Applying dye to leather

[alecf]

Whats your method of doing this?

I see people with beautifully dyed leather items but all I land up with is a dark monotonous 'orrible looking thing.

Any tips for a good finish?

Cheers,
Alec

 

[brancho]

I dilute my dye with Meths and so it takes more time to build the colour

 

[Black Sheep]

Depends on the type of leather and dye

different people have their favorites, I use Punch Suede dye on my veg tan or just Neatsfoot oil.

Experiment on off cuts and see what works for you.

Richard

 

[alecf]

Cheers all,

Good idea with the offcuts, I'll give it ago

 

[Cromm]

I wet the leather to open the pores on the leather then put the dye on in swirls so there is no lines.....

 

[Kerne]

I generally wet the leather (when using Fiebings spirit-based dyes) to get a more even spread. Lately I have tried submerging the leather (small projects only! ) in a photographic developing tray with the dye in it, then putting the unused dye back in the bottle. This works well though it may be a little wasteful as my, once green, tray is now brown.