It has been a few days since my last post and I do
apologize. I have been trying to get things up and running with my new computer
and have had some challenges in doing so. Anyway, I thought that since we
finished up on how a pattern is tooled that I should talk about some of the
methods for finishing the tooled pattern.
Over the years, I have used many products to put the finishing
touches on a hand-tooled project. I guess that the older I get the simpler I
like things. When I first started making belts, it seemed that color was the
choice for most of the belts that I made. I dyed the background with a
water-based acrylic dye. I had people wanting belts with white background, blue
background, black, and so on. Something that you will learn is that it takes a
lot longer to complete a project if you dye the background.
Leather dye comes in many forms and can be applied by just
about anyone. With some of the dyes that are available, you want to make sure
that you are in a well-ventilated work area because of the odors that they give
off. The dyes that I have used over the years have changed some in their chemical
makeup to make them more environmentally and user safe. Please notice that I did
not say user friendly.
The acrylic leather dyes work just about like paint. When
applied to the leather they are heavier in consistency and they are thicker.
When planning to apply any kind of leather dye it is a very good idea to check
out the company’s instructions on how to use it. You will find that some dyes require
that the leather be cleaned before any finish is applied. If you are going to
mainly dye the background on you project then you should have no problem with
acrylic dye adhering or a leather stain penetrating the appropriate areas.
Acrylic dyes can be applied to the background area with a
brush. You will want at least two brushes for dying your projects, one medium sized,
and the other small enough to get into the smaller areas. Acrylic dyes are a
little more forgiving than the dyes that actually stain the leather. It is a
good idea to have both a larger and a smaller brush no matter what type of dye
you use.
I very seldom use acrylic dyes these days. I prefer to have
things simple and I try to eliminate the tedious work of brushing the dye into
the little background areas. That does not mean that I do not like the looks of
some colors on leather. If I needed a bright red, a blue, or green I would use
an acrylic dye because it would give a more true color than the staining dye.
The acrylic dyes do not penetrate the leather as the stains do and are a lot
like the paint in your living room. There will be a certain amount of penetration
with the acrylic, but not the same as with the stain. With that being said, there
some products that I have never used that are water based that will penetrate
the leather and I cannot speak to the quality of them.
Some of the acrylic dyes
that I have used said on the instructions “Do not shake.” I shook the bottles
before I read the instructions because I am the type of guy who likes to charge
ahead and get things done. I do not like to read the instructions on how to use
new software either. I learn by experience, just like with Window 8. I had
never used Windows 8 until I got my new laptop. I was more than a little
frustrated for the first couple of days trying to navigate around the new look
of the operating system. Thankfully, I can utilize my limited knowledge of the other
operating systems to get things figured out.
I use two brands of leather dyes that actually penetrate and
stain the leather and are made by the Lincoln and Fiebing companies. I prefer
the dye made by the Fiebing dye if I am going to dye a complete project, such
as a holster, with one color. With this dye, I am able to shake it up, yes, I
do shake it up, and I pour half of it into another bottle or some kind of
container and mix it with rubbing alcohol. Diluting the dye in half is a trick
I learned from a saddle maker I worked with for a while. The diluted dye works
especially well if you are going to use an airbrush to apply the dye.
I like the Lincoln dye because it gives me a true color on
the leather that looks very nice, but I do not like the odor that it gives off
and seems to stay with the leather for a while. This is one leather dye that I
make sure that I use in a well-ventilated work area because the odor does
bother me a great deal. I do not think that it is necessarily going to make me
sick or something, but I just want to be safe as I should be with the other
brand as well.
I mentioned that I use an airbrush to apply the dye to some
of my projects. The same saddle maker who told me about cutting the Fiebing dye
with rubbing alcohol got me started with doing this. It is not necessary to go
out and buy an airbrush to dye a belt or a holster. I just wanted to let you
know about it. Besides, you would need an air compressor and an airbrush. The
compressor would be the bigger expense in getting set up to dye projects in
this manner. An airbrush that would allow you to dye a belt or other project
may as little as $14.00 USD. To save money you could just use the dauber that
comes in the box with the dye.
I will post more on this topic as soon as I can and I will
include some example photos as well.
Have fun!
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