$16 Kilt Belt

**pdcorlis** · 30th December 05, 01:03 PM

I'm a new member who just received his first kilt yesterday - so I'm sure this idea isn't new - but I thought I'd try to post a pic of my $16 kilt belt. It's a Husky 2" leather tool belt from Home Depot ($9.90). Just add leather dye ($4.95) from the shoe store, two or three coats of shoe polish, some elbow grease, and wait a couple of days for the gosh awful smell to settle down.

**cavscout** · 30th December 05, 01:23 PM

Many have talked about it but noone has posted a good photo like that. Thanks. It turned out really well.

**pdcorlis** · 30th December 05, 01:32 PM

Thanks Cavscout

I forgot to mention - I included a piece of the extra long belt inside the finished belt to show the color before dying.

**Bob C** · 30th December 05, 01:43 PM

The belt looks great. Did you really need shoe polish, in addition to the leather dye? I've never dyed leather, so I have no idea.

I'd be worried about the polish rubbing off on my clothes.

**pdcorlis** · 30th December 05, 01:54 PM

Hi Bob

Yup - the guy at the shoe repair palce said the polish seals the leather - so the dye won't rub off. It also puts a shine on the belt, otherwise it looks dull.

I'm sure there a plenty here that know a lot more about leather work than me - so I won't pretend to be an expert - I'm NOT!

**Southern Breeze** · 30th December 05, 03:12 PM

Thats a great looking belt. I've seen them before,but I never thought of dying one. It's something to think about. I use one of the 3" belts with my Workmans Utilikilt.

**Abax** · 16th January 07, 11:59 AM

Originally Posted by pdcorlis

the guy at the shoe repair place said the polish seals the leather - so the dye won't rub off. It also puts a shine on the belt, otherwise it looks dull.

When I made my sporran belt, I had the same problem of dye rubbing off. So I polished it with "neutral" shoe polish I got at the local shoe repair. This stuff looks like regular shoe polish (comes in a tin), but it has no coloring added to it. I figured it might have a better chance of not staining my kilt. No problems after 3 or 4 weeks of wear. I'm glad to hear that polish is the recommended solution.

Abax

**pdcorlis** · 16th January 07, 01:17 PM

Yes! Once you dye the leather - it needs to be polished and set aside for a couple of days to "cure" - I'm sure the real leather experts will have a more elegant solution but that's what worked for me. Two rounds of polish and no dye has rubbed off onto my kilts.

**Hachiman** · 18th January 07, 08:47 PM

Originally Posted by pdcorlis

Yes! Once you dye the leather - it needs to be polished and set aside for a couple of days to "cure" - I'm sure the real leather experts will have a more elegant solution but that's what worked for me. Two rounds of polish and no dye has rubbed off onto my kilts.

Hey there folks...

Over here in Australia, I purchase "leather sealant" from my tannery. It's a milky-looking liquid that is applied to the dyed surfaces of the leather (typically by daubing it on with a cloth). I suspect that Tandy or other similar companies in the US should be able to supply you with some form of leather sealant.

The nice thing about the sealant (besides preventing your kilt getting stained) is that it doesn't take a couple of days to "cure" - just a couple of hours or so (depending on ambient temperature / humidity).

cheers

Hachiman

**Bob C** · 19th January 07, 07:33 AM

For those with less ambition, I recommend this belt from Lowe's. It's already a nice, deep brown. I have one and I love it. This has been posted before, but a lot of new folks have joined since then.

http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?actio...5-L&lpage=none