Hey guys. I picked up some leather and dye from a local Tandy and I’m getting inconstancy with the dyeing. I wet the leather before dyeing but still seem to be getting some dramatic differences. Thoughts?
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Part of that is the fact that it is organic.
Always variation in grown things.
Sometimes the variation in color can be a good thing and make it stand out, so…
It seems to me that the way it is cured affects it also, well cut wise so I imagine dye wise too.
Search ‘leather’ on this forum and see what people have been talking up.
Some others here that do a lot of leather can maybe give tips on the types of leathers and good/bad dying habits.
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I don’t know the answer but that’s darn good dog collar you’ve got going there!
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What kind of dye? Antiques do this thing where they stain more the longer they sit on there, but only the fresh stuff from the bottle, so wherever you start is darker. You can mitigate somewhat by pouring the dye on a rag or sponge first and working quickly.
My other thought is that something is acting as a resist on part of the leather. Oil from hands, the shop or conditioner. Or perhaps adhesive from masking. Perhaps a good scrub down with, uh, dishsoap beforehand?
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Definitely not a leather expert, but for the few tests I’ve run, I got a much better result with the paste dyes…you know like shoe polish type. The liquids are too hard to get even without it dying too dark. (Fiebings)
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The Tandy people are going to be your best resource.
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Good suggestion on paste dyes. My problem is that in spots where I have lasered a lot, the liquid dye soaks through to the back, making it darker that the surrounding spots where it doesn’t soak through. It ends up making it look like I have a food stain on that part of the leather.
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