Leather dying advice needed

[Mipi]

Hi!

Few days ago, I dyed my old boots with Dylon colour for Leather. It should be cracks free result but....it's not. I'm not sure now where's the reason fro this. Would like to avoid similar results if dying sporran or even belt.

My opinion:
1. to use different (better) dye ... which?
2. not enough resting time between each layer
3. any other small tricks of great masters


Thanks for any advice.

Mipi

[Tobus]

I admit to being a bit confused, as what you're talking about doesn't sound like dye at all. Are you talking about shoe polish, or a true leather dye?

[Mipi]

It's not polish. It's leather dye for shoes and leather accessories, brand DYLON.

[McMurdo]

I've made a few belts and sporran straps and I use Fiebing's Leather Dye. I've never had a problem with it, if you can not find it locally you can order it from:

http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/

[Tobus]

Fiebings is what I usually use as well. It's an alcohol-based dye. There are also some oil-based dyes out there that will work too. It's a bit tricky to dye something uniformly, so you may want to practice a bit before doing it on something you really care about. They make a pre-dye conditioner as well, if you're having problems getting a uniform color. Then it obviously needs a good finish over the leather.

One thing I've found is that dyeing leather evenly is very much a function of the leather itself. Different tanning processes and different qualities of leather will make a huge difference. Cheaper leathers take the dye in a splotchy manner. Or if you're dyeing something that's already made/assembled (like a shoe), it may have various compounds already on the leather that will inhibit the dye from penetrating evenly. Oils, waxes, anything like that can cause a dye to soak in unevenly.

What confused me is your mention of "cracks". I'm not sure what you mean by that. Also, you mentioned "layers". Dyes aren't applied in layers. It soaks into the leather; it doesn't sit on top in layers like paint. When dyeing leather, you want to avoid having to come back with a repeated application if possible. It is difficult to get a uniform color once the original application has soaked in and dried.

[escherblacksmith]

I also use Fiebings, and the only layering I have ever done was putting a dark blue stain on and then a black stain. Supposedly it ages better as the black is worn . . . haven't aged anything far enough to verify that yet.

Do you have pictures?

[svc40bt]

I am not familiar with the product you used, but it sounds as though it is one of the leather 'paint' products used to put a coating on lower grade leathers. I would suspect that the cracking is due to it being incompatible with whatever finish was previously on the leather.

I believe there are products designed to remove such 'dyes' but I don't know the name of any off hand. Perhaps one of our professional leatherworkers can help.

The products others have mentioned above are penetrating dyes, like wood stain. They would not work if the boots already have a coating type finish.

[docr606]

If you can get the old dye off, down to bare leather, dampen the leather evenly, let it dry a little, then use the Feibings and it should go on evenly.

Lotsa luck

[Ozark Ridge Rider]

Fiebings is the way to go. It will penetrate better than anything else I ever used.

[blackbeard]

Dylon makes several dye products: fabric dye, leather dye and fabric paints. It is widely available in the UK and the rest of Europe. ( I think that it is a UK company) I have used their fabric dye and it is pretty good stuff. It sounds like you have their hybrid leather dye/paint product that is made for non porous surfaces. (although they market it for leather) From what I know their leather dye is a pretty good product. I would stay away from the stuff that you used on real, non patten leather. Because it is more of a paint than a dye, it can make leather and fabric stiff. (o k for a ladies hand bag, but not so good for shoes and belts) Stick to the Dylon leather dye and you should be fine. (although it is not available in as many colors)

As others have already stated, one reason for the cracking could be that the surface was not prepared correctly. Oils wax, and dirt will make the dye/paint sit on the surface instead of soaking into the leather. Also (just like wood stain and paints) if you think that two coats will be needed. Use two thin coats rather thick coats.

Good luck