I've only been doing leather working for a couple of months now. What I find easy as I have to use water based dies like ECO Flo here in California is to oil the leather first then let it dry. I use a mix of Tan-Kote, water and dye to get the color and shade even on my projects. It doesn't matter if you put it on evenly just rub clean with a rag and everything evens out. If you have light spots you can apply more mixture and rub repeat where necessary. All you need to do after it drys completely is maybe a little more oil and a top coat if you want it water and oil resistant.
Wow! Thanks so much for this one! I have heard many different ideas but this clears things up. I had started the oil-before-dye method, but your oil-after-dye make SO much more sense!! Thanks Joe for teaching us!!
Great tips and advise on laying down color Joe. Even after 8 years of doing this, I still have trouble getting even coats. Hints one reason I tend to use an airbrush. However, sometimes the airbrush is just a plain hassle. The best is, "trust the process." Thanks for what you do bud!
Greetings from OZ. Hi Joe, I have been using your technique and no failures yet. However, it is amazing how many shades of the same dye you can get, making all my belts unique. Good health!
Thanks, this is what I needed. Every time I dye a project, it looks horrible, and I can never get it to shine. I will try this next time, thanks. Subbed and liked!
Thanks, Joe. I've been back and forth with oiling before or after dyeing, and eventually settled on after, since it seemed to me the dyeing would dry out the leather some. Anyhow, thanks for sharing your techniques and knowledge with us. You're a great talent. God bless!
Hi Joe, my question is, when you apply the dye is the leather supposed to be completely dry?? I have stamped some pendant necklaces and want to dye wear I stamped, I want a natural leather surrounding the design. Thank you!
Thanks Joe! This was an extremely helpful tutorial and helped answer some questions I had with getting even dye coverage. I especially liked the tip on when and why to oil your project--something I have been negligent about.
Joe, tried your method on a Herman Oak belt blank. Disaster. In several spots, the dye seeped in from the side (I squished the excess from the foam brush on the side of the jar) and ruined the blank. Was really disappointed with the results. And used Fiebings neetsfoot oil with sheepskin short while after applying dye (Golden Tan Pro Dye)
Your videos are great! I have learned so much from them. I was wondering what your thoughts are on air brushing leather. I seem to have better results with air brushing than hand dying. Might you do a video on air brushing?
My wife has a leather purse that had a stain. I used saddle soap to clean out the stain but this made the leather lighter where I cleaned. I believe I have the right color leather dye. How do I make sure that it blends correctly?
I'm getting ready to make and tool a leather mobile phone cover and I've seen a video where they used gum trag on the leather surface as a finish and they also used Tokenol. Have you ever used either one to finish leather and can it be used as a leather finish after oiling it? Thanks for the video 👍
Hai, I am new to dyeing my leather. I am wondering about the Fiebing's Pro dye or Leather dye drying time in general? I read online you need to leave it for 24 hours. but in one of your videos you mentioned an hour in between. What is your advise. I make dog collars and obviously don't want the dye to stain on. the dog. Great video! Many thanks!
Cool seeing you you using the same products that i as a rather beginner am using (i just use la ruota leather because i am seated in europe). How long do you leave it to dry before getting on with the oil? By the way: Saddle Tan is such a beautiful fiebings color. Made a backpack with it and it looks phanomenal. How do you treat the leather afterwards? I sometimes have the problem that colour rubs of onto clothing. Do you use a finish (which I honestly dont want to because I like the natural finish a lot) or do you use some kind of wax/fat?
You can oil the project within a couple minutes, the pro dye doesn't take long to dry. As long as you don't have obvious wet puddles, and you can lightly touch your project and not get dyeing rubbing off on your skin, you can oil it. You may want to wait a few minutes longer if you have multiple colors, or areas that don't have dye adjacent to your dyed areas that you don't want to accidentally drag dye onto, but the pro dyes are pretty color fast. The water dyes, on the other hand, I've found certain colors rub off on hands, clothes, etc., unless you really seal the surface with a good sealer, like Resolene or Neat-lac.
@@RavensHammer00 thanks, really appreciate it! If the pro dyes are not water based, how do you clean the paint brush after applying the dye? Or do you have to use a different paint brush for each colour of pro dye?
Those are not "chip brushes" they are foam brushes. Chip brushes have fibers/hairs in them and are not suitable for dying. Good lesson, but not a method I use to dye. I prefer a cloth or dauber to the foam brush. I even air brush sometimes.
Really like the tip..."Trust the process". Thanks for sharing.
I've only been doing leather working for a couple of months now. What I find easy as I have to use water based dies like ECO Flo here in California is to oil the leather first then let it dry. I use a mix of Tan-Kote, water and dye to get the color and shade even on my projects. It doesn't matter if you put it on evenly just rub clean with a rag and everything evens out. If you have light spots you can apply more mixture and rub repeat where necessary. All you need to do after it drys completely is maybe a little more oil and a top coat if you want it water and oil resistant.
Wow! Thanks so much for this one! I have heard many different ideas but this clears things up. I had started the oil-before-dye method, but your oil-after-dye make SO much more sense!! Thanks Joe for teaching us!!
Great tips and advise on laying down color Joe. Even after 8 years of doing this, I still have trouble getting even coats. Hints one reason I tend to use an airbrush. However, sometimes the airbrush is just a plain hassle. The best is, "trust the process." Thanks for what you do bud!
