Waterstain thinning

[DV8DUG]

I'm trying to get a lighter shade of blue out of Tandy's Eco-Flo Navy Blue waterstain. I have had luck with other colors but this one is giving me troubles.

I have tried thinning with both water and denatured alcohol and a combination of the two as well. I airbrush all my stains. The color comes out too light or hardly noticeable at all or just too heavy.

I have tried applying a light layer of resolene first to no avail.

Any advice? 

[battlemunky]

I have that same stain. I'll give it a few test shots in a bit and get back to you.

Edited October 4, 2019 by battlemunky

[battlemunky]

@DV8DUG

Ok, here is what I got with a few caveats to begin. I thought I had the Navy Blue but only have the Blue (assuming there's a "regular ol' " implied in front of it) and I applied with Q-tips not airbrush. I assume you could get a similar result with a dauber as well but I use swabs for tests, etc. I appear to have gotten a similar result as you though...very little variation between the ratios. 3:1 looks a lot like 5:1.

Let me know if you have any questions. I measured everything with a syringe, in 1 cc increments, clean swab end for each run. I screwed up my ratios on the sheet but will clarify here: 2:1 was actually 1 part stain, 1 part water. 75% was supposed to mean 3 parts stain to 1 part either 91% isopropyl or water, and 5:1 means 5 parts to 1 part isopropyl or water. It wasn't really a surprise to me being as it was waterstain that the waterstain looks a bit better cutting it with water.

Edited October 4, 2019 by battlemunky
typo

[wizard of tragacanth]

Tandy advises to use water for dilution.

https://www.tandyleather.com/en/product/eco-flo-waterstain

nick

[DV8DUG]

@battlemunky

You are awesome. Doing tests like that. I totally appreciate you going the extra mile to find an answer to my question.

I am a Californian and a lot of the more interesting colors of dyes are not allowed to be sold here. I'm going to travel soon, and build my color selection as well. That being said, I do have to say that the VOC compliant black dye made by Fiebings is perfectly awesome through an airbrush.

[battlemunky]

No sweat man. I have noticed that the low VOC dyes from Fiebings leaves the metallic sheen sometimes. I never can predict when that occurs so I've switched over exclusively to the pro dyes if I don't just get a dyed side. I understand Cali is a bit restrictive. Best of luck!

[DV8DUG]

Update.... I have found some of the basic (regular 'ol) blue from Tandy. I was able to get the baby blue I was seeking.

[DV8DUG]

Update.... I have found some of the basic (regular 'ol) blue from Tandy. I was able to get the baby blue I was seeking.

[battlemunky]

Good deal! I was out in my dye shop on xmas morning and saw the swatch I was testing and wondered how you ended up making out on the issue. 

[DV8DUG]

I heavily reduced the blue with denatured alcohol... Heavily. 10 to 1 and sprayed multiple coats to get it to start to even show up. But it did, and one more coat would have prolly pushed it too dark.

[Ed in Tx]

I just saw this post and wanted to provide some input. The Tandy waterstain is made by an Italian company called Fenice unless they have changed. There is a product that is made specifically for thinning the waterstain and it is available from Campbell Randall Leather Machine Co. in Texas. It is a Fenice branded product and comes in a 1 liter bottle for $13.99. They also carry the waterstain in several colors and at a much better price than Tandy.

I was using the product  yesterday to reduce the brown to a light brown and it worked great.