 100% but you never know.

Bob

[BrotherRon]

On 5/8/2018 at 11:32 PM, farmkidkoko said:

Hey all!

I'm looking for advice on a problem I've been having for awhile.  Whether I use black dye (water or oil based), antiquing, edge coat, or whatever, my black doesn't stay black.  When I put a top protective coat on (resolene, super shene, satin shene, etc), the black wipes off leaving brown behind.

On this specific piece I tried one technique that didn't work and subsequently tried a second one that hasn't failed me too badly in the past.  Well, this time it did fail.  All my attempts (including my last one of over-dyeing the entire project) went bust.  I personally like the rustic look I wound up with, but it's not what my customer ordered.

So, two questions:

1. How do you keep your black vibrantly black?  What products or techniques work for you?
2. Any ideas on how to fix this specific piece?

Thanks,

Miranda
 

It is imperative that you let the black dry for at least 24 hours or you will get the conditions you described. ALWAYS let the black dry for al least 24 hours and this should solve your problem.