Greetings from OZ. Hi Joe, I have been using your technique and no failures yet. However, it is amazing how many shades of the same dye you can get, making all my belts unique. Good health!
Thanks, this is what I needed. Every time I dye a project, it looks horrible, and I can never get it to shine. I will try this next time, thanks. Subbed and liked!
Thanks, Joe. I've been back and forth with oiling before or after dyeing, and eventually settled on after, since it seemed to me the dyeing would dry out the leather some. Anyhow, thanks for sharing your techniques and knowledge with us. You're a great talent. God bless!
Does the Neatsfoot Oil have any negative effect on cementing layers together? I learn alot from your videos and look forward to more! Thanks
Thanks Joe. I struggle to get even coverage. I will use this method on my next project.
Hi Joe, my question is, when you apply the dye is the leather supposed to be completely dry?? I have stamped some pendant necklaces and want to dye wear I stamped, I want a natural leather surrounding the design. Thank you!
Thanks Joe! This was an extremely helpful tutorial and helped answer some questions I had with getting even dye coverage. I especially liked the tip on when and why to oil your project--something I have been negligent about.
Thanks for sharing your professional skills it is so helpful to watch your techniques and procedures. Great videos and content.
Joe, tried your method on a Herman Oak belt blank. Disaster. In several spots, the dye seeped in from the side (I squished the excess from the foam brush on the side of the jar) and ruined the blank. Was really disappointed with the results. And used Fiebings neetsfoot oil with sheepskin short while after applying dye (Golden Tan Pro Dye)
Thank you for this tip. I now know where I'm making my mistakes. 🤙
Your videos are great! I have learned so much from them. I was wondering what your thoughts are on air brushing leather. I seem to have better results with air brushing than hand dying. Might you do a video on air brushing?
My wife has a leather purse that had a stain. I used saddle soap to clean out the stain but this made the leather lighter where I cleaned. I believe I have the right color leather dye. How do I make sure that it blends correctly?
I have had much more streaking and problems with pro dye than the leather dye. I wonder why that is? And you put dye on dry leather?
I'm getting ready to make and tool a leather mobile phone cover and I've seen a video where they used gum trag on the leather surface as a finish and they also used Tokenol. Have you ever used either one to finish leather and can it be used as a leather finish after oiling it?
Thanks for the video 👍
Excellent tutorial, thank you.
I wish I saw this before conpletely messing up my project with dye and leather balm.. i think i put 10 coats of each 😅
Do you have any tips on dying the whole thing, front, back and sides?
Dunk it?
Hai, I am new to dyeing my leather. I am wondering about the Fiebing's Pro dye or Leather dye drying time in general? I read online you need to leave it for 24 hours. but in one of your videos you mentioned an hour in between. What is your advise. I make dog collars and obviously don't want the dye to stain on. the dog. Great video! Many thanks!
Cool seeing you you using the same products that i as a rather beginner am using (i just use la ruota leather because i am seated in europe). How long do you leave it to dry before getting on with the oil?
By the way: Saddle Tan is such a beautiful fiebings color. Made a backpack with it and it looks phanomenal.
How do you treat the leather afterwards? I sometimes have the problem that colour rubs of onto clothing. Do you use a finish (which I honestly dont want to because I like the natural finish a lot) or do you use some kind of wax/fat?
When are you switching to water based dye I think solvent based is done I personally like water based they just need a few more colors
All these years trying to get the color I want the only way I an get the color I want is the Air Brush period.
I was hoping you would show the walnut finished product, that’s what I typically use and usually it ends up darker than I like
If you dilute pro dye with alcohol you will get a lighter color. Experiment on scrap with different dilutions to get color you like.
Do you let the dye fully dry before you apply the neatsfoot oil?
You can oil the project within a couple minutes, the pro dye doesn't take long to dry. As long as you don't have obvious wet puddles, and you can lightly touch your project and not get dyeing rubbing off on your skin, you can oil it. You may want to wait a few minutes longer if you have multiple colors, or areas that don't have dye adjacent to your dyed areas that you don't want to accidentally drag dye onto, but the pro dyes are pretty color fast. The water dyes, on the other hand, I've found certain colors rub off on hands, clothes, etc., unless you really seal the surface with a good sealer, like Resolene or Neat-lac.
@@RavensHammer00 thanks, really appreciate it! If the pro dyes are not water based, how do you clean the paint brush after applying the dye? Or do you have to use a different paint brush for each colour of pro dye?
Is Fiebings pro dye always oil based? I ask because every Fiebings pro dye that I found on ebay is oil based. Thanks for the answer.
Fiebings is alcohol based, the pro dye contains additional oils in order to improve its blending and application behaviour. The leather dye does not.
The pro dye tends to not really stiffen leather as the oils are intended to feed it as you dye.
@@vansuddles7727 thank you.
Anyone tried soaking the leather in water, then dyeing? How does it turn out?
HO is great, but I feel that Live Oak takes dyes better.
You've gotta be careful with Neatsfoot oil. My friend's dogs got to a project with it on and chewed it up.
Whats up with not using gloves or respirator? Safety first.
I just watched a TH-cam short of a maker that absolutely trashed a dye job. I almost commented on it but decided not to
Those are not "chip brushes" they are foam brushes. Chip brushes have fibers/hairs in them and are not suitable for dying. Good lesson, but not a method I use to dye. I prefer a cloth or dauber to the foam brush. I even air brush sometimes.
He is saying cheap brushes. 😊