Question about Vinegeroon

[Mogorilla]

I am a firm believer in cleaning before using.  Years ago we would pour weights for trout lines, etc.  We would use wheel weights.  Dad was a cautious man and washed the weights in finger nail polish remover (cheap source of acetone) and then soap and water, then laid them out to thoroughly dry.  When we were melting, there was no hidden pockets of oil/solvent/water to cause problems.  I do the same with iron/steel.   Probably the chemist mixing with cautious dad.  That said, if you can get the oil off the solution, you will not have a problem using it, just if you do not get the oil off, you could get the oil on your leather before you get it reacting with the vinegaroon.

Oh, and in rereading this string, Chuck, your chemist friend is 100% correct, acetic acid is fairly volatile and will evaporate from solution.

[Sgt. C.J. Sabre]

Well guys, I think I got it finished. I took the concoction I had made, and strained it through a fine cotton mesh. Okay, it was an old shirt.
I filtered it through that twice. Got a thick, pastey, black mush on the filter. Still a lot of "stuff" floating not only on, but in it though.
Dragged out a heavier cotton mesh. Okay, an old pair of jeans. Filtered it again. More mush, STILL some stuff floating.
Found another filter. An old T-Shirt. Filtered again. More, but thinner stuff on the filter. Removed the filter, STILL stuff floating!!
In desperation, I took the T-Shirt sleeve and dunked it into the vinegaroon. SURPRISE, the floating stuff soaked into the shirt!
The vinegaroon looks good, now. Tested it on a scrap strip, and it looks good.
By the way, it doesn't smell like vinegar any more, so it must be done!
Next time, I won't use brake dust, just the cheap steel wool. AFTER burning any oil off.
Thanks to all who chimed in here. I couldn't have done it without you.

                                         Sgt. C.J. Sabre

[Marshal Will Wingam]

Good show, Stg. Now you're set. Post pics of something you make with it.

[Sgt. C.J. Sabre]

Hi again, guys.
     I finally got around to using my vinegroon last weekend. Ive been needing a new gunbelt, (you know how leather shrinks over time), so I decided to dye the new one with the vinegeroon.
     At first I was really happy with it, but after it was completely dry, I noticed things I didn't like about it. The color doesn't seem as deep a black as the oil dye. The color penetrates the leather just fine, but it's not as black as I was hoping. The flesh side of the leather didn't take the color well at all. there is a lot of gray and almost brown on it. On the smaller parts, like the billets and such, the flesh side looks fine, just not on the main belt.
     I tried finishing with Lexol, followed by Tan Kote, but to no avail.
     Maybe vinegroon just isn't for me. Even so, it was an interesting project. 
   
                                             Thanks again,
                                                 C.J.

[G.W. Strong]

It may be your vinegaroon is not ready yet. Mine is just over a month old and it's turning things black but not as deeply as I want. I'm sure it still needs time to percolate.

[Sgt. C.J. Sabre]

It may be your vinegaroon is not ready yet. Mine is just over a month old and it's turning things black but not as deeply as I want. I'm sure it still needs time to percolate.

It's been cooking since the first week in March.

[ChurchandSon]

Hey Sgt., for the very deep black I have to dye first with black tea/coffee..
Also there are some chemical tanned leathers it will not work with.......Randy

[davemyrick]

I tried making an iron based period dye for veg tanned leather and found that after dissolving the iron into the vinegar, adding powdered logwood to the mix worked wonderfully. The black was much more black than dark grey and stayed that way. I used the stuff to dye the leather on a `59 McClellan saddle I made. Still black today after 5 years of use.

Dave