Lighter Fiebings Dye - Noob Question

[Boicie]

Hey there,

Noob question, I've got some fiebings dye and it looks nice but I want to make it lighter. I tried Methylated Spirits but it seemed to make it really splodgy - like I was mixing oil with water. Is Isopropyl Alcohol going to be any better or is there something better to try? I live in outback Australia so anything I order has at least 1-week delivery time.

One other question, after I dye it, what's the best thing to seal it with? I've got some Resoline and some Leather Balm with Atom Wax.

Frankly, I think I've got crappy leather to work with but, again, noob.  I've made some nice things with tannery-died stuff; a really nice mask and I'm sewing a bag at the moment, but I think the leather I got to dye myself isn't very good quality which seems to be a very important factor in these projects. I want to experiment with colours which means learning how to dye and paint.

thanks for the help  

[Dwight]

Feibings makes and sells dye thinner . . . and frankly . . . after a few unhappy episodes such as you mentioned . . . I don't use anything else.

Some folks on here will tell you that you can save a bunch of money using something else . . . but when you figure the price of the thinner into the dye you are using . . . VS . . . your labor . . . and the leather . . . in my opinion . . . they are shoveling sand against the tide.

AND . . . always cut it 50/50 . . . never more . . . never less . . . you will like the results.

PLUS . . . a light coat of neatsfoot oil the day before you dye . . . on the hair side only . . . will make the dye job look really good.  

May God bless,

Dwight

[tsunkasapa]

I have used Denatured alcohol for decades with perfect results. And if you get Al Stohlman's "How To Color Leather" he will show all manner of things to do with tints, shades, blends, etc.

Here is the MSDS for the Dye Reducer. You will notice that it is predominately isopropyl alcohol.

Microsoft Word - Dye Reducer_GHS (weaverleathersupply.com)

 

Edited May 18, 2021 by tsunkasapa

[Boicie]

Thanks @Dwight my issue is getting things this far outback. I was given some neatsfoot but had no idea what to do with it. I'll give it a try.

 

@tsunkasapa I was hoping someone will say that. I need to get some Iso for cleaning other things anyway, so if it doesn't work, I'll get some proper reducer.

 

Thanks so much for the help guys  God Bless