What type of stain/dye do you use?

[mrappe]

When I did this before I used an alcohol based stain or dye and spray it on to get an even coat. The problem was that it did not penetrate very deep and if you scratched the leather the lighter color would show thru. Also I am not sure what the difference between a stain and dye is. I am trying to get and even deep color. I see that Tandy now has water based dyes. I wonder how well those work. Anyone?  Anyone?

Thanks Mike

[Chuck 100 yd]

I have tried Tandys water based die/stains and they are mostly for kids IMHO.
Look in the FAQ thread. Lots of ideas there.
I use Fiebings oil dies,vinegaroon and now a walnut die I made up from dried powdered walnut husks.
You will ,like me,need to do a lot of experimenting because the coloring is a personal taste thing ,and not only that,each piece of leather will color differently with the same die.

[Marshal Will Wingam]

I've sprayed alcohol-based dyes on before. The problem I found was that the dye almost dried on the way from the gun to the leather and got very little penetration.

[rickk]

With leather I don't think there is a point in trying to get an even coat of dye, because the leather does not absorb evenly. Some parts wants more, some parts don't want it at all and you need to work on those areas some more.  Every piece of leather is an entity of it's own, and there are often surprises. Using a leather prep first helps reduce the number of surprises but they still happen.

I have sprayed Fiebings Acrylic "dye" on leather though. The word they chose to call it... "dye"... seems a little misleading. In my little mind a dye is something that soaks in. Fiebings Acrylic "dye" is more of a paint that covers the surface. Anyway, that stuff can be sprayed and covers uniformly. For what it's worth, when I use it I often die the leather with "real die" of the same color first. My assumption is that eventually the acrylic will chip off in spots and it would be less obvious if the leather was already the same color as the acrylic.  The stuff is reasonably durable though, but not something that should be used on gun leather.

For spraying acrylics, I use one of these with glass bottles : http://www.paascheairbrush.com/Sprayers-62-2-3.html  . I forget if I have a 62-1 or 62-2 and it is down in the basement right now. I recall spending some time asking about the nozzle size before I bought it though.  Then there is the oil and water separator I installed in my air system just for it....

Any, back to the question, which is "which die do I use", For many colors I use Fiebings Professional Die, which is Oil/Mineral Spirit solvent.   I do an amazing amount of work in black (I live near a major college town... let's leave it at that). For black I buy this stuff : http://zackwhite.com/xcart/product.php?productid=16878&cat=602&page=2  . They charge hazmat for gallons, but not for quarts, but the gallon size is still a little bit cheaper for one gallon and way cheaper for two gallons. It works great. I use their Havana Brown as well, but not as much so I buy it in quarts.

The Fiebings "Institutional" dies I believe are water based. I tried one bottle once a long time ago and never bought any more. It didn't seem to penetrate quite as well or dry quite as quickly. It is non-flammable though, so if you are running a leather shop in a prison or mental institution it is safer.

So, Fiebings Profession Dye for many colors or Zack White house-branded die for black and brown is what I use.

As a side note, and I have only used this in black so far, but need to try it in brown someday as well, this stuff in colors is cool : http://shop.fiebing.com/products/category/3267.0.72706.72729.72778.0.0   . I am talking about the colored versions. Yes, I use the clear stuff on everything as a sealer after dye, but when I do black and I want a real high gloss, deep black finish I use the black colored Resolene over black dye and build up several layers until I get the surface I want.  The result looks like an acrylic paint, and I guess it sort of is, but since it is diluted with water and rubbed on it penetrates and sticks well. Again, it is used over a dyed surface so a scratch wont show up too much. I need to get some brown next time I order some stuff I guess and see what happens.

[TN Mongo]

I've had the most success with Fiebings Professional Oil Dye.  I like to deglaze the leather before dyeing with a rag with some alcohol on it.  Some of our more experienced guys make their own dyes (check some other threads on this), but for people new to leather work, I think the Fiebings Oil Dye gives the best results.