Vinegaroon Tutorial

[John Fenna]

I just tried the iron tablets (iron sulphate) in warm water as a leather dye and only got a light grey/brown , not intense black like I do from iron/venegar mix....
Am I doing something wrong?
I used 4 tablets to about 1/2 pint of water

 

[Toddy]

Sorry, I ought to have mentioned this too.

They changed the recipe a couple of years ago from ferrous sulphate to ferrous gluconate.
The old tablets, the pink ones, work fine as a mordant, but the gluconate ones take longer and really need an acidic background to work well............a little vinegar in the water is all it needs.

I do like Graham's tutorial, and I do like the finish he gets on his work, I don't know if my iron mordant is as strong though, and I don't know if it works as effectively as a leather dye either..........sorry John, not being of much help here.

atb,
M

 

[John Fenna]

I will try a little nvinegar in the mix....
Cheers

 

[Black Sheep]

I just tried the iron tablets (iron sulphate) in warm water as a leather dye and only got a light grey/brown , not intense black like I do from iron/venegar mix....
Am I doing something wrong?
I used 4 tablets to about 1/2 pint of water

Hi John,

I used 2 "Ferograd" tables to about 30ml of water seemed to work ok.

Richard

 

[clcuckow]

Hi Graham,

I have used technique a few time before but I was wondering if you had any tips to get rid of the smell?

 

[g4ghb]

Hi Graham,

I have used technique a few time before but I was wondering if you had any tips to get rid of the smell?

Patience - it goes in a few days....... (plus can be masked a tad by the oil / wax you use)

 

[clcuckow]

Patience - it goes in a few days....... (plus can be masked a tad by the oil / wax you use)

I have got a small pouch I made over a year ago and it still smells like a chippy That said I think I got a bit impatient and hot dipped (50/50 BW and NFO) it too soon

 

[Jeannius61]

Good tutorial Graham! Nice one.

Solution to the vinegar smell: Use a really good quality malt vinegar, preferably with a few pickling spices in it - then you can inhale with pleasure until it wears off....

Am I joking? No - not really.

 

[Dreadhead]

just found this great tutorial going to be raiding around for all scrap metal for ages now

 

[grey-array]

That is brilliant I will most certainly save that technique for future use ^^
Thanks for taking the time for sharing that with us
Yours sincerely Ruud

 

[plastic-ninja]

I'm going to have to have a go at this.
What a cracking tutorial , explained carefully and simply
a fitting subject for the original 2000th post.
Cheers , Simon

 

[reedx]

Very interesting tutorial. One quick question though - are there any issues with the safety of leather dyed with the black iron solution? I make and sell braided leather bracelets and have never got brilliant results dying vegtan after it has been slotted but before braiding. This looks like it may be a viable alternative method so long as it won't cause any issues with my PL insurance.

Colin

 

[Dreadhead]

anyone got any tips on getting rid of the smell faster? im finishing with carnauba cream and eco-flo super sheen.

 

[decorum]

Bumped to ask a question. Due to the subject matter I'll first bump a couple of bits containing Mary's warnings of not to dump the liquid into the environment ...

Copper he said was a bit more problematical since it is very toxic in any concentration; however, domestic central heating pipes are made from it and some leaches into the system. So long as I use my mordant to exhaustion he has no concerns.

>>> Please take care with the jar, all mordants are toxic. >>>SNIP<<< This copper mordant is very toxic !!!

And, after all that faff, the question ... Does coppered leather require neutralising and if so is it done in the same method and manner as with the vinegroon?

 

[Rod Paradise]

Just a quick note for copper mordant makers, pre-1992 uk copper coins are 97% copper (bronze), after that they're mostly copper plated iron, apart from some bronzes in 1998. A magnet will show which are which. Dissolving or me;lting them down is illegal, but really, who's going to find out/care?

 

[demographic]

Tin and Chrome he nearly had a hairy fit with his feet up
Tin forms stable organometallic compounds that are extremely toxic and persistant in the environment. Roman tin workings are still considered polluted ground.

Chrome causes feminization of invertebrates at the bottom of the food chain and is also persistant. Basically it's a major environmental pollutant and a major nono...........even if it does give brilliant orange colours. Tough !!

So, I will use alum, iron and copper, but I won't use tin or chrome.
I get a really good range of colours using the mordants and adjustants that I know will not, with care, pollute the environment, and really don't feel the need to do so just to get a brighter orange or glow in the dark green.

I sometimes put heavily rusted parts into an electrolysis bath with steel (reinforcing bar) electrodes connected upto a battery charger to remove the rust. The negative from the charger is connected to the part to be cleaned and the positive is connected to a sacrificial anode. Some people use a stainless anode because it doesn't corrode like my rebar one does but that produces Hexavalent Chromium in use and its not good stuff to put down the drains, I assume for the same reason.

 

[NathanG]

ive still got the sheath in the final photo- still looks good!