Dye bleed

[Tryggr]

Hey guys I’ve got a few questions for you all concerning dye and finish. I do a lot of dye work and then finish with a homemade beeswax/ neatsfoot mixed 1:1. After that i sew using poly thread in all sorts of colors. My problem is when i rewax a piece later. I notice That when rubbing the wax in it will pull the dye and smear it into the thread. I don’t know why this is an issue. I use fiebings pro dyes and my method is to clean the piece, light oil with neatsfoot (allowing to soak and dry), dye (again allowing to soak/ for at least a few hours), then heavy buffing with a machine buffer. Any tips to prevent the pulling/ bleeding? This happens when the piece is just finished or even months down the road. Any help would be appreciated. 

[chrisash]

You would be better off using Resolene or a similar finish that fixes a full cover over your work and seals it in

[immiketoo]

Your homemade finish isn't a sealer.  You're doing the right things by buffing and oiling, but re-applying wax and oil is activating the excess dyestuffs and smearing.  An acrylic or lacquer finish will eliminate this.

[Tryggr]

7 hours ago, immiketoo said:

Your homemade finish isn't a sealer.  You're doing the right things by buffing and oiling, but re-applying wax and oil is activating the excess dyestuffs and smearing.  An acrylic or lacquer finish will eliminate this.

So would tan kote be an option prior to wax? I’m not a big fan of reselone. 

[immiketoo]

12 hours ago, Tryggr said:

So would tan kote be an option prior to wax? I’m not a big fan of reselone. 

Tan Kote is decent, but it doesn't seal like an acrylic finish.  I don't like resolene either which is why I use RTC.  Usually I will do RTC then tan kote on top of that.  I'm not sure why you're set on using wax as your final finish.  There are better and easier alternatives, unless you're trying for some sort of authenticity or archaic method of sealing.